Updating my favorite games list for 2023. Not too much has changed but why not lol

ファミ通40周年の大規模アンケートにおける｢好きなゲームクリエイター｣において､恐れ多くも1位をいただきました｡ 身に余る光栄です! 深く感謝しております｡ ｢好きなゲームキャラ｣カービィ4位も､ご愛顧ありがとうございます!

I finally made it to WAFFLE HOUSE. The staff are always friendly, and when I asked if they would sell me a menu, they sold me one for $5. Next time, I’ll be back at 3 a.m. for fight time. #WAFFLEHOUSE

2 pictures side by side of the start of Smiling Friends 8 years ago and the end with @psychicpebble and I at Yum Yum donuts in Burbank, California. We would wander around different places in Burbank talking about the show and coming up with episode ideas, which consisted of a lot of imagining what Mr. Frog would smash and destroy around us. We’re so proud of this show and continue to be blown away by the fandom which loves it as much as we do. It was such an insane, amazing journey to make this and we really appreciate everyone who watched it and the incredible crew who worked on it, and of course @adultswim for making it happen. We love you all and thank you for allowing us to make you smile, you made us smile even more!

I reached a new Milestone on @TrueAchievement: 8,000 Achievements Won trueachievements.com/gamer/C…

DR. SEEKER HAS RETURNED

Halo 3.

DC counting their quarterly profit without Batman

🏆 Halo 3 wins The GameStop Game of the Year 2025

I’d like to share that I’ll be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025. With the TEKKEN series reaching its 30th anniversary—an important milestone for a project I’ve devoted much of my life to—I felt this was the most fitting moment to bring one chapter to a close. My roots lie in the days when I supported small local tournaments in Japanese arcades and in small halls and community centers overseas. I still remember carrying arcade cabinets by myself, encouraging people to “Please try TEKKEN,” and directly facing the players right in front of me. The conversations and atmosphere we shared in those places became the core of who I am as a developer and game creator. Even as the times changed, those experiences have remained at the center of my identity. And even after the tournament scene grew much larger, many of you continued to treat me like an old friend—challenging me at venues, inviting me out for drinks at bars. Those memories are also deeply precious to me. In recent years, I experienced the loss of several close friends in my personal life, and in my professional life I witnessed the retirement or passing of many senior colleagues whom I deeply respect. Those accumulated events made me reflect on the “time I have left as a creator.” During that period, I sought advice from Ken Kutaragi—whom I respect as though he were another father—and received invaluable encouragement and guidance. His words quietly supported me in making this decision. Over the past four to five years, I’ve gradually handed over all of my responsibilities, as well as the stories and worldbuilding I oversaw, to the team, bringing me to the present day. Looking back, I was fortunate to work on an extraordinary variety of projects—VR titles (such as Summer Lesson), Pokkén Tournament, the SoulCalibur series, and many others, both inside and outside the company. Each project was full of new discoveries and learning, and every one of them became an irreplaceable experience for me. To everyone who has supported me, to communities around the world, and to all the colleagues who have walked alongside me for so many years, I offer my deepest gratitude. I’ll share more about my next steps at a later date. Thank you very much for everything. 【Postscript】 Although I will be leaving the company at the end of 2025, Bandai Namco has asked me to appear at the TWT Finals at the end of January 2026, so I expect to attend as a guest. For 30 years I kept saying, “I’ll do it someday,” and never once performed as a DJ at a tournament event. So instead, I will be releasing—for the first and last time—a 60-minute TEKKEN DJ-style nonstop mix (DJ mix), personally edited by myself, together with this announcement. Listening to it brings back many memories. Thank you again, sincerely, for all these years. ‘TEKKEN: A 30-Year Journey – Harada’s Final Mix’ by Katsuhiro Harada 1 is on #SoundCloud on.soundcloud.com/pEYofA4yXO… December 8, 2025 - The Final Day of TEKKEN’s 30th Anniversary - Katsuhiro Harada [日本語版 (Japanese version)] このたび、2025年末をもちまして、私はバンダイナムコを退職することにいたしました。 長く携わってきた『鉄拳』シリーズが30周年という大きな節目を迎え、ひとつの区切りとして最もふさわしい時期であると考えたためです。 私の原点は、日本のゲームセンターや、海外コミュニティの小さな講堂やコミュニティセンターで、まだ小規模なトーナメントをサポートしていた時代にあります。 アーケード筐体を自ら運び込み、「鉄拳もぜひ遊んでみてほしい」と声をかけながら、目の前の参加者と向き合った日々。 あの場で交わした言葉や空気が、私という開発者の核を形作りました。 時代が変化しても、あの経験が自分の中心にあります。 そしてトーナメントシーンが大きく成長した後も、皆さんは旧知の友人のように私に声をかけ、会場で対戦したり、バーで『一緒に飲もう』と誘ってくれました。 それらもまた、大切な思い出です。 ここ数年間、私生活においては友人達との死別があり、仕事においては、私が尊敬する多くの先輩方の引退や逝去に触れてきました。 そうした出来事の積み重ねが、私に『開発者として残された時間』について考える契機を与えました。 その過程で、私がもう一人の父親のように敬愛する久夛良木健さんにも相談し、貴重な助言と励ましのお言葉をいただきました。 この言葉もまた、今回の決断を静かに後押しするものとなりました。 そして、この4〜5年をかけて私の担ってきたすべての業務やストーリーや世界観、そして責務をチームに段階的に引き継ぎ、今日に至ります。 振り返れば、VR作品（サマーレッスンなど）や『ポッ拳』、ソウルキャリバーシリーズをはじめ、自社他社問わず数多くのプロジェクトに携わる機会に恵まれました。 いずれのプロジェクトも新しい発見と学びに満ち、かけがえのない経験となりました。 これまで支えてくださった皆様、世界中のコミュニティの皆様、そして長年ともに歩んできた仲間たちに深く感謝申し上げます。 次の歩みについては、改めて皆様にお伝えいたします。 これからも、どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。 あとがき 2025年末をもって退職致しますが、2026年1月末のTWT FINALには顔を出してほしいと会社からお願いされていることもあり、FINALにはゲストとして顔を出すと思います。 これまで30年間『いつかやるよ』と言い続けてやってこなかったトーナメントイベントでのDJですが、その代わりとして“最初で最後のDJ風60分ノンストップ鉄拳ミックス（私による初編集DJ mix）”も、今回のポストに合わせて公開します。 ‘TEKKEN: A 30-Year Journey – Harada’s Final Mix’ by Katsuhiro Harada 1 is on #SoundCloud on.soundcloud.com/pEYofA4yXO… 様々な思い出が蘇ります。改めて皆さんありがとうございました。 2025年12月8日 - 鉄拳30周年最終日 - Katsuhiro Harada

I started the game Marvel Rivals, via @TrueAchievement trueachievements.com/game/Ma…

Half-Life released in 1998 on PC and changed the way we perceive story in first person shooters. Halo: Combat Evolved released in 2001 and pushed the gameplay forward while proving FPS on consoles could work. These two titans are owed bottomless praise for kicking so much ass.

I reached a new Milestone on @TrueAchievement: 325 Games Played trueachievements.com/gamer/C…

I started the game Grand Theft Auto V, via @TrueAchievement trueachievements.com/game/Gr…

this will keep me going for a few weeks

Watched “Fantastic Four: First Steps.” From the fashion, color palette, design, cityscape, TV and cartoon shows, to the costumes, spacesuits, rockets, cars—not to mention company names, food items (cereal, soda), and storage media (magnetic tapes, discs)—everything is crafted with a thorough commitment to a 1960s aesthetic blended with a sense of futurism. It felt nostalgic, like watching “Bewitched” when I was a kid. Or at times, it felt like a live-action version of The Incredibles, with “family” as its central theme. Once I found out it was directed by the same person who did “WandaVision,” it all made sense. Post-COVID hero films seem to be shifting away from the dark and gritty tone toward a more retro-futuristic, colorful, and nostalgic direction. One thing the film does well is how it opens with a TV show that efficiently summarizes the Fantastic Four’s feats, role, and current standing. If it had taken the time to carefully depict how they became superhuman from the very start, it would’ve come off as overly explanatory and slow-paced. Superman skipped that part too. Here, the plot is designed so that viewers are drawn in from the point where “they” gain a new family—marking the beginning of turmoil and crisis. As a “first step” to reboot the series, it’s truly “fantastic.”

It’s crazy that Thunderbolts and F4 are some of the best projects Marvel has ever done and nobody’s watching them. That’s what’s happens when you drop garbage for 5 years straight

James Gunn on why Supergirl shows up in ‘SUPERMAN’: “The main reason for Kara showing up is to show that Superman not only risked his life to go save a dog that was his dog, that so many of us would do, he was watching the dog for somebody else. The dog's a pain in his ass. He didn't want to take that dog. She's off being irresponsible. He doesn't want to have to watch a dog. He's having to save the world every two seconds. And even still, he goes to the ends of the earth for that dog. To me, that's one of the most touching things in the movie. Earlier, when Lois says, "It's just a dog," and he says, "Yeah, not even a very good one, but it's probably scared," it just shows you the depths of his empathy. I find that so touching. Then, when you find out at the end, it's not even his dog; she just left it with him. (Via: @EW | ew.com/superman-james-gunn-t…)

bucky now that he’s been banned from wakanda and Louisiana and has to eat white people food again

I've heard from a number of people now that Donkey Kong Bananza is quite possibly the greatest 3D Platformer Nintendo has ever made. It takes the best of 3D Mario and mixes it with Donkey Kong Country. EPD Production Group No. 8 does not disappoint.

I’m kinda losing it I’ve never been the biggest Superman guy but the thesis of “happiness and kindness is punk rock” is undoing years of grime, lethargy, and pessimism that I’ve acquired as I aged. I legitimately feel the urge to just lead with kindness in the face of it all