As mentioned in today's preview, Tekken 5 for the PS2 will not be online. Why? Namco missed this same opportunity with the home console versions of Soul Calibur 2, which were, in and of themselves, solid games that could've been something really special with full-on multiplayer support over PS2 broadband or Xbox Live. Namco has suggested that during the development of the home version of Tekken 5, the team was faced with a decision at some point: include all the features they had originally designed, or put in online play and cut other features. I have to say, at the very least, I respectfully disagree with the decision. In fact, I don't think it should've been a decision, at all.

While I'm sure the home version of Tekken 5 will have some neat single-player modes (Namco is known for putting interesting stuff into its home fighting game ports, like Tekken 3's Tekken ball and Tekken force mode, and the original Soul Calibur's weapon master mode), and I'm sure they'll be great, I honestly believe that online play would've paved the way for much, much, much more longevity for the game over time. And speaking of paving the way, we've already seen successful online console fighters like Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO, Guilty Gear X2 #Reload, and Dead or Alive: Ultimate, which will soon be joined by the domestic Xbox release of Street Fighter Anniversary Collection--a game that apparently already enjoys a strong online following in Japan.

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Examples of successful online console fighting games.

I don't doubt the technical skill or artistic vision of any of Namco's team in the least--I think very highly of the company that has produced so many high-quality fighting games (and non-fighting games), which is why I find Tekken 5's lack of online play so perplexing. Yes, Namco missed the boat with Soul Calibur 2, which, two years ago, seemed a bit more understandable given that online console games hadn't completely established themselves. But now, in the wake of so many successful online console fighters? I just don't see why the opportunity was passed up a second time around.

I'll still pick up my own copy of Tekken 5, but I doubt I'll be playing it as long as I might've been. If Tekken 5 had been online-enabled, a bare-bones "arcade mode" and maybe a training mode would've been more than enough offline content, as far as I'm concerned.