Katsuhiro Harada says Xbox Series S leaves developers doing another round of work—and taking the complaints when the cheaper console looks worse. The Tekken veteran aired his frustration during a developer panel in Seoul, joking that Microsoft should avoid making hardware like it.
According to Inven’s report of the November 9 Console Game Developers Conference, Harada made the remarks with a senior Xbox representative in the audience. The exchange was highlighted by Game no Hanashi.
Harada’s complaint goes beyond limited memory. He described Series S as similar enough to Series X that optimizing for it feels like doing the work again after achieving the best result on stronger hardware. By comparison, he said, developers approach Switch 2 as a distinct platform for Nintendo’s audience.
The awkward part comes after release: Harada said players ask developers why Series S has lower-resolution textures, directing their frustration at the studio rather than Microsoft.
Tekken 8 supports both Xbox models, alongside PS5 and PC, putting the series Harada is best known for on both sides of that hardware gap.
Series S Has Less Memory to Work With
Microsoft’s specifications put numbers behind that split. Series S has 10GB of GDDR6 memory and a 4-teraflop GPU; Series X has 16GB and a 12-teraflop GPU. Those are total memory capacities, with some reserved for the system.
Sasko Sees a Payoff in the Extra Work
CD Projekt Red associate game director Paweł Sasko acknowledged the difficulties but offered a different view. In Inven’s account, he said demanding optimization for weaker hardware can improve versions on PS5, powerful PCs, and handhelds such as Steam Deck and ROG Ally.
He also stressed affordability: less expensive hardware gets games to people who cannot buy high-end systems. He argued that the lower price helps developers reach more players, even when the hardware constraints make development painful.
