Tekken 8's cash shop has been pretty heavily lambasted since its introduction back in March. The game's Steam rating has tanked to a paltry 37% recent score, and microtransactions have become a main point of criticism among its playerbase. Bandai Namco has been on thin ice as a result, but now it may have committed the biggest transgression of all.
The latest costume to hit the cash shop is the default Tekken 5 fit for Lili, a character who has a very loyal and devoted fanbase. It's a great look for Lili, except the Tekken 8 version is missing some mighty important details. As Cielomon helpfully points out on Twitter, the costume is missing "the red part on the wrists" of her gloves, as well as "the lace of her skirt".
Taking a look at her Tekken 5 render versus the costume in Tekken 8 and, yeah, I can definitely see why the Lili mains are upset. The skirt certainly has a strange heavy and cheap vibe to it, which doesn't feel fitting for Monaco's rich spoiled oil heiress. Fans haven't been shy about voicing their dislike for the item—which costs at least $5 of real money to nab—across Twitter and Reddit.
"Will not be paying £10 for an old haggard Lili costume from a decade ago when they couldn't even be bothered to remake the textures on it," one user tweeted before following up to call it "that Shein version of her T5 outfit". Another user replied directly to the Tekken account, writing: "Where is the delicate lace on Lili's outfit, especially the skirt? We have the technology now, please don't be lazy!" One disappointed fan tweeted that the costume looked like "a bad mod," adding: "The delicate lace details from T5 are gone, the sleeves are short, same makeup as her default etc".
Surprisingly, it seems that Tekken 8 director Katsuhiro Harada has taken notice of the upset. Responding to Cielomon's tweet, Harada wrote: "There are slight differences in design for each numbering and how the high and game models differ. But as for the laces on the skirts, etc., somehow they are missing. I'll request a fix from the costume team."
It's a surprisingly snappy response to what is, in reality, a minor issue. But for all the dogpiling the cash shop has been going through now, it's understandable that Harada is likely wanting to get back into the good graces of players. I think if there was any one character fanbase I wouldn't wanna make mad, it's Lili's. As player Pinkcherry joked on Twitter: "As you can see, just like our character, we Lili players have a full purse and invest in this character no matter what."
The Lace Patch will undoubtedly be gracing the shop sooner rather than later, lest the team lose out on those precious pennies. Personally, I'm still over here holding out for Lili's green corset outfit. I have staunchly defended myself against any of that game's microtransactions, but I'm just a woman. A woman who really likes Lili's green corset.
