Tekken Zaibatsu was once the hotbed for all of the English-speaking competitive Tekken community to share information on techniques, tournaments, and character guides. The site was extremely helpful for those wanting to get past the button masher phase and learn the game at a deeper level. The forums started in January of 2000 at the apex of Tekken 3’s game life cycle. The site was pivotal for helping to users to organize and advertise events to grow the competitive community.
TZ’s founder, Castel, shares the reasoning for closing the site. His statement is below
I personally have been checked out from the scene for some time now, and I just don’t have the time or desire anymore to keep the site going.
I suspect by now most of the conversation has moved on to social media platforms, but this serves as a notice to wrap things up on Tekken Zaibatsu. Make plans to stay in touch elsewhere, save any media and data you might want, etc…
Game Over!
CastelEdit 12/5
Wow… I didn’t expect to see all you popping in to say farewell, it is bit overwhelming and emotional. I never really thought about the lasting impact this site has made on people’s lives over the years. Sure is triggering a lot of fond memories of both online moments and real life, SHGL, Electric Cancels, EVOs, gatherings, training sessions, etc…
Thanks to all contributors, members, and moderators who helped make this place what it became.
Stay safe out there!
With the rise of other information sharing platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Discord, it is extremely difficult to keep traditional forums alive. Tekken Zaibatsu and forums like it are the bedrock of global English speaking FGC, so the community is grateful for the people who created these resources.
The Tekken community shares their sentiments and what TZ has meant to them on Twitter.
damn makes a lot of sense but still damn. huge part of my childhood. https://t.co/JqGU3KOPrQ
— Bronson Tran (@brnsntrn) December 5, 2020
TEKKEN ZAIBATSU forums/site will be closing by end of year/early next year. Thank you Castel for everything.
I would not have fallen in love and learned about the community if it wasn’t for TZ. I’m sure many of you can probably say the same. https://t.co/y5IB3Ze5Eu
2000 – 2020— Mark Julio (マークマン) (@MarkMan23) December 5, 2020
This hurts, man…
If it weren’t for TZ, I never would have found the AUS FGC.
If it weren’t for TZ, I never would’ve met some of my best friends.
If it weren’t for TZ, I never would’ve met my partner.
TZ’s very existence gave me so much.
Thanks for everything, Tekken Zaibatsu 🙏— Razer / Corinne (@razerathane) December 5, 2020
Salute to Castel for 20+ years of running Tekken Zaibatsu.
This site brought me into the Tekken world when I was young. I wouldn’t have become a Tekken player without it 🙏 https://t.co/stA0tRPLXj
— EQNX | Joey Fury (@Joey_Fury) December 5, 2020
For those who wish to revisit the conversations and guides on the forums, Shiburizu will be working on finding a new place for the archived contents. So hit that follow button for any updates on the archiving process.
UPDATE: site owner Castel will be providing me with the contents of tekkenzaibatsu to archive the forums / merge the wiki contents elsewhere.
Big thank you to the FGC at large for supporting me on this. https://t.co/Y2VnD8qH61
— Shib @ NBN.GBL.GG (@shiburizu) December 7, 2020
Let us know if you have any good memories of the forum and what it has meant to you in the comments below.