Indonesia Tekken tournament offers cash to foreign players, goods in-kind to locals

Two weekends from now, there will be a special Tekken Tag Tournament 2 competition in Indonesia that will see Japanese Tekken players Tekken Bancho (Jackller) and Yuu visiting the country.

Organized with the help of Bandai Namco Games, this team tournament will be held in the Puri XXI mall in Jakarta over March 14 (Friday) and 15 (Saturday), 2014.

Now, that is not the weird thing. The weird thing is that although the top three prizes for the tournament are clearly stated to be in USD, there is also a footnote adding that local players will receive prizes in the shape of local goods, rather than cash.

We understand that prizes in Indonesia are fully taxable by the government, so this is a good way to avoid players from getting taxed. However, after emailing the organizer Hendrew, we understand that the cash prizes were set up specifically for foreign players. It has been the norm for the tournaments organized by Hendrew’s company to give out goods rather than cash.

So why the sudden change in policy? Hendrew said via email that “it would be more unfair if we give foreigners a goods prizes, that’s why we stated money prizes for this tournament [sic].” He also added that the goods for local players would be of equal value to the cash prizes, so it “should be fair.”

We always want to treat foreign players well. When notable players from overseas visit local fighting game communities in the region, they are always treated like respected guests. They are usually chauffeured, or at the very least taken out to sightsee and sample sumptuous local food. I don’t see any problem with that, and in fact, I wholeheartedly believe in being hospitable.

But this is taking it too far. I wonder what the players themselves think of the situation?

If you’re planning to attend this 2-on-2 Tekken Tag Tournament 2 contest, do let us know your thoughts on the situation below. Registration via email is open from today up until March 14, 2014, and costs Rp. 100,000 per team, or about $8.65.

(Pic: Tekken.com)