The health of Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai has been discussed rather heavily over the last few years, with fans often concerned about his wellbeing thanks to a seemingly overly-punishing work schedule. Various health issues have caused Sakurai to hint at rethinking his work-life balance, and he's even occasionally brought up the idea of stepping down from his role altogether.
Now, in an interview published by Nintendo Dream (and translated in full by the folks at Nintendo Everything), the series director has spoken once again of his health and work management. He notes that some changes have been made during the development of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as opposed to his work schedule for previous projects.
"I made some changes from what I used to do compared to now. For example, as a principle, I always left the office by 10 PM, no matter what. Many companies are discouraging extreme overtime these days, too."
Despite these changes (which still sound incredibly dedicated to the cause to us), Sakurai did face some health issues during the game's development. He mentions that he dealt with "a lot of stomach problems" throughout, including a nasty sounding case of food poisoning.
"When you’ve got symptoms like food poisoning, you definitely have to go to the hospital, right? I’ve had that situation once or twice before during development. It was like I got food poisoning from some oysters that I didn’t eat... It was like my food had come into contact with them or something."
He was then asked whether or not he takes time off when something like this happens, and his reply likely won't fill those concerned with any confidence.
Interviewer: Uh, so… Do you take some time off when that happens?
Sakurai: No, I don’t. I just get an IV drip and go to work like normal.
He goes on to explain how, as a freelancer, there are no strict rules on how much time he spends in the office working. Instead, he simply considers himself (and seemingly enjoys being) a "hard worker", choosing to go to work every day to write daily reports.
His dedication is clearly admirable, even if his actions sound pretty alarming to those of us hearing about them from afar, but we do hope he's looking after himself. Take it easy, Sakurai-san!
[source nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 63
Can we give this man some rest now?
And people still like to complain and demand more from the game. Respect Sakurai's efforts just to give us SSBU!
I'm genuinely afraid that Sakurai will work himself to death
@janfritz YEAH BUT WHERE ARE MY GOKU AND SHREK??? HE SHOULD BE ON TWO DRIPS ONE FOR HIM AND ONE FOR PLAYABLE WALUIGI
This guy is a video game auteur, a perfectionist and a workahllic. I really hope these warning signs his body has been giving him help to re-evaluate his work practices and show that his health should come first.
Even considering hard working is a thing in Japan, even by those standards he overworks himself.
And some people from the smash community still complain, I can't stand it how ungrateful those people are (again SOME of them, by far not all)
If it takes him dying to get us an even better Smash next time then I'm willing to accept that. Whatcha gonna do... live without there ever being a better Smash?
And he clearly loves it, otherwise why would he do it?
I would've preferred the game delayed to be honest. Nintendo could've thrown in NSMBU Deluxe as the December game and Smash be delayed as long as it needed for these kind of practices to not be necessary.
There's a reason the fanbrained allegation of "laziness" ranks up there among the biggest pseudocritique obscenities, to the point where even generally humble and benevolent creators (like MLPFiM director Jim Miller) can go berserk over it and rebuff the "opinion" in no uncertain terms.
I really hope Sakurai can take plenty of rest and recover now. No kind of fictionverse is frankly worth the creator working themselves to death over it, both from the point of human life's value and from the point of how many more potential fictionverses you could take to the grave with you.
I can't imagine how much stress must be on his shoulders during these times.
I wonder if his "Get an IV, then get back to work" tale is one of feeling the pressure of needing to get back to work, or simply a case of him wanting to get back to a task unfinished. I know that when I'm right in the middle of a "little bit of code", I daren't let anything get in my way!
He is dripping fresh blood to rejuvenate, Sakurai is a vampire.
Good Lord dude, TAKE A VACATION!
I think you've earned it!!!
@westman98 That's with ALL jokes aside, I worry the same thing myself.
He needs to be careful otherwise he could suffer mental health issues or even put himself in an early grave. If he loves his work, fair enough, but rest is important
This man needs to take a vacation.
Nails.
Mad as all hell, but still, nails.
@gcunit this is a joke right
@Braok Joke/Not Joke - does it matter either way?
Why the heck hasn't he gotten a break yet!? This man needs a year or so to lie down.
Well that's what I call dedication, but having played the game today for the first time I can't see what all the fuss is about. After 10 minutes I took a photo and listed it on eBay. Now back to Mario kart and Zelda!
@ReaderRagfihs I regret how hard this awful joke made me laugh
Deplorable rather than admirable.
I guess we all need a holiday
I hope with the success of this release he can finally rest a bit or at least slow down. I understand that he would be under an indescribable amount of pressure to get everything done, done right, and on time for literally millions of people around the world. However, because I deeply respect him and adore his work, I would rather wait years for a title to be finished and close to perfection than have it in a shorter amount of time with an unhealthy Sakurai.
tl;dr- Sakurai, I love your games, but please don't kill yourself for them!
@Jayenkai I'm the same, I couldn't tell you how many times I've stayed up late and forgot to eat while working on something in my development endeavors, so I can sort of relate to Sakurai's dedication. I'm not in need of an IV drip yet, but I can see myself going there because I hate to leave things undone if I can help it.
Is it concerning that I can relate to this amount of turmoil just to go to work?
My job is nowhere near as glamorous, but I am on record for working multiple 20+ hour shifts in a week. Only thing I can remember when I do that is near the end of them I am very much uncommunicative. Knowing this I can only imagine this dude, with the weight of the critical internet world, goes through everyday.
I remember when I was working on a project that I was passionate about, but also had a killer pain from a condition. I hated not being able to work on the project when I had the condition act up. I'd take pain relievers, and as soon as I could, I'd be working on it again. When you love what you do, you don't care. He loves what he does, and it shows.
@USWITCH64 10 minutes is not nearly enough time to actually try it out properly. How many characters did you unlock? Did you start the story mode? Did you try Classic? Did you play Vs. in multiplayer (this being where most of the fun is at)? I mean, each to their own (especially if fighting games aren't really your thing), but it's a game intentionally designed to be easy to play but hard to master. I'd understand maybe an hour's worth of play before deciding it's not for you, but 10 minutes doesn't really seem like a fair go for a game of this scale.
I would be perfectly fine if this was his last Smash game or if the series took an extended break after the DLC releases if he must still be involved. Save only balance patches during this time.
Wait a minute. There were just some Nintendo statistics released claiming that an average Nintendo employee works 7.75 hours a day. So they are lying?
@Heavyarms55 Tweet him to go on holiday!
@Dman10 The average Nintendo employee works 2 hours a day and honourable Sakurai San makes up the rest to skew the stat.
He loves his job, and as most Japanese bosses, he puts on the example for everyone. If you have passion for your work, you'll work as hard as he does.
I think this is more a Sakurai thing than a Nintendo thing, but still... Dude, stop. Take a break. Do Not Injure Yourself To Make A Video Game. Do Not Hurt Yourself For The Amusement Of Others.
@gcunit How could you say such a horribly evil thing? No game was EVER worth the cost of anyone's life.
I think people are right to be sympathetic but perhaps don’t understand him. I’m guessing he wouldn’t be very happy taking time off, and is not the kind of person to work normal hours. Some people are passionate about their work and only feel fulfilled when they give it their all. They live to work, not the other way around. For these people the worst thing they can do is retire as they generally don’t last long without that purpose.
I could be wrong but at least consider the possibility that this might be the case...
The whole glorification of working one's self to death is really lame and again on display by Sakurai. I know it's a cultural thing in part, but every time I read about Sakurai there is badge-of-honor about neglecting one's health to produce a video game. It's like, we get it, you are a workaholic with no boundaries. Please chill. It's just a game.
I love Sakurai, I do. I appreciate all he does for Nintendo, but my god man, take a vacation — take off when you get sick too. The game isn't gonna collapse like a dying star is you take a few days off, I promise.
He leaves at 10pm? So what time does he get there... that’s insane
@gcunit
"Joke/Not Joke - does it matter either way?"
It does actually.
@Dman10 Sakurai isn't a Nintendo employee, he's a freelancer who sets his own hours.
A couple of things:
1) Outside of the obvious concerns for his health, I'm worried about what happens when he does eventually retire or die. He says he prefers doing things himself because it's more efficient than telling everyone else what to do. But that also suggests that the team will be lost without him because he never bothered passing down skills/knowledge/experience to the rest of his team. I'm worried about a repeat of that QuadrigaCX story where the company can't access the funds it needs because the CEO died without telling anyone the password (look it up).
2) I love this guy's dedication, but SSBU is far from perfect. I feel like I should be allowed to criticize a product without being automatically labeled a Sakurai hater.
Love how everyone here is shoving their opinions down his throat and dictating how he should work and live. The guy has free agency. He knows what makes him happy more than any of you, and I'm sure he's infinitely more aware of any health implications for his decisions. Sounds like he loves his life and his work, so maybe you guys should accept that, instead of this kind of extreme, misplaced, misinformed concern that would be better spent on people who actually want and NEED it.
This man is legendary im still suprised he's still alive right now after smash ultimates release
@KingdomHeartsFan What I think is that Sakurai is a grown man, with the freedom to make his own decisions, instead of people here demanding that he act in a way that they like.
@Markiemania95 the floaty mechanics is a complete turn off, don't feel in control of the character. Trust me 10 minutes is enough for me to make my decision to get rid as I know what I like and this game is not for me.
@USWITCH64 I mean, the physics and mechanics change with each character (they’re not all floaty), but fair enough. It’s a matter of preference at the end of the day.
His work ethic is one of the best I’ve ever seen. What a guy. Not only is he himself super respectable, but the games that he works so hard on are almost always excellent.
@KingdomHeartsFan People are demanding that he change his work schedule, DEMANDING that he take a vacation, etc. As if the guy isn't capable of making these decisions himself.
PLEASE take a vacation, Sakurai..!
I mean this kind of work ethic is pretty common in Japan. And on top of that, usually there is a social responsibility to go out after work to drink with your colleagues. And there's an expectation of working over holidays that the rest of the world observes. This kind of goes back to the whole story a couple of days ago about Nintendo's salaries and workers. Yeah it looks great but how much over-time are they expected to put in (both at work and at these social engagements) on top of that? Sounds like Sakurai-san is doing a variation of this, albeit without the drinking....I hope because that would just add a whole new layer of health concerns. I hope he takes a break and focuses on himself for a while. It might be time to re-think what he is capable of doing as he gets older.
On one hand, I appreciate his work ethic. He's clearly very dedicated to his work and wants each Smash to be a masterpiece.
On the other, I feel that no amount of work is worth sacrificing your physical and mental health over. Please take care of yourself first and foremost, Sakurai-san! Games can ultimately wait.
When Roman numerals become confusing
Long hours sound great and dedicated....but how many of those endless hours are actually productive hours for most people? The human mind can't just focus non-stop for endless hours like that. Maybe he can, but for most people it amounts to warming a chair for most of a day, and then doing a little work.
A shining example of what not to do to your body in order to get work done.
@gcunit Pretty sure a WHOLE lot of people will live without a better Smash bros.
Like the Switch one is probably good enough for people to enjoy for 10+ years if they are really in to it.
@Lionyone Lol, Twitter. No thanks.
I'm really enjoying Super Smash Bros Ultimate! You made a good product.
Hmm, this doesn´t sound good. Think about your health, mister Sakurai! That´s the most important.
It’s easy for us to say that he needs to give himself more time to relax. To take a vacation. That’s the obvious answer to people hearing about his work schedule.
He has the money and the possibility to take time of work, from what others can see.
But we’re not him. Maybe he isn’t the type of person who can take time of work and be happy at the same time? People are different, they have different requirements to feel happy.
I could be wrong and of course I would love for him to rest a few months at some beach, but I don’t want to tell him that I know better than he does how he should live his life.
@Yorumi I would hardly call this a "Poor me" statement. The interviewer asked the question and Sakurai gave an answer. If it was a "poor me" situation he would be going out of his way to letting everyone know how hard he's worked but no, much like a lot of these "poor me" situations, they are just questions from interviewers.
Take a break Sakurai, get on vacation for 1 whole year, you deserve it.
Also, it's a great way to train someone to be your replacement, you deserve a retirement, and you won't live forever.
@Yorumi Okay, first off, that's definitely not all we hear about. If you want a clear cut history of everything we know about the man, watch Did You Know Gaming's episode on his History leading up to Smash Bros Ultimate.
Secondly, Sakurai is a big name within Nintendo so of course anything he declares to the world will naturally be magnified. Why do you think he gets so many interviews? People want to hear his story and what he has to go through.
Finally, that still doesn't make it so he "broadcasts it to the world". Like I said before; He's just answering questions, it's not like he's taking to the Internet and boasting to the world just how much struggling he has to do to give us Smash Bros. And I sure as hell don't believe he wants us to worship him and revere him as some sort of martyr, as you claim he does.
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