As you likely already know, Masahiro Sakurai has a regular column in Famitsu where he talks about everything and anything related to games. In the latest one, the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director took the time to reflect on CD Projekt Red's new game Cyberpunk 2077.
You see, he started out playing it on PC and "encountered bugs multiple times" and since then has been chipping away at it on his PlayStation 4 Pro, without any problems. So what does he think of it? According to a translation by Ryokutya2089 (via Siliconera), it's a "dream game" - and so ambitious even he can't imagine just how much planning and production went into it.
“Cyberpunk 2077 is a dream game. I wonder how much planning and production was needed.”
Although CD Projekt Red has been under fire since release for all the apparent bugs in the title, Sakurai still thinks it's quite a feat just having a AAA multi-platform release.
“Having a multi-platform release for an AAA title is at a level where that’s enough for me to say that it’s wonderful.”
He's also "deeply moved" that the company went to the extent of "sincerely" dealing with refunds.
“Dealing with refunds is something that makes even me feel deeply moved. This kind of sincerity was never heard of before.”
“I support this game from the bottom of my heart for sincerely dealing with [the refunds].”
So, there you go - in case you were wondering, Sakurai has been playing what was the most anticipated game release of 2020.
He's not the only Japanese developer enjoying this release either. At the end of last year, Level-5's boss also mentioned how much he loved it - speaking about how he had spent 60 hours with the game and hadn't encountered any serious bugs.
If all this has got you wondering about the chances of CP2077 coming to the Switch, CD Projekt Red previously said it "might be too heavy" for the device, but would not rule it completely out after the release of The WItcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition.
Would you like to one day see Cyberpunk 2077 on a Nintendo system? Are you surprised to hear Sakurai has been playing it? Tell us below.
[source ryokutya2089.com, via siliconera.com]
Comments 77
Get back in the basement Sakurai. Make the next Smash fighter Sakurai. Being chained to your desk is for your own good Sakurai.
The game isn't bad, depending on what platform you play it on.
It's just a shame it was rushed.
I could see this running on the Switch if they took time to port it properly or streamed it.
Pass on the game for me even if it’s ported. It might benefit from having the hindsight of all the problems that came from rushing it and launch on Switch without them—hopefully without its own unique problems.
I personally love it. Aside from a couple crashes, the environment and world is like nothing I’ve played from a game
@Kalmaro your switch would blow to pieces if tried rubbing cyberpunk
@Mgene15
Kalmaro literally said "...if they took time to port it properly or streamed it."
It's possible to port Cyberpunk 2077, as it is possible to port any game. The only issue is storage, because Cyberpunk is way too big in terms of file size.
Plus, I think it was already proven to be able to be streamed on the Switch.
@Mgene15
I rub Cyberpunk 2077 disks all the time on my Switch and all that rubbing still hasn't caused my Switch to explode! 👍
@Kalmaro A native port is extremely doubtful. Night City is considerably more dense of an environment to render compared to The Witcher 3's overworld to the point where the console versions flat out significantly reduced the number of NPCs present at once in addition to already taking a giant hit graphically in pretty much every area
I can maybe see a cloud version but I seriously doubt CDPR would be actively interested in a version of this game for Switch considering the mess they have to clean up regarding the state of the console versions and the numerous bug fixes in addition to the free DLC content and the next gen versions
The man is an artist himself. He knows what he's talking about.
@Kalmaro Yeah from what I've heard, it's less what it is being bad, and more the fact that they skipped over a ton of things they promised
Like he'd ever get on a column to talk about a game he hated.
@TheFrenchiestFry It's all a matter of how much they could remove or tune up to make things still look good.
The game right now is built around stronger consoles/PC. I'm sure they could make it work it would take time and resources though and they have a lot on their plate now with trying to win favor back with the fans.
A "Dream Game"? More like a nightmare if some corners of the internet are to be believed 😋.
In all seriousness, CD Project Red get my respect for having The Witcher 3 on the Switch with all DLC on the cart, which is more than can be said for other developers.
I'll take Sakurai's word for it, considering the amount of games he's made to the 0 games I've made.
Personally, I can't imagine it on Switch if PC and next-gen consoles have problems with it. Perhaps the oft-rumoured but never confirmed Switch "Pro", maybe.
It will need a LOT of time to be ported to Switch, maybe by 2077.
Yeah the game is truly amazing, I knew that once the launch bugs got worked out we would be left with a truly fantastic title.
Been playing the game on PC with high-ultra settings with over 60 fps so running it isn't a problem. What I found a problem is that it is way too repetitive with little to do besides the very limited missions with only 3 characters I cared about (1 which leaves the story within the first couple hours). 60 hours in I started playing Yakuza Like A Dragon and I've just straight up dropped Cyberpunk. The writing, plethora of minigames, and deep and fun RPG elements was everything that was lacking in Cyberpunk.
Loved the setting of Night City but just wasn't anything that interesting to do in it and the overall story wasn't that compelling. Maybe the free DLC and expansions will turn it into the game I truly wanted.
The game actually runs in my dreams so I agree.
Man. Sakurai worked so hard on Smash, it made him go crazy.
The video of beatmups made it clear to me this game is a project of broken promises.
Shame, really. I remember me absolutely drooling over this teaser trailer eight years ago. https://youtu.be/DvVjkqB3LH0
It's a game that interests me for sure but I doubt my laptop has a shot at running it in any sort of way.
Not to knock on Sakurai, but the whole refund thing was hardly sincere
@iulis84 Your comment was bad enough but the moment you said "paid for fake reviews" I immediately knew you have no clue what you're saying.
In my opinion, of course.
On PC Cyberpunk 2077 is a great game. No console version is actually good, and most consoles aren't really playable.
And the game's use of things like reflections, shading and the actual size of it would make it unfit for the Switch. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I am saying that it shouldn't be.
It would actually be awesome if Google released Stadia for the Switch.
So guys, there you have it. He has absolutely no clue about games at all.... Cyberjunk 2077 is an unfinished mess with many things that were cut and an empty world
Extraordinary game on PC. I'm 40 hours in and I'd say the way to go is focus on the main game (29 hours for me) then come back to do side missions once in a while so it does not get old.
@sanderev not even on PC it's a great game...bugs aside, the game is just a mess with an unfulfilled potential and many contradictory design choices
@Muriustar extraordinary? cmon dudes, what are you playing? the game is just an average thing!
@BlackenedHalo I don't think it's a perfect game, but it's not a bad one. It's the Fallout New Vegas of this gen.
@nessisonett let him play. The more media you're exposed to the more ideas you get to have to create cool things... It might inspire him to make a brabd new franchise (frankly it'll do him good.)
@TheFrenchiestFry we'll just wait and see. If Hitman3 can be streamed and can work well, there's hope yet.
If he had fun with it, more power to him, but there’s a reason CDPR is in damage control mode and it’s not because the game was overwhelmingly received well.
Sure, easy to port it on Switch (maybe with ray-tracing?)
The Xbox One S version drops as low as 14 frames per second (before new patch). So i cant imagine a Switch (or even Switch pro) version.
@BlackenedHalo I haven't had any problems in the PC version, and I still think it's a great game. I'm having a lot of fun in it.
The Switch CPU is too weak for a port with more than 15 fps. You can see that on the framerate jump from PS4 to PS4 Pro which is mainly based on the higher CPU clocks. Just accept it!
If that dream is full of stupid bugs
The way this game launched was a disgrace and far from a dream. I wish it was a perfect game because I adore Cyberpunk, but I'm not giving money to unscrupulous so and sos.
Sorry Sakurai. Going to have to disagree with you on this one. It's less dream game and more commercial nightmare.*
It works great with stadia, honestly I think a streaming version would run perfectly on the switch! Bring it on!
If all developers think this practice of releasing something in such a bad state that you openly refund people then they can all stick their games up their arsehole!!!
I don't pay for that shoddy kind of work and him supporting them on it worries me, as well as other similar games having issues, that the industry seems to think it's acceptable. I'm too old to want to bother with that, reminds me too much of waiting for the tape to not load after waiting 5 mins!
Get back to adding Conker as a player in Smash bros, Sakurai. Please and thank you.
V for Ultimate 😂
Never was interested in Cyberpunk 2077, I played the Witcher 3 (like 20
Hours hoping I would experience the masterpiece everybody praised and found it really boring) it’s a shame that a game that have a lot of players hyped was release at that state, and I think the way CDProject red dealt with the aftermath of release was “poor” at best. But wasn’t the witcher all buggy too when it released? My experience with it (years after lauch day) was flawless on a technical level. I think CD project red will eventually patch the thing and it will become the “dream game” Sakurai is talking about.
Yes, a dream... and Will remains a dream... seeing the One that Is out Is *****🤣
@sanderev I've put 67 hours into it on my PS5 and it runs great. I had one game breaking bug that they patched out and since then no problems. Personally love the game and the world they created, just think it should have been PC and next gen only. I could see them stream it on the switch, but natively it would be a slide show.
It was rushed, and much too big for PS4 and Xbox One, but just like Witcher 3, once it's gone through about a year of patches it will be a masterpiece.
It's going to be a dream game when fixed. Not ideal, but the naysayers should just enjoy something else instead of bashing someone's hard work.
Yeah, the game seems better as an idea than an actually game.
It's an amazing game when it works. When it doesn't, it's such a ***** show that it's actually funny.
While clearly not a finished product, it looks amazing and judging by the Witcher 3, I'm sure it will be.
It's great to see some mutual respect, appreciation and understanding between developers instead of uninformed moaning from consumers.
As for refunds. CD project red leads the way. It should be a legal right to a refund a broken or poorly performing or unfinished game. I am grateful to CDPR for showing other devs, Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Apple etc that refund is not a dirty word. It appears to me that they offered refunds, even though Sony don't have a proper refund policy, forcing Sony's hand. I am sick of games like Bloodstained, Mr Shifty, Outer Worlds etc who do not meet expectations on switch but do not offer refunds. Yes, in my opinion, those games were broken.
too bad the company have no plans to deliver promised features , hope they would take a page out of hello games and no mans sky
Cyberpunk 2077 has a hilarious number of game breaking bugs, so I'm not exactly sure "dream game" is an apt description.
The game is great i known its got glitches and crashes but i know cdpr will fix it and when they do the games is gonna be one of the greatest of all time looking back in a couple of years time something happened in development i dont know what.
@sanderev I can have fun even with a 4/10 game. It's not about fun but about what they had claimed about the game that it would be and what we got in the end
been playing it on series s looks amazing had no major bugs. just some comical glitches. but on the org xbox and ps4 it looks awfull
@Wargoose disagree with it being the New Vegas of this generation, it doesn't even begin to compare to how good New Vegas is. I like Cyberpunk but in comparison to New Vegas, it's an incredibly shallow game.
It is a dream. The kind of dream where you wake up screaming with a gun in your hand, your pillow torn to shreds, and the upstairs neighbors calling 911.
Give sakurai some sort of break. He needs it. Remember when he asked if he will ever get a break? That wasn't scripted. That was a geniune cry for help
The game was a very passionate game with lots of dedication but its rush nature is the reason it got the reputation it receive today. It's like Mortal Kombat Advance, had way too much promise and the screenshots, promotion, and ideas were sweet but because it was rush it became garbage. The one saving grace for Cyberpunk 2077 though is that it could still redeem itself as we are living in a world where incomplete game could still be fix through patches many years later so it won't have the same fate as Mortal Kombat Advance.
@nessisonett Sir what is your problem >:0
I'm not surprised that crunch doesn't seem to factor much in his opinion of the company, considering Sakurai crunches himself into oblivion.
@Retro_Player_77 The game has the reputation it has because it represents the worst current practices in the gaming industry, starting with overpromising and underdelivering. Its biggest offense is the obscene crunch, although let's be honest, gamers don't give a fugue about crunch. The "passion" you praise is exactly the excuse publishers use to justify abusing developers, but gamers don't care. They just want their shiny new toys.
They made the PC version spectacular, complained that they had to make it compatible with ps5 and xSx and then didn't even come out with a version for them. If they had split the time of dev up and not had to make the PC version the only good version it could have been patched and all versions got better over time.
I think they grossly underestimated how much of their audience is on console and really the worst thing a game maker can do is make a great game and then a broken game on 2 different platforms. It's like teasing us that the PC players get RTX and 60fps.
Given all that I had about 35 hours of fun on Series X until I realized it wasn't worth blowing through this whole game on crappy mode and not wanting to play it again until the true current gen version is out.
@Peach64 @Kalmaro The gamer was in development for 8 years. It was absolutely not rushed
No big problems on PC for me. All I've seen is a bouncer that didn't animate when he let me in a club, a person driving an invisible car and a food carton floating 20 feet in the air. Been playing for 25 hours so far.
Sakurai had just lost all credibility. He claimed to play 60 hours of CP 2077 on the PS4 Pro and had encountered a "few bugs" is just an outright lie. Given less than 1% of people who bothered getting a successful refund, CDPR still made out with billions with 13+ million copies sold. We have to move away from those in the gaming industry who think normal practice is to release a completely broken game to satisfy their investors, and betting on the fact that less than 1% of the gamers who had purchased their lies will ask for a refund. This is totally unacceptable.
@Kalmaro the problem isn't the game. Actually the game is what we should have expected exactly from cd project red. A good little game with some fun things and in my opinion a few more core gameplay flaws than other project red games but serviceable. The problem was they hyped it in a way that made it seem like it was years ahead when it was if anything par. They also lied a lot about stuff like a lot. The devs shouldn't get hate thought they did there job and it turned out alright just not to the godlike standards the higher ups put it too. If only they had made it less hyped up as the future it would have zero controversy but it's not the future.
@sanderev this would be great! I have been playing it on Stadia & it runs nicely. Gotta get my Stadia controller soon since my Pro Controller has some minor latency issues
Interesting he's been playing it on the Pro. I would have assumed he has a PS5, which would run it much better.
I haven't played the game so I cannot say anything about it, but it's always wonderful to see random people on the internet (who probably don't know the first thing about game design) think they know better than a man who's been at the helm of colossal projects for 20 years.
Hilarious.
@tameshiyaku Yeah I find it weird how some people are obsessed with the game and being negative about it, especially the ones who have never even played it yet still relentlessly hate it to the max. It seems like a lot of people playing it these days really enjoy it, I know I enjoy it. It's definitely made for people who love Bethesda's style of RPG's, which I do, really buggy at first but tons of depth to dive into. It's not the type of game that everyone will get into as it seems like some people really prefer their games to be more linear, and Cyberpunk is just sort of a big open world game.
@clvr Yeah whenever Cyberpunk gets brought up it seems like all the armchair developers come out of the woodwork.
all those quotes make it sound like he's being sarcastic
Switch could not handle it
I’m not interested in the aesthetic of the game. I’d prefer a little less dystopia in my world these days. I’d love to see more science fiction we can aspire to...
Its a great game, full of ambition, although it doesn't actually achieve all of that ambition.
There's no way it would run natively on the Switch, but it would be possible as a streamed game.
@Orpheus79V I believe that the PS5 just runs it in PS4 Pro mode anyway, so not a huge difference.
@CaPPa PS5 runs at an almost locked 60fps as opposed to 30fps with drops.
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