Update [Wed 6th Oct, 2021 01:00 BST]: Masahiro Sakurai has now acknowledged the trend #ThankYouSakurai on social media - thanking everyone for the love. Here's an incredibly rough Google translation:
"#ThankYouSakurai The hashtag is on the trend and I was watching it. This is the one who is really grateful. It is the result of the support of many people!"
The director of the Kingdom Hearts' series, Tetsuya Nomura, has also passed on a message of thanks to Sakurai:
Original article [Tue 5th Oct, 2021 05:05 BST]: We're coming up to a very big moment in the history of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Not only is it the final fighter reveal (as far as we know), but this could also very well be the last time Masahiro Sakurai works on Nintendo's all-star brawler series.
Regardless of who the final character is tomorrow, one thing that every fan should be thankful for is Sakurai's devotion to the series over the years, and of course his hard efforts on the latest entry. To acknowledge this, fans on social media platforms such as Twitter are now thanking Sakurai with the following hashtag: #ThankYouSakurai
It's been a wild ride with all sorts of character reveals since the launch of the game in December 2018. Feel free to share your own #ThankYouSakurai message in the comments below.
Comments 57
This man and the entire team honestly deserves awards for just how much hard work, love and care was put into every single franchise that made it into Smash.
It doesn't even matter who the next character will be, remember that this is a game where Cloud can fight Wii Fit Trainer and Minecraft Steve on PictoChat.
Thank you, Sakurai and all of Sora Ltd.
Thank You, Sakurai
Bravo Nolan bravo
“best selling fighting or party game” lmao at this indecisiveness, I guess it’s genre is Schrödinger's cat.
Thank you, Sakurai
This is surprisingly wholesome for the fanbase. Awesome
Always refreshing to see positivity and appreciation from gamers. Especially when it comes to Smash.
This is genuinely really nice to see, especially when you consider how toxic certain parts of the Smash fanbase can be. The man is only doing his job, so he really doesn't deserve to be hated for anything he does for said job. So having this kind of stuff to counter the toxic waste certain people leave for him is great.
As it should be. In a world where the gaming industry can be wrought with crunch time and unpleasant working conditions and with the gaming community being overly cynical and toxic at times, it's often overlooked that without game developers there would be no games. They're the ones who made your childhood special. They're the ones who create those fun moments in your otherwise dull life.
Game developers are pretty cool people, aren't they?
Thank You, Sakurai. For everything.
My Hero Mr. Masahiro Sakurai! Thank you & your teams!
A well deserved and understandable reprieve for a talented legend.
#ThankYouSakurai.
P.S.- I really hope Nintendo keeps adding Smash characters and can get it up to 100 fighters somehow... even if someone other than Mr. Sakurai has to lead it as he wants and needs a break, understandably. But admittedly that's a lot for continued DLC, so it's more likely to reach that amount for the next installment, 'Smash Supreme' or something.
... Wun can only hope.
Yeah, thanks dude!
I appreciate everything thing with Smash Bros starting back with the original back on N64. Many thanks.
Smash is the first game I ever played, this series has done more for me then they will ever know, #ThankYouSakurai!
Thank you, Sakurai, and thank you, Sora Ltd.
I was thanking Sakurai before it was cool.
Smash, the best game ever created.
Thanks Sakurai for an amazing game and some fun memories...
Thank you Sakurai, for giving us the gift of Smash!
Coincidence the nickelodeon all star trailer drops today?
Smash has impacted many people throughout the years. Sakurai has impacted many people throughout the years.
All we can say is thanks to all your hard work to keep this series amazing.
Thank you for uncountable hours of fun, started with the original Smash and look at us now!
I'm sad for what we'll see on all social media from whoever isn't among the minor percent of people that actually got who they wanted. Ultimate is the one game they should have done the Ballot for. Byleth still tastes sour.
Wow, I didn‘t know there was any non-hate-related content on twitter. Definately something I‘d like to see more often.
And of course: Thank you Mr. Sakurai for all the hard work and time you put into the series! Melee will always be a part of my childhood.
I love this, it's a fantastic change of pace. The guy works so hard, but can't help but feel it's going to get toxic real quick when the final slot is "wasted" by not having _______ and things will return to "normal".
I hope Nintendo lets Sakurai make whatever he wants for his next project, and that also includes projects like makes a blanket fort and playing games for 6 months.
Thank you to literally every one else who works on Smash Bros as they are truly the unsung heroes, who never get any credit whatsoever from the fans or Sakurai himself.
It must be frustrating to see so much praise heaped on someone who, as he himself admits, does relatively little actual development work on the game. But I see you guys and girls and I appreciate you.
I thanked him when I bought the game twice, and when I bought the dlc.
This stuff is as toxic as ever, a great way to distract from any potential justified disappointment (see thank you gamefreak during the sword and shield controversy) and an example of how polluted the minds of consumers have become. You thank Sakurai by giving him the money that allows him to have two 75 inch tvs right beside each other in his beautiful studio apartment.
Also, if you MUST thank someone, thank the bandai namco workers who worked under him for the last ten years.
Hmm pretty sure he did the whole game alone thats the reason we should only thank him and not the whole team... if i was one of hard working team members this hashtag would be a punch in the gut.
Honestly think master chief is the last character for smash, the main reason Microsoft allowed Ori to be on switch and why Phil included a Nintendo switch console in the background of his videos is this.
So wonderful, for one of the most ambitious games on its generation
I'll be ready to say it after the presentation.
Sakurai is fit to be the next Nintendo CEO, but of course no one beats Iwata, he is legend
I don’t know why this guy more than anyone in the business is thanked and worshiped like this. Like it’s nice to see positivity but I’d rather people thank the whole team. I find the hero worship and the special treatment this game gets bizarre.
But at least it’s not toxic.
Sakurai, Thank you for everything. Getting Banjo, Terry, Steve, Kazuya, and many more to join the battle is amazing. No matter who the final fighter is, Thank you for everything.
#ThankYouSakurai
I've been happy with every single character chosen. From Piranha Plant to Byleth and Terry to Steve. I've never complained.. and I won't start now. Whoever this last fighter is let's welcome it with open arms.
Let's make this a recurring thread, yeah?
Thank you Mr. Sakurai.
Go ahead and take a break at last my dude. No game is worth getting sick or going to the hospital over, you've carried Nintendo enough.
Thank you to all involved, including Mr. Iwata!
@Varkster
Sora Ltd. comprises of only Sakurai and his wife, so Sakurai is basically a pseudo-indie developer. Bandai Namco has worked on SSBU as well.
What a humble guy! Sakurai credits his whole team in his response. Gives me the warm fuzzies 😊
Nice job on the career sakurai!
So what is this site going to do now since they won't be posting a Sakurai article everyday??
Until now, I'm still amazed that Smash can get this big in terms of roster. Mad respect to Sakurai and his team. There won't be a game of this caliber for a while.
It was a great way to end the 2.5D smash bros, I look forward to the new direction in 5 years that makes it 3D
I may have never played Smash, but here’s the thing. I’m really happy that people are appreciating this man WHILE HE IS STILL ALIVE, instead of hash-tagging him after they hear about the persons death, which is usually the case.
So while I never played Smash, I still thank this guy for the positive vibes he is spreading. It’s so important to tell the people in your life that are meaningful to you how they positively impact you.
NINJA APPROVED
That was a miraculous conclusion. So many exciting things happened in that presentation, I can only say #ThankYouSakurai!
I don't even tend to use hashtags...
This guy,
I would have thank him just for giving us Kirby, hope he has a chance to drive his car all he wants
#ThankYouSakurai
@Varkster
And it was amazing to know Sakurai was willing to continue even after leaving HAL Laboratory, to fulfil a request from Iwata. He left Kirby only to work on something far bigger than he knew at the time.
And yes, now we can say Sora is in a game developed by Sora Ltd.
His goodbye message at the end hit me in a way I wasn't anticipating.
I've been a fan since the first game. Put in countless hours in 64, Melee, and Brawl. Watched as fighter reveals became a thing during the development of Brawl. Eagerly anticipated the arrival of the first Smash 4 DLC. And then I got to see new fighter reveals for Smash Ultimate enhanced even further with the addition of presentations featuring Sakurai himself.
...And now it's done, and I can't help but be depressed by that. It's only a game, but it was also a big part of my life. And the series itself may not be 100% over with and could wind up in the hands of a new team. But it really does feel like this is a definitive ending and it's affecting me in a way I didn't anticipate.
idk. I'm always going to be a fan. Can't think of any other way to sum up my thoughts.
And thank you, Sakurai, for being thankful to the people who thanked you in the first place.
But seriously, jokes and memes aside, thank you, Masahiro Sakurai. I don't know how you feel about being the public face of Smash, but, ultimately, I think you've done a good job. So thank you.
Sakurai's tweet translated with DeepL:
"The hashtag #ThankYouSakurai has been trending for a while now, and I've been reading about it.
I'm really grateful for this.
It's a result of the support of so many people!"
It's a shame DeepL isn't used more for Japanese translations, because it's much more accurate than Google Translate (at least in my experience).
Sak it to me, babyyyyyy
The cat in the video is extremely meowllow.
Thank you for all that you did for us videogame fans Mr.Sakurai.
Now enjoy your break.
I seem to recall that one of Iwata's last requests was for Sakurai to make Smash Ultimate the best it could possibly be. I believe that Iwata knows just what Sakurai accomplished and is smiling warmly and thanking him himself in his heart this very moment.
Thank you for everything you have done. You and your team have created so many memories for myself, and my brother. At the very least this is a proper send off for my favorite fighting game series, and even if there isn't a new one for a while, I will still be able to enjoy this one whenever I get around to purchasing it.
I’ve enjoyed seeing the Smash Bros series grow since it began. It’s been so much fun and I’ve always been excited to see new characters added. I’m glad to see so many people have also enjoyed Smash Bros. Thank you Sakurai and the Smash Bros team.
Crazy to think back on how much work has gone into this game since it’s inception. It’s an absolute banger, and such a massive achievement. Thank you 🙏
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