Tag: Masahiro Sakurai
News Among Us Quickens Masahiro Sakurai's Pulse, But He's Not Sure How Long It Will Remain Popular
"It isn't a game that allows you to come up with a clear strategy when playing"
You've likely seen that outside of directing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Masahiro Sakurai writes a regular column for Famitsu. Having previously shared his PlayStation 5 thoughts and calling Cyberpunk 2077 a "
Random Masahiro Sakurai Calls Cyberpunk 2077 A "Dream Game"
That's one way to put it
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...
Random Sakurai Won't Be Sharing As Many Smash Ultimate Photos Next Year
Update: And here's his last shot of 2020
Update [Thu 31st Dec, 2020 03:35 GMT]: Masahiro Sakurai has now posted his final Super Smash Bros. Ultimate photo for 2020. Here it is: Original article [Tue 29th Dec, 2020 03:30 GMT]: Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai is known on Twitter for uploading photos of Ultimate, but next year he'll slow...
Random Sakurai's Nod To Super Mario RPG In His Latest Smash Ultimate Photo
"He had to show Geno"
Geno's Mii Fighter costume made a return to the Smash Bros. series this week, and although it's a bit of a letdown for some - as we've already said this weekend, it's arguably better than nothing. To acknowledge the return of this outfit, Super Sma
News Sakurai's Smash Bros. Sephiroth Broadcast Will Run For About 35 Minutes
Presenting the next DLC fighter
This week, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game director Masahiro Sakurai is hosting a special presentation for the upcoming DLC fighter Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII. He was first revealed to the world at last week's Game Awards show. The broadcast itself will take place on 17th December (2 PM PT / 5 PM ET) and during...
Random Smash Bros. Director Masahiro Sakurai Shares His Thoughts About The PlayStation 5
Highly recommends Astro's Playroom
Even the legendary video game director Masahiro Sakurai needs a break every once and a while, so what does he do when he's not working on new fighters and content for the Nintendo Switch title Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? He plays other games and systems on his insane gaming setup, of course. In his latest...
News Sakurai Wanted To Import Minecraft Stages Into Smash, But Gave Up Because It Was "Impossible"
At least he tried
Minecraft is all about creating and crafting things, so it's no surprise Masahiro Sakurai wanted to incorporate this in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate when he was working on the Steve and Alex fighter DLC. A fan-made mod recently demonstrated how it's possible to import skins from Minecraft into the game, and it seems Sakurai had...
Random Sakurai Didn't Appreciate The "Rough" Comments During TGS, So He Decided To Turn Them Off
"I couldn't stand it"
This year, like every other convention, the Tokyo Game Show was transformed into an online-only event. Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai appeared during one segment and gave out an award to the indie title Baba is You, while briefly showcasing it. When he wasn't busy helping out with the show, like everyone else,...
PSA Use A Wired Connection When Playing Smash Bros. Ultimate Online
Sakurai insists
At the very end of the latest Super Smash Bros. Ultimate broadcast, Masahiro Sakurai briefly touched on the game's 8.1 update and mentioned how the team made improvements to the online multiplayer. In addition to this, he also advised players to use a wired connection when playing Smash online - rather than a wireless one: "
News A Closer Look At The Small Battlefield Stage In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Part of the 8.1.0 update
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has just been updated to version 8.1.0. You can view the full patch notes in our other post. The highlight, as already noted, is the new smaller-size battlefield stage. The online experience has also been improved. Although the patch notes don't really go into detail about this stage, game...
News Today Is Masahiro Sakurai's 50th Birthday
Happy birthday, Sakurai-san!
Masahiro Sakurai, creator and director of the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series, turns 50 years old today, 3rd August. One of Sakurai's earliest career highlights came when he was just 19 years old, designing our favourite pink blob Kirby and directing the character's first ever game, Kirby's Dream Land. Since then,...
Random Smash Bros. Fans Think They've Identified Masahiro Sakurai's Couch
Is this the one?
Sure, sure, we've seen Sakurai's insane gaming setup, but wouldn't you like to know more about the couch he was sitting on during the latest Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter reveal? Obsessive fans in Japan think they've now identified the exact model - or at least the brand of the couch - he sits on when he's at home. According...
It's been a while
The announcement of the ARMS fighter Min Min for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was presented in the form of a lovely animated trailer. It featured all of her fellow competitors along with the pink puffball Kirby and Captain Falcon - who was slurping down a bowl of ramen. Towards the end of the broadcast, the game's director Masahiro...
Random The Smash Bros. ARMS Presentation Gave Us A Better Look At Sakurai's Insane Gaming Setup
How many PlayStations is too many PlayStations?
Today's Smash Bros. Ultimate presentation didn't just show us which ARMS character is coming to the game – it also gave us a nice glimpse at Masahiro Sakurai's utterly amazing home gaming setup. Back i
News Smash Bros. ARMS Presentation To Take Place From The Comfort Of Sakurai's Home
Hopefully he'll be in an ARM-chair
On Friday, Nintendo announced it would be revealing the next fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in a broadcast next week. The "roughly 35-minute-long" event will take place on place on Monday, 22nd June at 3pm BST / 4pm CEST / 7am PT / 10am ET and will be hosted by the series' director Masahiro Sakurai. What...
Random Poor Old Sakurai Can't Even Reveal What Games He's Playing Anymore
Smash Bros. fans can't help but speculate
Masahiro Sakurai likes to play video games just as much as his fanbase, but due to his role as the director of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he has to exercise extreme caution nowadays. Even though he plays "a lot" of games in his spare time, in his latest Famitsu column this week, Sakurai explains how it's...
News Masahiro Sakurai Celebrates Kirby's Birthday With An Amusing Smash Bros. Pic
28 years on
While it's not exactly a major milestone, Masahiro Sakurai – the creator of Kirby – has decided to celebrate the pink puffball's 28th birthday on Twitter, by sharing a funny Smash Bros. Ultimate screenshot replacing the heads of Ganondorf and Cloud. In a follow-up tweet underneath this, Sakurai mentions how it can often be a...
News Sakurai To Work On Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Remotely Due To Coronavirus
Japan poised to declare state of emergency
With Japan set to announce a state of emergency for seven prefectures – including the gaming hubs of Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka – Masahiro Sakurai has announced via Twitter that he will be picking up the development of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate remotely. He goes onto say that security su
It creates "a better flow"
For a very long time now, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai has been sharing a 'Pic of the Day' over on Twitter. While he's previously explained how a lot of these screens were never intended to be shown outside of the office, in his most recent Weekly Famitsu column, he revealed the idea behind it –...
News Masahiro Sakurai Says "It's A Total Blank Slate" After He Finishes Smash Bros. Ultimate's DLC
What could be next?
Masahiro Sakurai is dedicated to making Super Smash Bros. Ultimate the best fighting game it can possibly be. That's why he's working around the clock, and sometimes even risking his own health to meet certain deadlines. Although there's a "high probabilit
One meetup already "postponed indefinitely"
Earlier this week, Masahiro Sakurai's regular column in the Japanese magazine Famitsu leaked online early. While early translations indicated the development of the upcoming DLC fighters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate could potentially be impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, we've now got a full...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Was So Tired He Passed Out While Bathing At The Gym
Oh dear...
For the past year now, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai has been working around the clock to develop additional DLC fighters. He puts excessive hours in the game's creation and often doesn't take breaks. He has even spoken about his health issues previously and how it has required him to rethink his work-life balance...
News No, The Wii U Version Of Battlefield Isn't Being Added To Smash Bros. Ultimate
Sakurai stamps out speculation
Earlier this week, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai uploaded a picture from the Switch entry to Twitter, featuring Pit from the Kid Icarus series (see above). It sent many of his followers into a frenzy, as the Battlefield level in the background (picturing Inkling Girl) was actually the one from
News No Smash Ultimate DLC Expected Beyond Fighters Pass 2, No Future Smash Games Planned
The future's a mystery
The latest Famitsu column written by Super Smash Bros. series director Masahiro Sakurai has leaked online, with early tidbits revealing a number of details about the future of the series. With thanks to translations by @PushDustIn, we can see that the six additional fighters planned to release in the form of Super Smash Bros
News Sakurai Understands There Are Too Many Fire Emblem Reps In Smash, Says It's Time To "Move On"
"It’s something that’s already been decided"
Article updated - Sun 9th Feb, 2020 07:00 GMT: Earlier this week, in his latest Famitsu column, Masahiro Sakurai touched on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate having too many Fire Emblem characters and sword fighters. While he understands what the fanbase is
News Sakurai Knows Smash Bros. Has Too Many Fire Emblem Characters, But It's Nintendo's Fault
A character he liked 'wasn't given preference'
With the addition of Fire Emblem: Three Houses' Byleth, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate now features eight playable fighters from the Fire Emblem universe. The situation has frustrated fans for a while now, with the most vocal believing that characters from other series deserve recognition in place of more...
Post-launch DLC "already falls outside the mission"
Hobonichi – the company owned by Mother creator Shigesato Itoi – has been publishing new interviews with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai, and during one of these, he speaks about the untimely death of former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. In the interview – translated...
News Sakurai Discusses Two N64 Prototype Projects, One Of Which Led To Super Smash Bros.
Ever heard of Dragon King?
These days, every gaming fan under the sun is aware of the franchise-spanning beast that is Super Smash Bros., but did you know about how it originally took shape under the name of a prototype known as 'Dragon King'? Smash series director, Masahiro Sakurai, has discussed both this and another unfinished prototype destined...
Random Smash Bros. Director Masahiro Sakurai Played 242 PlayStation Games Last Year
"I wonder how many it would be [with Switch included]?"
Super Smash Bros. has become more than just a celebration of Nintendo, but rather a celebration of all things gaming thanks to the frankly ridiculous roster available in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It's no surprise really, especially when you consider that its creator is also a fan of games...
Random Sakurai's Three Finger Hand Gesture Has Sent The Internet Absolutely Bonkers
It's a meme now
At the time of writing, there are 34 hours left until Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai reveals the all-star fighting game's fifth DLC character. The show is expected to be roughly 35 minutes long and will provide an "in-depth look" at the upcoming fighter. Nothing else has been shared about the fighter, but one...
Gallery Masahiro Sakurai Shares The Photos He's Taken In Smash Bros. Ultimate
And they're amazing!
Have you ever taken a photo in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and then wondered what Masahiro Sakurai's in-game screenshots look like? Are they are as crazy and creative as all the other photos uploaded and shared on Nintendo's online mobile app? If anything, they're probably more impressive than the average user photo. According...
News Masahiro Sakurai Reminds Us He's Still Working Hard On DLC Fighters For Smash Bros. Ultimate
No time to rest
As you might recall, this week the Japanese magazine Famitsu was hosting a special 'corporate' Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament featuring a number of local firms. One rather big surprise included Nintendo's competitor PlayStation. In the end, Taisho Pharmaceutical wo
News What Sakurai Really Meant When He Said Smash Bros. "Is For Good Boys And Girls"
If it wasn't already obvious enough
If you tuned into Masahiro Sakurai's Terry Bogard video demonstration earlier this week, you'll probably remember the part when he mentioned Super Smash Bros. Ultimate "is for good boys and girls", so the team decided to exclude the Fatal Fury
News Masahiro Sakurai Hosting Smash Bros. Ultimate Terry Bogard Livestream On 6th November
And Version 6.0 will "arrive soon"
It looks like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fans will soon be able to play as SNK's Terry Bogard – with Nintendo announcing Masahiro Sakurai is hosting a 45-minute "video livestream" on 6th November, featuring an in-depth look at the upcoming fighter. Below is the official announcement, via the Nintendo Versus...
News Masahiro Sakurai Is Appearing On Next Week's Dragon Quest XI S Launch Stream
Celebrating the Switch release
Square Enix has announced the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai will appear on the fourth Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age live stream, airing next week. It'll start at 9 PM JST on 26th September and run until 1 AM JST on 27th September, and is celebrating the launch of the game on...
Random Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Is About Video Games, So Don't Expect Goku Or Iron Man
Masahiro Sakurai reiterates the guidelines
The latest Super Smash Bros. game for the Switch is the ultimate entry in the series. It brings together a roster of fighters that most fans have dreamed of for many years now. Sonic against Mario - sure! Rare's Banjo-Kazooie up against Ryu from Street Fighter - no problem! Despite a seemingly unlimited...
News There's "No Way" Future Smash Bros. Games Will Have As Many Fighters As Ultimate, Says Sakurai
It is "the ultimate collaboration title"
Super Smash Bros. series director Masahiro Sakurai has said that there's "no way" any future games in the series will feature as many fighters and series representations as Ultimate, fittingly describing it as "the ultimate collaboration title". In his Japanese Famitsu column (which has been translated by...
Random Sakurai Tells Nintendo Fans To Check Out The Original Banjo-Kazooie On Xbox One
Seriously.
During the special Banjo-Kazooie presentation today, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai explained how Microsoft was more than happy for the bear and bird to join Nintendo's all-star brawler. Sakurai himself was "extremely grateful" and also noted how Rare welcomed the idea with open arms. With the iconic duo now...
News Smash Bros. Ultimate Video Presentation On 30th July Will Reveal The Hero's Release Date
Featuring Masahiro Sakurai
Update: It appears that Nintendo of Europe may have accidentally leaked the release date ahead of time. Original Article: Nintendo has announced a special Super Smash Bros. Ultimate video presentation featuring Masahiro Sakurai will be taking place on 30th July for the next DLC fighter, Hero from the
News Creating Smash Ultimate's Fighter Reveals Takes "A Great Number Of People", Says Sakurai
Other Nintendo departments drafted in
It might sound a little bit silly to say, but one of favourite parts of any new Super Smash Bros. game release is the build-up to its launch, mostly because of the internet-breaking character reveal trailers. In a new column in Japanese publication, Famitsu, series director Masahiro Sakurai has shared several...
News Sakurai Says Getting Banjo-Kazooie In Smash Bros. Ultimate Came "Quite Easily"
Was nervous to work with Dragon Quest
Super Smash Bros. series director Masahiro Sakurai has explained that securing Banjo and Kazooie as playable characters for Ultimate came "quite easily", despite the IP now being owned by Microsoft. The information comes from Sakurai's latest column in Japanese magazine Famitsu. In the column (which has been...
News The Next DLC Fighter For Smash Ultimate Will Be Revealed At Nintendo's E3 Direct
In case you were wondering...
At major fighting game tournaments nowadays, developers and publishers tend to reveal new content once a winner has been crowned. While Nintendo fans were hoping this would happen at the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate World Championship, unfortunately, it didn't. Instead, we got a brief message from the game's director...
News Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Wins Famitsu Game Of The Year Award
Alongside Monster Hunter: World
If Super Smash Bros. Ultimate hasn't already received enough praise, it's now taken out Famitsu's 2018 Game of the Year Award alongside Monster Hunter: World. It's a similar situation to the previous year when The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Dragon Quest XI both won. The game's creator Masahiro Sakurai...
News Sakurai Battled Through Health Issues With An IV Drip During Smash Ultimate Development
"I just get an IV drip and go to work like normal"
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...
Video Did You Know Gaming Takes A Look At Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Smashing stuff
Now that the majority of Switch owners have played Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Did You Know Gaming recently uploaded a lengthy video sharing a bunch of interesting facts, secrets and easter eggs about the game. It turns out the project plan for this game was dated around the same day as the final Super Smash Bros. presentation for...
Video Sakurai Declined Offer To Work On Oculus VR Games Because Of The Small Audience
Not enough users for his liking
When you read or hear the name Masahiro Sakurai, you're likely to think of the Super Smash Bros. series or the famous pink puffball, Kirby. Either way, this legendary video game director and designer has commonly been associated with multiple Nintendo projects over the duration of his career. There was one point,...
News Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Balance Isn't A Concern For Masahiro Sakurai
It’s doing just fine according to battle data
Competitive games can be an absolute nightmare to balance due to a number of different factors in play. In the case of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, you would think it would be near impossible to keep each fight fair when there are now 75 playable characters. Apparently, though, each of the fighters in...
Random Sonic Team Composer Gets Masahiro Sakurai To Sign His Copy Of Smash Bros. Ultimate
What a nice guy
Masahiro Sakurai - the creator of the Super Smash Bros. series - isn’t only idolised by fans of his games, there are also people within the video game industry who consider him to be a living legend. One of these individuals is Sonic Team composer Tomoya Ohtani, who provided some remixed tunes for Sakurai's latest release on...
News Masahiro Sakurai Thanks Fans For Playing The Super Smash Bros. Series Over The Past 20 Years
No, thank you
The Super Smash Bros. series started out life in 1999 as a humble party game on the Nintendo 64 for up to four players. Since then, Masahiro Sakurai and his team have improved each entry by adding more characters, levels and features. Most recently, we saw the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Switch. Unsurprisingly, it was...
News Masahiro Sakurai Reveals He Plays Smash Bros. Ultimate For Fun Just Like The Rest Of Us
Fancy a match, Sakurai-san?
It's been well documented over the years that each and every Super Smash Bros. game takes an awful lot of development, and every so often we hear stories of director Masahiro Sakurai overworking to the point of exhaustion before being forced to consider retiring from games altogether. Amazingly, though, this doesn't stop...
