Tag: Masahiro Sakurai - Page 2
News Masahiro Sakurai On His Future: "I'm Still Creating Games For The Time Being"
The Smash Bros. creator shares an update
There has been quite a bit of conversation about the future of the legendary video game developer and Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai calling time on his career, and even he's spoken about this himself previously. Now, in the latest upload on his YouTube channel, Sakurai has briefly mentioned how he's...
Random Sakurai Wanted The GameCube Controller To Include A Scroll Wheel
"I want to choose fast!"
Masahiro Sakurai has revealed that during the development of the Nintendo GameCube, he had suggested that a scroll wheel be implemented into the design of the controller. In his latest YouTube video, Sakurai explains the reasoning behind the suggestion, stating that a scroll wheel might have several useful functions for...
Random Sakurai Showcases Some Of Nintendo's Oldest Character Art In Latest Video
With "extremely special" permission from the Big N
Masahiro Sakurai's YouTube channel has long been a one-stop shop for all things gaming history. Be it showcasing his awesome collection or putting his retro gaming skills to the test, you know that the legendary game designer will have
News Sakurai Is Sceptical That Future Smash Bros. Titles Can Match Ultimate's Scope
"It would be difficult to push it any further than we have"
Masahiro Sakurai, the director of the Smash Bros. franchise, has released a new video looking back on the development of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Switch. During the 12-13 minute presentation, Sakurai delves into the copious adjustments and additions required to make Ultimate...
Video Masahiro Sakurai Shows Off His Retro Game Skills In "Special" YouTube Collab
Competing against Game Center CX
Update #2 [Fri 20th Oct, 2023 03:30 BST]: Masahiro Sakurai is back for one final special with Retro Game Master. The games on show this time included Space Harrier (1985), Fantasy Zone (1986), Nekketsu Koha Kunio-kun, The Genji and the Heike Clans (1986), Darius, Contra,
News Masahiro Sakurai Is Teaming Up With 'Retro Game Master' For YouTube Crossover
First video will launch today
Update [Fri 13th Oct, 2023 09:30]: Masahiro Sakurai has confirmed that he will be teaming up with Retro Game Master (known as Game Centre CX in Japan) for his special YouTube crossover event. The first video will air today at 11am BST / 12pm CET and will be localised for Western audiences by 8-4, just like Sakurai's...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Showcases His Rare Gaming Collectibles
Autographs, engravings, and more
Being one of the most recognisable and influential figures in gaming, it should come as no surprise that Masahiro Sakurai has managed to accumulate a number of extremely rare collectibles over the years. In his latest YouTube 'Grab Bag' video, the legendary game designer has taken a bit of a different approach to...
Random Kirby's Dream Land Is All About Being "Kind To Beginners", Says Sakurai
A new challenge approaches
Everyone's favourite game developer-turned-YouTuber Masahiro Sakurai is back with another entry in his Creating Games series, and his latest video once again sees Kirby's Dream Land take centre stage. This time, Sakurai uses the classic Game Boy title to discuss the level of difficulty in video games and how it needs to...
Random "The Original Piece Is Always Right" - Sakurai Talks Smash Bros. Music
Musical mayhem
Legendary game developer Masahiro Sakurai is back with yet another entry in his Creating Games video series and this one is all about the difficulties of bringing classic video game soundtracks into a contemporary setting. Sakurai gives two examples from his time working on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (because why wouldn't you?) and...
News Sakurai Can't Imagine Future Super Smash Bros. Games Without His Involvement
"We don't have someone who can simply take the reins"
Legendary developer Masahiro Sakurai continues to pump out videos for his YouTube channel, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, in which he imparts invaluable advice and anecdotes on game development. In his latest video, he goes into how his development team was built for the 2008 Wii title,...
Random Sakurai Explains Why True Twin-Stick Controls Weren't Possible For Kid Icarus: Uprising
And yes, he still wants that Switch port
In his latest video in the 'Game Concepts' series, Masahiro Sakurai once again goes back to Kid Icarus: Uprising. This time, the legendary game designer breaks down the game's "unique" control scheme and explains the difficulties that the team had in developing the title. Part on-rails shooter, part...
Random Sakurai Explains The Basics Of Pixel Art In His Latest Video
Sprite skills
Legendary games developer Masahiro Sakurai has been making more videos than we can keep track of over on his YouTube channel, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games. While we haven't been able to cover each and every one of them on Nintendo Life, his latest upload caught our artistic eye. In this recent video, 'The Basics of Pixel Art',...
Random Sakurai's Latest Video Implores Publishers Not To Mislead Players
"Big no-no!"
Legendary developer Masahiro Sakurai has been putting out new videos left, right, and centre on his YouTube channel Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games; while we've not covered all of them here at Nintendo Life, his latest is an interesting lesson on how publishers should approach marketing, and it certainly piqued our interest. While...
News Masahiro Sakurai Gives Us A Tour Around Tons Of Smash Bros. Ultimate Stages
"Can you believe all of this was packed into one game?"
Kirby and Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai is showing no signs of slowing down thanks to his YouTube channel, where he shares insights on his history in the games industry and gives out advice based on past experience. His newest video, however, is a bit more simple, but it's a rather...
News Sakurai Says Working On DS Puzzler 'Meteos' Was A "Fascinating Challenge"
"I'm really bad at falling-block puzzle games"
Masahiro Sakurai continues to share insights into his storied history in the video game industry along with game design tips and his own philosophy. And today, the creator of the Super Smash Bros. series has pulled back the curtain on one of his first major projects after going freelance — the 2005 DS...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Shares Kirby Air Ride Stories In Latest Video
"The game shouldn't be about striving for perfection"
Masahiro Sakurai, the brilliant mind behind a library-full of our favourite Nintendo titles, has moved onto another development story in his latest YouTube video. This time, the discussion is all about Kirby Air Ride as the legendary creator discusses how the idea came to be, development...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Says He Prefers To Buy Video Games Digitally
Are you team digital or team physical?
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate creator Masahiro Sakurai has tackled a hot topic in his latest YouTube upload - discussing the pros and cons of digital and physical game collections. Sakurai admits he's "team digital all the way" and doesn't really consider himself to be a collector. Rather than focusing on the...
News Smash Bros. Creator Masahiro Sakurai Supposedly Confirms He's "Semi-Retired"
"He is 52 after all"
In a recent interview with Denfaminicogamer, the legendary video game developer Masahiro Sakurai apparently confirmed he is now semi-retired. He elaborated on this, mentioning how he worked on the Super Smash Bros. series for around nine years between the 3DS/Wii U and Switch release, along with the DLC updates. Sakurai feels...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Shows Off His Impressive Controller Collection
"Too many?"
You might have heard the phrase "there's no such thing as too many books" before, but can the same also be applied to console controllers? Your answer may depend on your current living situation and, crucially, how much space you have in the house, but we reckon most would agree that an extra pad here and there is nothing to be sniffed...
Random Sounds Like Masahiro Sakurai Wants A Kid Icarus: Uprising Port As Much As Us
"It sure would be nice"
Masahiro Sakurai has put out another video through his 'Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games' YouTube channel, this time looking at the implementation of difficulty settings. Focusing primarily on the 3DS action title Kid Icarus: Uprising, Sakurai explains the concept of risk and reward with difficulty, going into the 'Fiend's...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Talks Super Smash Bros. Melee In Latest Video
"We had no spare time whatsoever"
Legendary game creator Masahiro Sakurai continues to throw out one video after the next on his YouTube channel 'Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games', and his latest effort delves into the development of the GameCube classic Super Smash Bros. Melee. Widely regarded as one of, if not the best entry to the Smash Bros...
Random Forget Smash Bros., Masahiro Sakurai Wants To Talk About His Cat
"She's so cute!"
Now that Masahiro Sakurai is free from the bonds of Smash Bros., he's been running his own YouTube channel, covering a bunch of different topics from game design and UI to animation and sound effects. One of the series he has is called Grab Bag, which touches on more random stories, but all of them are still pretty much game-related...
News Sakurai Shares First Ever Footage Of Dragon King, The N64 Smash Bros. Prototype
The Dragon King rises
Masahiro Sakurai's new life as a YouTuber has really taken off, with the game developer sharing his thoughts, tips, and snippets of his own history in the industry. Today's video focuses on how Sakurai came up with the original Super Smash Bros. — you know, that tiny little Nintendo crossover beat 'em up that has ballooned...
Random You Can (Kind Of) Thank Toby Fox For Sakurai's English YouTube Channel
Undertale creator linked him with localisation company
Masahiro Sakurai opened English and Japanese YouTube channels a few months ago focused on video game development. In an update on his YouTube socials, the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director revealed how the Undertale creator Toby Fox kind of played a part in the process. Toby passed on details...
Due to his "deep" understanding of IPs
There's been a lot of conversation about the future of the Super Smash Bros. series since the development of Ultimate wrapped up, but if you ask Katsuhiro Harada about it, there's only one guy who can handle it. Speaking to IGN to promote Bandai Namco's next-gen fighter Tekken 8, director Katsuhiro Harada was...
Random Game Development Lecturers Are Already Showing Off Sakurai's Videos
Class is now in session
Masahiro Sakurai's YouTube videos are causing quite a stir in the video game community. With short, snappy delivery and easy-to-understand fundamentals, they're proving a hit with both industry veterans and newcomers alike. Now, as expected, it appears as though Sakurai's videos are already being utilised in game development...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Now Has One Million Followers On Twitter
He's also received two silver play buttons from YouTube
Japanese game director Masahiro Sakurai - responsible for some of the greatest crossovers in video game history - has recently hit one million followers on Twitter. Yes, he's now got a million fans checking out his social media account on a daily basis. According to Sakurai's profile, he...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Shows Off His Silver YouTube Play Button
His English channel now has more than 440k subs
Last month, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai launched his own YouTube channel about creating games in English and Japanese. Fans flocked to both channels and they quickly skyrocketed in subscribers. Now, just weeks later, he's shown off the silver Play Button he received from...
Random Is Masahiro Sakurai Throwing Shade At Pokémon's Trees?
"Don't just make a tree and be done with it"
Over the past few weeks, veteran game developer Masahiro Sakurai has been posting videos to his YouTube channel 'Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games', detailing various aspects of game development and how aspiring creators can apply it to their own work (don't worry though, we won't be covering all of them...
News Masahiro Sakurai Now Has More Than 700,000 YouTube Subscribers
The combined total of his English and Japanese channels
Update [Wed 31st Aug, 2022 05:45 BST]: Following on from the launch of Sakurai's YouTube channels last week which gained 200,000 subscribers in less than 24 hours (see the original story below), exactly one week later he's announced his channels have now exceeded a combined total of 700,000...
Video Masahiro Sakurai Breaks Down 'Risk And Reward' In Games
"Push and pull is the very core of game essence"
Masahiro Sakurai has posted his latest video on the process of creating games, this time focusing on the concept of "risk and reward" and how this forms part of a game's "core essence". Needless to say, if you're someone who's interested in game development, it sounds like a pretty crucial concept to...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Was The First To Praise Resident Evil 4's Camera System
Capcom's pioneering camera system made a huge impression
Resident Evil 4 is, by all accounts, one of the most critically acclaimed and influential games of all time. Released for the GameCube back in 2004 (before making its way to what felt like every console in existence), Capcom's soft reboot of the Resident Evil franchise went through several...
Video Masahiro Sakurai Talks About Frame Rates In Games
Sakurai: 60 fps is "ideal" and 30 fps is "adequate"
Masahiro Sakurai launched his very own YouTube earlier this week, and he's already discussed a number of interesting subjects about game development. In his latest video, he talks about how frame rates work in video games. He's also included his own thoughts about frame rates in games - mentioning...
News Masahiro Sakurai Has Launched His Own YouTube Channel About Creating Games
Smash director wants to help "make games more fun"
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai yesterday teased a new announcement, and today he's revealed it's his very own YouTube channel titled Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games. As the title suggests, this channel will be focused on game development and what exactly makes games fun to...
News Masahiro Sakurai Shares His Final Smash Bros. Ultimate Screenshot
And teases "something new"
At the beginning of this month, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai mentioned how he would run out of screenshots of the debug version at some point in August. Well, that day has finally come - with the much-loved game developer today sharing his final screenshot, taken from the debug version of the game...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Updated His Awesome Gaming Setup, Here's A Look
What's up with the Switch dock?
When he's not making huge games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, video game director Masahiro Sakurai is actually playing them. Yes, as you've likely already seen before, he's got an extensive collection of consoles and games (new and old). In a new post on social media, it seems Sakurai has updated his gaming space...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Reminds Nintendo Fans About 3DS & Wii U eShop Closure Dates
"It's my last chance"
As you probably know by now, Nintendo is discontinuing the 3DS and Wii U eShop as of 28th March 2023. And later this month on 29th August, you'll no longer be able to add eShop card funds (aka points) to accounts. This is happening worldwide, and as a result - Nintendo fans around the globe are grabbing certain digital titles...
News Masahiro Sakurai Is Almost Out Of Smash Ultimate Screenshots
"...it's looking like I'll run out sometime in August"
Even though Super Smash Bros. Ultimate "ended" with the release of the last Fighters Pass character — Kingdom Hearts' Sora — it still hasn't felt "over" for us. That's because Masahiro Sakurai, Mr. Smash Bros. himself, has continued a long-standing tradition of posting a new screenshot from...
Random Here's A Look At Masahiro Sakurai's Retro Video Game Collection
That's some neat filing
If you're looking for new ways to organise your retro video game collection, you might want to read on. Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Kirby and director of the Smash Bros. series, recently shared an image on social media of his impressive library of retro games. As you can see he's got draws stacked with cartridges like...
News Masahiro Sakurai Recently Had A Meeting With HAL Laboratory
New game when?
Although Masahiro Sakurai is now done with Smash Bros. Ultimate, it seems like he may not be slowing down any time soon. In a bit of an update on social media, the director of Nintendo's all-star Smash Bros. series revealed how he recently had an online meeting with his former employer, HAL Laboratory. He had no need to necessarily...
News Masahiro Sakurai Celebrates Kirby's 30th Birthday On Social Media
It's been 30 years since Dream Land
Today is a very important day in the history of the Kirby series. 30 years ago in Japan on 27th April 1992, the pink puff started out in his very first adventure - Kirby's Dream Land on the original Game Boy. The creator of Kirby was actually Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai, who at the time, worked at...
Video Sakurai Doesn't Make Kirby Games Anymore, Y'know
And neither does Nintendo!
Here at Nintendo Life, we know our audience is a smart bunch of cookies, so we know that you're all confident in the knowledge that Masahiro Sakurai - known most recently for his work on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - hasn't worked on a Kirby game in quite some time. Nor, indeed, has Nintendo itself! That doesn't mean,...
Random Get A First Proper Look Inside The Former Nintendo HQ Hotel
Looks like Masahiro Sakurai stayed recently, too
A week ago, 'Marufukuro', the former Nintendo HQ that has been turned into a hotel, opened to the public. Based in Kyoto, the building is hugely iconic for Nintendo fans, with many of them posing outside in front of the old sign. It's actually where the company was making playing cards and began...
Gallery Masahiro Sakurai's Best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tweets
Our favourite dev shots from the Smash Bros. creator
For a long time, Kirby creator and master of the Smash Bros. series Masahiro Sakurai posted near-daily Super Smash Bros. Ultimate screenshots on Twitter using his special debug build of the game. This developer-only mode let him line up angles and create special in-game shots that regular Smash...
News Sakurai Reflects On Every Super Smash Bros. Fighter Reveal In New Blog Post (Part 2)
Take a trip down memory lane
Last week, Nintendo shared a special 'Part 1' Super Smash Bros. Ultimate article on its official website. It's now back this week with 'Part 2' - which encourages fans of the latest game to reflect on the history of Ultimate with Masahiro Sakurai, as he talks about each of the fighter reveal scenes. Here's the full...
News Sakurai Reflects On Every Super Smash Bros. Fighter Reveal In New Blog Post
Half of them are here!
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate got its final DLC character last October in the form of Sora from Kingdom Hearts. It was a hugely exciting time, Sora's arrival in the game brought near-universal joy. People who didn't like Kingdom Hearts could see that the Keyblade-wielding boy had earned his place, while fans of the series were...
Feature Kid Icarus: Uprising, Nintendo's Most Daring Release Of The Last Decade
Remembering one of 3DS' most intriguing releases 10 years on
Yes, it's now an entire decade since Masahiro Sakurai was permitted to do something other than Smash Bros., so to mark the occasion, Mitch Vogel looks back on one of Nintendo's most ambitious and misunderstood titles... Let’s all take a step back and rewind the clock to June 2010, a...
News Sakurai Is Back To Work, But It Might Have "Nothing To Do With Game Production"
Smash Bros. creator gives a cryptic update
The creator of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate arguably deserves some much needed time off, but it sounds like Masahiro Sakurai is back at it again. This time, however, his work might not be game-related. As reported by our friends at GoNintendo, the industry legend shared some comments with Famitsu that...
News Sakurai Wins 'Most Valuable Creator' At Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2021
Monster Hunter Rise takes out GOTY
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai has been recognised by the Dengeki Game Awards as Japan's most valuable video game creator in 2021. This award was decided based on user voting within Japan. Sakurai shared the news with his followers over on Twitter, while also thanking everyone who supported...
News Sakurai Thinks It's Probably Best To Forget About Him For A While
If anything is in the pipeline it might take some time
Masahiro Sakurai was able to complete Super Smash Bros. Ultimate this year, but from here on out, it's not clear what's next. Although he's apparently not thinking about a new Smash Bros. entry right now, that doesn't mean he'll rule it out. He's also not even sure about his future in video...

















































