s personal opinion and not a guarantee.”
Masahiro Sakurai, creator of the Super Smash Bros. series, has been a prolific YouTube presence since starting his channel last year. The latest update, released on September 1st, touches on the past, but this time Sakurai also gives some thoughts on the future of his most successful project: Super Smash Bros.
The video tells the story of Sakurai’s involvement in the creation of Super Smash Bros. Brawl–specifically, it shares how Sakurai was unaware of the game until the late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced it during Nintendo’s E3 2005 press conference. Sakurai was in the audience for that announcement, and afterward Iwata asked Sakurai to lead the team in his hotel suite.
After sharing the story and speaking about how the development team was assembled, Sakurai spoke about the future of the Smash Bros. franchise, and where he may fall into it. He hypothesizes one option, which would be to hand the series over to another director, but he also has trouble envisioning that future.
“For now, at least, I really can’t imagine a Smash Bros. title without me,” Sakurai says in the video. “I feel the same way President Iwata did when we formed the team for Smash Bros. Brawl. At present, we simply do not have someone who could take the reins.”
He then goes on to say that Smash Bros. is an important title for Nintendo, and it’s “fair to assume” a new game will eventually release–though at this point the video flashes a brief asterisk emphasizing this to be Sakurai’s personal opinion and not a guarantee.