Smash Bros. Creator Breaks His Silence On Wanting To Quit
Masahiro Sakurai, creator of the "Super Smash Bros." series, always stirs up fans when it comes to any talk of retirement. Just earlier this year, he said he might be on his way out, which may have come as a surprise to many fans of Nintendo's ultimate crossover series. However, longtime followers probably know that the "Smash Bros." legend has already thought of quitting more times than he could count. On that topic, the "Smash Bros." creator revealed some of his more intimate thoughts on retirement during a recent episode of Harada's Bar, a talk show hosted by "Tekken" director Katsuhiro Harada.
In the episode, Harada and Sakurai discussed how their generation was obsessed with the idea retiring at age 60, though Sakurai seemed to have a different path in mind. Sakurai, who is only 51 years old, doesn't see the typical retirement age as a limit. He said how others his age often think they only have "10 years left," but he personally believed in continuing to work even after 60.
"Contributing to society even after 60, if you can, is something you have to think about no matter what job you do," Sakurai said. "If you can still do what you're good at, and if there's demand, you can just do it. If not, you can just change what you do." However, that doesn't mean that the iconic game director hasn't considered quitting — a lot.
The only reason Sakurai would consider quitting
Sakurai went on to explain that he "can't count how many times" he's wanted to quit in the past, but also that he'll continue working for as long as fans are demanding his output. However, he admits that making games is "really tough." In fact, when fans ask what kind of game Sakurai wants to make, he feels conflicted on what to say.
"'There's no game I want to make'... is what I'd like to say," he joked. "But basically, games are just more fun to play than make, guys."
He touched upon how game development could be like a "path of thorns" and how one can cut their life short just by continuing to make games. For example, he explained, even if you work your hardest, there will be others unhappy with your work. But despite all that, Sakurai thinks he will continue to work for as long as he can.
The "Smash" fandom generally loves Sakurai, but he's still receives his fair share of flak for the characters included in "Ultimate." For context, Pyra/Mythra caused an uproar and so did "Fire Emblem's" Byleth. In Sakurai's defense, he already warned fans beforehand that he wasn't entirely in control of which "Super Smash" DLC characters would make the lineup. Either way, any controversy over characters doesn't seem to have swayed him thus far.
"If your heart gets broken you can quit," Sakurai told Harada. "But if not and there's demand, you can keep doing it forever."