Sakurai would have considered dropping Pac-Man in Smash if not allowed to use old-school design
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 29 Comments
Pac-Man ended up in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS as one of the new roster additions. He’s also one of the few third-party characters in the game. But had things not gone Sakurai’s way, it’s possible that Pac-Man wouldn’t have been included in Smash.
In an interview coming from “Think About the Video Games” published earlier this month, Sakurai discussed how he pushed for Pac-Man’s old school design. If he wasn’t allowed to use it and instead needed to feature the version from Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, he “thought about dropping Pac-Man altogether.”
He said:
Pac-Man’s design was updated in a 2013 CGI cartoon titled, “Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures.” This new design has been used in a variety of products. But in the end I felt that his old-school design was better, and used that in the design plan. If that was rejected, I thought about dropping Pac-Man altogether.
Sakurai’s full column on bias claims for the Smash Bros. roster, balancing
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 26 Comments
Masahiro Sakurai’s latest Famitsu column has now been translated in full. Two big topics were addressed in his piece: those who say Sakurai has a bias for certain characters, and overall game balance.
Continue on below to check out the column transcript. The full translation comes courtesy of Source Gaming.
When it comes to Smash, every once in a while people will wrongly direct their anger towards me. They accuse me of things such as giving preference or strength to the characters that I’ve worked on in the past—in other words, the Kirby and Kid Icarus series characters. Oh my.
However, if I had worked on the Mario series, people would say, “You’re favoring Mario too much,” wouldn’t they? The same would hold true for Fire Emblem, Pokémon or Starfox. The truth is, though, I put a lot of work into all the characters. It’s a mix of labor, love, and fine tuning.
Complete translation of Sakurai’s latest Famitsu column about Smash Bros. DLC
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 10 Comments
Source Gaming has put together a complete translation of Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai’s latest column in Famitsu. As we mentioned last night, this new piece is entirely about downloadable content. Read on below for the translation.
In the Users’ Eye section of this magazine, “Sm4sh for 3DS” was the top scoring game of 2014 with an average of 9.58! Personally, I’ve never seen such high marks before, and I would like to thank you for your incredible support.
As I have mentioned in this column, Smash is made up of the incredible hard work and sacrifice of myself and others. I, too, acknowledge, that developing the Smash games is the best way to satisfy the most players worldwide.
Sakurai talks a bit about Smash Bros. DLC
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 59 Comments
Masahiro Sakurai’s latest column in Famitsu is all about downloadable content. That makes sense, given how Nintendo just recently announced plans to expand Smash Bros. with additional fighters and Mii Fighter outfits.
Sakurai’s column seems to defend DLC for Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS by saying it’s “genuine” compared to day-one DLC. He also mentioned that DLC for the two games is made for the fans.
One excerpt from Sakurai’s column reads:
It’s a huge undertaking to create a fighter, so I think we can’t make them in large quantities. I’d also like to feel refreshed when the project is over. However, since we have decided to tackle [DLC] once, I’d like to offer as much fun [content] as possible. It will take a while from now, but please look forward to it.
Smash Bros. Mewtwo DLC just came out for Club Nintendo members last week, and will be available for purchase to all players starting on April 28. There are also plans to introduce Lucas in June, along with other roster additions. Fans can vote on the character they want to see included over on the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot.
Sakurai still dealing with shoulder issues
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
We first learned that Masahiro Sakurai has been dealing with calcific tendinitis in his right shoulder about two years ago. His condition has improved at least slightly based on what’s written in his latest Famitsu column, though he’s still dealing with the physical problems.
Sakurai wrote:
“I still have trouble with my shoulder and the symptoms of tenosynovitis still remain, so I’m forced to use a special mouse that clicks by inclining for work. If I was to button mash, my arm would give out in 10 minutes.”
Sakurai is currently busy with downloadable content for Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS. Mewtwo and Lucas are on the way, with more DLC characters to come.
More: Famitsu, Masahiro Sakurai
Takamaru was considered as a playable fighter for Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 105 Comments
Yesterday, a short video surfaced in which Masahiro Sakurai stated that Mewtwo DLC for Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS was nearly finished and will be released “pretty soon”. But that wasn’t the only significant piece of information shared by Sakurai.
According to Sakurai, Takamaru from The Mysterious Murasame Castle was initially considered as a fighter for the new Smash Bros. entries. Unfortunately, he didn’t make the cut due to the perceived lack of familiarity among Nintendo fans. This took place before development on Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS actually began.
We’ll also mention that Sakurai is aware of the crazy Miiverse requests for fighters, like Goku and SpongeBob. Naturally, there’s no way such characters would make it into Smash Bros.
Source, More: interview, Masahiro Sakurai, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS, top
Sakurai says Mewtwo DLC for Smash Bros. is releasing soon
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 63 Comments
Masahiro Sakurai, director of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, provided an updated on the upcoming Mewtwo DLC at a recent event in Japan. Thankfully, it sounds like it won’t be too much longer before the character becomes available.
Sakurai said that work on Mewtwo “is pretty much done” and the DLC will be released “pretty soon.” Fans are advised to wait for an announcement from Nintendo.
Sakurai Smash Bros. Diaries recap – dual-platform release, characters, and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments
Game Informer has published the full Smash Bros. Diaries from Masahiro Sakurai, which were included in the magazine’s previous issues. We’ve covered them quite a bit in the past (not to mention what Sakurai shared in Famitsu that had similar information). Still, there are some interesting comments here.
Head past the break for some excerpts. You can find the complete Smash Bros. Diaries on Game Informer here.
Sakurai talks a bit about virtual reality
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
The latest issue of Famitsu has another column from Masahiro Sakurai. Rather than writing about Smash Bros., he chose to focus on another topic: virtual reality.
Sakurai discusses the scene of virtual reality in quite broad terms, like dizziness and the reluctance to wear goggles. He himseslf received an Oculus Rift DK2, and says that you can test many sample software from the Oculus website.
“It is very enjoyable,” he wrote. “Amazing! Everything that comes into view, the game world. The feeling is really different compared to a usual game.”
Sakurai also says in his piece:
VR goggles are like a TV, so it should be up to developers to freely decide what content is projected. At the same time, however, developers should properly consider how to overcome dizziness and negative factors. If games and 3D worlds are just blindly turned into VR, the future looks slim.
More: Famitsu, Masahiro Sakurai
Smash Bros. soundtrack is not able to be sold due to liscensing
Posted on 9 years ago by Kirara Koneko(@KiraraKoneko) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
Some lucky Club Nintendo members are already starting to see their copies of the Super Smash Bros. soundtrack arrive.
Inside the soundtrack there would appear to be a message from Masahiro Sakurai in which he explains that although the soundtrack was unavailable for sale due to licensing issues there are glad to be able to offer it as a special present.
Ok this is interesting, according to Sakurai's liner notes, they can't sell the Smash soundtrack due to rights issues pic.twitter.com/ks0Xfuiz71
— Kyle McLain (@FarmboyinJapan) February 2, 2015
"We can't SELL a Smash CD due to licensing issues, so I'm glad we could offer it to you as a PRESENT."
— Kyle McLain (@FarmboyinJapan) February 2, 2015
