Masahiro Sakurai | |
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桜井 政博 | |
 Sakurai on the web show Harada's Bar in 2021 | |
| Born | August 3, 1970 Musashimurayama, Tokyo, Japan |
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| Spouse(s) | Michiko Sakurai |
Masahiro Sakurai (桜井 政博, Sakurai Masahiro, born August 3, 1970) is a Japanese video game director, game designer and songwriter[1] best known as the creator of the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series. Apart from his work on those series, he also led the design of Meteos in 2005 and directed Kid Icarus: Uprising in 2012.
Formerly an employee of HAL Laboratory, he left the company in 2003 and in 2005 with his wife Michiko Sakurai (also ex-Hal Laboratory), they founded Sora Ltd., a shell company that works on a freelance basis on several projects. He is also an author of a weekly column for Famitsu magazine, and has done voice acting work in some of his games, most notably providing the voice of King Dedede in Kirby 64 and the Super Smash Bros. series.
Career[]
Masahiro Sakurai was born on August 3, 1970, in Musashimurayama, Tokyo, Japan. One of Sakurai's earliest experiences in the video game industry began when he worked for HAL Laboratory, where he created the character Kirby at age 19 and directed his first title, Kirby's Dream Land.[2]
Sakurai left HAL on August 5, 2003, after growing tired of the sequelization passively forced by HAL, ending his work on the Kirby series. "It was tough for me to see that every time I made a new game, people automatically assumed that a sequel was coming," Sakurai commented, in an interview with Nintendo Dream, two weeks after he resigned from HAL. He explained that, "even if it's a sequel, lots of people have to give their all to make a game, but some people think the sequel process happens naturally".
Soon after, Sakurai began working on a project with Q Entertainment, along with Tetsuya Mizuguchi. This collaboration resulted in Meteos in 2005, a puzzle game for the Nintendo DS. On September 30, 2005, Sakurai announced that he had formed his own company, Sora.[3] Two titles were announced to be in development but no information on the titles had been divulged. As for the future of the Super Smash Bros. series, Nintendo and HAL Laboratory's President Satoru Iwata, during Nintendo's E3 2005 press conference, promised an online iteration of the game would come to Nintendo's video game console Wii.
In issue #885 of Famitsu magazine, Sakurai revealed that he would be serving as a director and game designer on Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released in 2008, after personnel borrowed from 19 different developer studios assisted in development.[4] Sakurai had been updating daily the Super Smash Bros Brawl website called the Smash Bros. Dojo. Starting a year previous the release, he revealed Brawl secrets and gameplay content through the site. The Smash Bros. Dojo had regular updates from May 22, 2007, to April 14, 2008.
On the final day of updates, it was revealed that Sakurai provided the voice for King Dedede in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards as well as Dedede in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He and his company, Sora Ltd. alongside Nintendo, started a first-party studio, Project Sora, which was 72% owned by Nintendo and 28% owned by Sora Ltd. It was revealed at E3 2010 that Sakurai and Project Sora were working on Kid Icarus: Uprising for the Nintendo 3DS. Project Sora was closed and ended development on June 30, 2012.[5] At E3 2011, Nintendo announced that Sakurai was working on Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Sakurai began development of the title upon the release of Kid Icarus: Uprising in March 2012.[6]
In February 2013, Sakurai was diagnosed with calcific tendinitis near his right shoulder, which caused him substantial pain whenever he moved his arm. He mentioned that this could effectively slow down his work, as he does some of his game testing himself.[7] Sakurai's wife, Michiko, has worked on the graphical user interface for many of his games, including Kirby Air Ride, Meteos, and the Super Smash Bros. series.[8]
In a January 2015 column in Weekly Famitsu, Sakurai alluded to the possibility of retirement, expressing doubt that he would be able to continue making games if his career continued to be as stressful as it was.[9] In December 2015, Sakurai once again stated that he was not sure if there would be another game in the Smash Bros. series,[10] prior to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate being released in 2018 with Sakurai once again as director.[11]
In March 14, 2022, Sakurai was awarded Best Creator by Weekly Famitsu. Sakurai also announced that he is working on a new project not related to game production.[12]
Works[]
| Year | Title | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Kirby's Dream Land | Director, game designer |
| 1993 | Kirby's Adventure | |
| 1996 | Kirby Super Star | Director |
| 1999 | Super Smash Bros. | |
| 2000 | Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards | Voice actor (King Dedede) |
| 2001 | Super Smash Bros. Melee | Chief director |
| 2002 | Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land | |
| 2003 | Kirby Air Ride | Director |
| 2004 | Kirby & the Amazing Mirror | Special advisor |
| 2005 | Meteos | Game designer |
| 2008 | Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Director, voice actor (King Dedede) |
| 2012 | Kid Icarus: Uprising | Director, scenario writer |
| 2014 | Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U | Director, voice actor (King Dedede) |
| 2018 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate |
References[]
- ↑ "Super Smash Bros Ultimate - Did You Know Gaming? Feat. Scott The Woz". Did You Know Gaming?. Event occurs at 6:02. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved January 10, 2021 – via YouTube.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ MacDonald, Keza (August 8, 2018). "From Kong to Kirby: Smash Bros' Masahiro Sakurai on mashing up 35 years of gaming history". the Guardian.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Gomez, John (2005-09-30). "GameDAILY, Glu, Climax, Mforma, THQ Wireless & More Make Moves". GameDaily BIZ. Retrieved 2006-05-11.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Iwata Asks: Super Smash Bros. Brawl". Wii.com. Nintendo of America. Archived from the original on 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ O'Brien, Lucy (2012-07-11). "Kid Icarus Uprising Developer Closes". IGN. IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Gantayat, Anoop (2011-06-08). "Smash Bros. U & 3DS development appears to be very early". andriasang.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Gifford, Kevin (February 27, 2013). "Why Masahiro Sakurai's bum right arm is hindering work on the new Smash Bros". Polygon.com. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Aengenheyster, Justin (2020-08-03). "Herzlichen Glückwunsch Masahiro Sakurai zum 50. Geburtstag!". n-Switch-on.de . Archived from the original on 2020-08-31. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Nakamura, Toshi (January 29, 2015). "Smash Bros. Could be its Creator's Last Game". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Makuch, Eddie. "Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS DLC Ending Soon Director Says". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Phillips, Tom (March 8, 2018). "Super Smash Bros. announced for Nintendo Switch". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ (in en) Sakurai Says He's Already Working on a New Project + Wins Best Creator, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mJUpI1rZAI, retrieved 2022-03-14
External links[]
| Kirby series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nintendo • HAL Laboratory | ||
| Games | Main series | Kirby's Dream Land • Adventure (Nightmare in Dream Land) • Dream Land 2 • Super Star (Ultra) • Dream Land 3 • 64: The Crystal Shards • The Amazing Mirror • Squeak Squad • Return to Dream Land (Return to Dream Land Deluxe) • Triple Deluxe • Planet Robobot • Star Allies • The Forgotten Land |
| Spin-offs | Pinball Land • Dream Course • Avalanche • Block Ball • Star Stacker • Tilt 'n' Tumble • Air Ride • Canvas Curse • Epic Yarn (Extra Epic Yarn) • Mass Attack • Rainbow Curse • Blowout Blast • Battle Royale • Super Kirby Clash • Fighters 2 • Dream Buffet | |
| Collections | Dream Collection | |
| Characters | Kirby • King Dedede • Meta Knight | |
| Media | Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (Episodes) • Kirby of the Stars | |
| People | Masahiro Sakurai • Makiko Ohmoto • Satoru Iwata • Shigeru Miyamoto • Shinya Kumazaki • John Kirby • Jun Ishikawa | |
| People | Super Smash Bros. • NES Remix • Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition • Kirby Café | |
| Kid Icarus series by Nintendo | ||
|---|---|---|
| Games | Kid Icarus • Of Myths and Monsters • Uprising | |
| Other media | Kid Icarus: Uprising Trading Card Game • Thanatos Rising • Medusa's Revenge • Palutena's Revolting Dinner | |
| Characters | Pit • Palutena • Hades • Medusa • Viridi | |
| Universe | Angel Land • Three Sacred Treasures • Palutena's Army • Forces of Nature • Aurum | |
| Related | Captain N: The Game Master • Super Smash Bros. • Masahiro Sakurai | |
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |