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{{Infobox Person
{{Infobox Person
| name           = Masahiro Sakurai
| name = Masahiro Sakurai
| image         = [[Image:Masahiro Sakurai.jpg]]
桜井政博
| date_of_birth  = August 3, 1970
| image = [[Image:Sakurai.jpg|250px]]
| place_of_birth = Tokyo, Japan
| caption = Sakurai in 2008
| occupation     = Video game director & designer
| image_size =
| date_of_birth  = August 3, 1970 (age 37)
| place_of_birth = {{Japan}} Tokyo, Japan
| date_of_death  =
| place_of_death =
| occupation = video gamedirector, game designer
| spouse =
| parents =
| children =
}}
}}
'''Masahiro Sakurai''' (桜井政博, ''Sakurai Masahiro'') (born August 3, 1970, in Tokyo, Japan) is a game concept designer, the creative force behind [[Nintendo]]'s [[Kirby (series)|Kirby series]] and the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Super Smash Bros.'' series]] and the author of a weekly column for ''[[Wikipedia:Famitsu|Famitsu]]'' magazine.
During the development of ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', '''Masahiro Sakurai''' (creator of the ''[[Kirby (universe)|Kirby]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. (universe)|Super Smash Bros.]]'' series) maintained a site called "[http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/index.html Smabura-Ken]" for Japanese visitors. After the announcement of ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', a new site similar to Smabura-Ken was announced, titled [[Smash Bros. Dojo]]. Unlike Smabura-Ken, Smash Bros. Dojo was made available in both English and Japanese, although the Japanese version of the site has featured certain elements not present in the English version. Later added to the site were American English and British English versions, as well as Spanish, French, German, and Italian once the site was revamped.


One of Sakurai's earliest experiences in the video game industry began when he worked for [[HAL Laboratory]] It is here that he created the character [[Kirby]] at the age of 19. He would soon direct his first title, ''[[Wikipedia:Kirby's Dream Land|Kirby's Dream Land]]''.  
He is also the author for the weekly columns of ''Famitsu Weekly''.


Sakurai resigned from his position at HAL Laboratory on August 5, 2003, leading many to believe that the ''Kirby'' and ''Super Smash Bros.'' series would cease to continue. Reasons for his departure are said to be because he was seeking more freedom and was not happy with the structure that was present at HAL Laboratory. Most of all, however, Sakurai grew tired of the sequelization of the industry and at HAL.<ref name="msresign">{{Cite web |url=http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=489&page=5 |title=Conceiving Sickeningly Cute Puffballs |accessdate=2006-11-29 |last=Bayer |first=Glen |publisher=N-Sider |pages=p5}}</ref><ref name="msprof">{{Cite web |url=http://www.n-sider.com/personnelview.php?personnelid=982 |title=Masahiro Sakurai's N-Sider profile |accessdate=2006-11-29 |publisher=N-Sider}}</ref>
He provides the voice acting for [[King Dedede]] [http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/gamemode/various/various38.html]


His resignation came just days after an interview where he openly criticized Nintendo for circumstances surrounding the development of the [[Nintendo GameCube]] racer ''[[Wikipedia:Kirby Air Ride|Kirby Air Ride]]''. He has publicly stated that he wishes HAL to continue working on the ''Kirby'' series. It is known that Masahiro Sakurai holds no resentment towards his past at HAL Laboratory, or his old characters. To this day, Sakurai's signature is a Kirby face.
==Biography==
One of Sakurai's earliest experiences in the video game industry began when he worked for [[HAL Laboratory]], Inc. It is here that he created the character [[Kirby]] at the age of 19. He would soon direct his first title, [[Kirby's Dream Land]].


After his departure with HAL in August 2003, Sakurai began working with Q Entertainment, along with [[Wikipedia:Tetsuya Mizuguchi|Tetsuya Mizuguchi]]. This collaboration resulted in ''[[Wikipedia:Meteos|Meteos]]'', a unique puzzle game for the [[Wikipedia:Nintendo DS|Nintendo DS]].
Sakurai resigned from his position at HAL Laboratory, Inc. on August 5, 2003, leading many to believe that the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series would cease to continue. Reasons for his departure are said to be because he was seeking more freedom and was not happy with the structure that was present at HAL Laboratory. Most of all, however, Sakurai grew tired of the sequelization of the industry and at HAL.


On September 30th 2005, Sakurai announced that he had formed his own company, [[Sora Ltd.]].<ref name="sora">{{Cite web |url=http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/movers/?id=10707 |title=GameDAILY, Glu, Climax, Mforma, THQ Wireless & More Make Moves  |accessdate=2006-05-11 |last=Gomez |first=John |date=2005-09-30 |publisher=GameDaily BIZ}}</ref> Two titles have been announced to be in development but any information on the titles, other than that they are in development, has not yet been revealed.
::"It was tough for me to see that every time I made a new game, people automatically assumed that a sequel was coming," said Masahiro Sakurai on August 26, 2003, in an interview with Nintendo Dream, two weeks after his resignation from HAL Laboratory. "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."


As to the future of the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, former HAL Laboratory President and current President of Nintendo, [[Satoru Iwata]], during the Nintendo E3 2005 press conference, promised an online iteration of the game would come to the [[Wii]], Nintendo's current-gen video game console. In issue #885 of ''Famitsu'', Sakurai first revealed that he will be serving as a director and game designer on ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' for the Wii, which has been confirmed to have online battles.
His resignation came just days after an interview where he openly criticized the company for circumstances surrounding the development of the [[Nintendo GameCube]] racer Kirby Air Ride. He has publicly stated that he wishes HAL to continue working on the Kirby series. It is known that Masahiro Sakurai holds no resentment towards his past at HAL Laboratory, or his old characters. To this day, Sakurai's signature is a Kirby face.
 
After his departure with HAL in August 2003, Sakurai began working with Q Entertainment, along with Tetsuya Mizuguchi. This collaboration resulted in Meteos, a unique puzzle game for the Nintendo DS.
 
On September 30 2005, Sakurai announced that he had formed his own company, [[Sora Ltd]]. Two titles have been announced to be in development but any information on the titles (other than that they are in development) has not yet been divulged.
 
As for the future of the [[Super Smash Bros.]] series, former HAL Laboratory President and current President of Nintendo, [[Satoru Iwata]], during the Nintendo 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 first revealed that he would be serving as a director and game designer on Nintendo's highly anticipated game Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the console.
 
Sakurai has recently completed development of [[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]. He developed the game, despite personnel borrowed from Game Arts being put in charge of preliminary development of it. Brawl was released on January 31, 2008 in Japan and was released on March 9, 2008 in North America. The release date for Brawl in Europe and Australia is June 27th.


==Smash Bros. DOJO!!==
==Smash Bros. DOJO!!==
{{Main|Smash Bros. DOJO!!}}
{{Main|Smash Bros. DOJO!!}}
Sakurai created a site in the form of a [[Wikipedia:Blog|blog]] for information regarding ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' called [[Smash Bros. DOJO!!]]. Every weekday he updates the site with updates about characters, stages, modes, and much more.
Sakurai created a site in the form of a [[Wikipedia:Blog|blog]] for information regarding ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' called [[Smash Bros. DOJO!!]]. Every weekday, he updated the site with updates about characters, stages, modes, and much more.


==References==
As of April 14th, 2008, the Smash Bros. DOJO!! is no longer updated daily.
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[[Wikipedia:Masahiro Sakurai|Masahiro Sakurai on Wikipedia]]
{{Art-wikipedia|Masahiro Sakurai}}
*[http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/index.html Smabura-Ken]
*[http://www.smashbros.com Smash Bros. Dojo]


[[Category:VIP]]
[[Category:Game developers]]
[[Category:Nintendo people]]
[[Category:Nintendo people]]

Revision as of 13:12, August 2, 2008

Masahiro Sakurai

桜井政博

File:Sakurai.jpg
Sakurai in 2008
Born August 3, 1970 (age 37)
Template:Japan Tokyo, Japan
Occupation video gamedirector, game designer

During the development of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Masahiro Sakurai (creator of the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series) maintained a site called "Smabura-Ken" for Japanese visitors. After the announcement of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a new site similar to Smabura-Ken was announced, titled Smash Bros. Dojo. Unlike Smabura-Ken, Smash Bros. Dojo was made available in both English and Japanese, although the Japanese version of the site has featured certain elements not present in the English version. Later added to the site were American English and British English versions, as well as Spanish, French, German, and Italian once the site was revamped.

He is also the author for the weekly columns of Famitsu Weekly.

He provides the voice acting for King Dedede [1]

Biography

One of Sakurai's earliest experiences in the video game industry began when he worked for HAL Laboratory, Inc. It is here that he created the character Kirby at the age of 19. He would soon direct his first title, Kirby's Dream Land.

Sakurai resigned from his position at HAL Laboratory, Inc. on August 5, 2003, leading many to believe that the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series would cease to continue. Reasons for his departure are said to be because he was seeking more freedom and was not happy with the structure that was present at HAL Laboratory. Most of all, however, Sakurai grew tired of the sequelization of the industry and at HAL.

"It was tough for me to see that every time I made a new game, people automatically assumed that a sequel was coming," said Masahiro Sakurai on August 26, 2003, in an interview with Nintendo Dream, two weeks after his resignation from HAL Laboratory. "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."

His resignation came just days after an interview where he openly criticized the company for circumstances surrounding the development of the Nintendo GameCube racer Kirby Air Ride. He has publicly stated that he wishes HAL to continue working on the Kirby series. It is known that Masahiro Sakurai holds no resentment towards his past at HAL Laboratory, or his old characters. To this day, Sakurai's signature is a Kirby face.

After his departure with HAL in August 2003, Sakurai began working with Q Entertainment, along with Tetsuya Mizuguchi. This collaboration resulted in Meteos, a unique puzzle game for the Nintendo DS.

On September 30 2005, Sakurai announced that he had formed his own company, Sora Ltd. Two titles have been announced to be in development but any information on the titles (other than that they are in development) has not yet been divulged.

As for the future of the Super Smash Bros. series, former HAL Laboratory President and current President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, during the Nintendo 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 first revealed that he would be serving as a director and game designer on Nintendo's highly anticipated game Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the console.

Sakurai has recently completed development of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He developed the game, despite personnel borrowed from Game Arts being put in charge of preliminary development of it. Brawl was released on January 31, 2008 in Japan and was released on March 9, 2008 in North America. The release date for Brawl in Europe and Australia is June 27th.

Smash Bros. DOJO!!

Main article: Smash Bros. DOJO!!

Sakurai created a site in the form of a blog for information regarding Super Smash Bros. Brawl called Smash Bros. DOJO!!. Every weekday, he updated the site with updates about characters, stages, modes, and much more.

As of April 14th, 2008, the Smash Bros. DOJO!! is no longer updated daily.

External links