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{{ArticleIcons|series=y}} | {{ArticleIcons|series=y}} | ||
{{Infobox Person | {{Infobox Person | ||
|name = Masahiro Sakurai | |name = Masahiro Sakurai<br>桜井政博 | ||
桜井政博 | |image = [[File:MasahiroSakurai.png|250px]] | ||
|image = [[File:MasahiroSakurai.png|250px]] | |caption = Masahiro Sakurai in Nintendo's E3 2018 presentation. | ||
|caption = Masahiro Sakurai in Nintendo's E3 2018 presentation. | |date_of_birth = {{DoB|1970|8|3}} | ||
| | |place_of_birth = {{Flag|Japan}} Tokyo, Japan | ||
|date_of_death = | |||
| | |place_of_death = | ||
| | |occupation = Video game director, game designer, founder of Sora Ltd. | ||
| | |spouse = Michiko Sakurai | ||
|occupation = Video game director, game designer, founder of Sora Ltd. | |parents = | ||
|spouse = Michiko Sakurai | |children = | ||
|parents = | |||
|children = | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Masahiro Sakurai''' ({{ja|桜井政博|Sakurai Masahiro}}), born August 3, 1970, is a Japanese game developer, creator, writer, and voice actor. His most notable creations as a game developer include the {{uv|Kirby}} and ''{{b|Super Smash Bros.|series}}'' series, both of which he created and developed during his tenure with [[HAL Laboratory]], a second-party developer for Nintendo. He has since continued his work as director of the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series through his own company [[Sora Ltd.]], which he founded in 2005 after his 2003 departure from HAL Laboratory. | '''Masahiro Sakurai''' ({{ja|桜井政博|Sakurai Masahiro}}), born August 3, 1970, is a Japanese game developer, creator, writer, and voice actor. His most notable creations as a game developer include the {{uv|Kirby}} and ''{{b|Super Smash Bros.|series}}'' series, both of which he created and developed during his tenure with [[HAL Laboratory]], a second-party developer for Nintendo. He has since continued his work as director of the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series through his own company [[Sora Ltd.]], which he founded in 2005 after his 2003 departure from HAL Laboratory. | ||
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One of Sakurai's earliest experiences in the video game industry began when he worked for HAL Laboratory, Inc. It is there that he created the character [[Kirby]] at the age of 19. He would soon direct his first title, ''[[Kirby's Dream Land]]''. | One of Sakurai's earliest experiences in the video game industry began when he worked for HAL Laboratory, Inc. It is there that he created the character [[Kirby]] at the age of 19. He would soon direct his first title, ''[[Kirby's Dream Land]]''. | ||
Sakurai first devised the concept for ''Smash'' in 1998, working on a prototype then known as [[Dragon King: The Fighting Game]]. At the time, the project featured no existing Nintendo properties, and Sakurai was focused on creating unique platform fighter mechanics to differentiate the title from traditional fighting games. However, Sakurai decided that the inclusion of Nintendo characters would provide the game with more atmosphere, giving it a unique selling-point to set it apart from a sea of fighting games with generic characters. The final product, ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'', was released in January 1999 (in | Sakurai first devised the concept for ''Smash'' in 1998, working on a prototype then known as [[Dragon King: The Fighting Game]]. At the time, the project featured no existing Nintendo properties, and Sakurai was focused on creating unique platform fighter mechanics to differentiate the title from traditional fighting games. However, Sakurai decided that the inclusion of Nintendo characters would provide the game with more atmosphere, giving it a unique selling-point to set it apart from a sea of fighting games with generic characters. The final product, ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'', was released in January 1999 (in Japan) and became an unexpected hit, eventually becoming one of the best-selling Nintendo 64 games. | ||
As the [[Nintendo GameCube]] neared release, Sakurai was named head of production for the development of ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', once again developed at HAL Laboratory. He recalls living a "destructive lifestyle" during the game's development period, with short weekends and no time off in 13 months of work.<ref name=sharpest>{{cite web|last=George|first=Richard|title=Super Smash Bros Creator: "Melee The Sharpest"|url=http://uk.ign.com/articles/2010/12/09/super-smash-bros-creator-melee-the-sharpest|publisher=IGN}}</ref> The game was unveiled at {{h2|Electronic Entertainment Expo|E3 2001}} and released shortly after in November 2001. ''Melee'' surpassed the popularity of its predecessor and eventually became the GameCube's highest-selling game of all time. Critical reception of the game was also positive, with some publications naming it among HAL Laboratory's finest works. | As the [[Nintendo GameCube]] neared release, Sakurai was named head of production for the development of ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', once again developed at HAL Laboratory. He recalls living a "destructive lifestyle" during the game's development period, with short weekends and no time off in 13 months of work.<ref name=sharpest>{{cite web|last=George|first=Richard|title=Super Smash Bros Creator: "Melee The Sharpest"|url=http://uk.ign.com/articles/2010/12/09/super-smash-bros-creator-melee-the-sharpest|publisher=IGN}}</ref> The game was unveiled at {{h2|Electronic Entertainment Expo|E3 2001}} and released shortly after in November 2001. ''Melee'' surpassed the popularity of its predecessor and eventually became the GameCube's highest-selling game of all time. Critical reception of the game was also positive, with some publications naming it among HAL Laboratory's finest works. | ||
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Sakurai also supervised the lyrics for ''Ultimate'''s theme song, "[[Lifelight]]". | Sakurai also supervised the lyrics for ''Ultimate'''s theme song, "[[Lifelight]]". | ||
On September 13th, 2019, Sakurai won 4 Tokyo Game Show awards and confirmed that ''Ultimate'' will only have content from video games.<ref>https://youtube.com/watch?v=_J1yGa3SY-Y</ref> | On September 13th, 2019, Sakurai won 4 Tokyo Game Show awards and confirmed that ''Ultimate'' will only have content from video games.<ref>https://youtube.com/watch?v=_J1yGa3SY-Y</ref> | ||
Starting from December 27th, 2019, Sakurai began posting screenshots from the development version of ''Ultimate'' daily to his Twitter account, in similar vein to ''Smash 4'''s "Pic of the Day".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Sora_Sakurai/status/1210396156049518592|title=Sakurai begins sharing dev screenshots from ''Ultimate''}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/PushDustIn/status/1210398709571129344|title=Translation of the Sakurai's dev screenshots tweet}}</ref> | Starting from December 27th, 2019, Sakurai began posting screenshots from the development version of ''Ultimate'' daily to his [[Twitter]] account, in similar vein to ''Smash 4'''s "Pic of the Day".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Sora_Sakurai/status/1210396156049518592|title=Sakurai begins sharing dev screenshots from ''Ultimate''}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/PushDustIn/status/1210398709571129344|title=Translation of the Sakurai's dev screenshots tweet}}</ref> This concluded on August 23rd, 2022. | ||
==''Super Smash Bros.'' Websites== | ==''Super Smash Bros.'' Websites== | ||
Starting in 1999, Sakurai wrote and maintained [[Smabura-Ken|Sumabura-Ken]], a website which in its various incarnations detailed the content and gameplay of ''Smash 64'', ''Melee'', and ''Brawl''. The ''Brawl'' website was the first to have Sakurai's updates translated from Japanese to other languages; the English version was known as the {{SSBB|Smash Bros. DOJO!!}} Though a separate [[Super Smash Bros. 4 Official Site|official website]] was created for ''Smash 4'', Sakurai posted daily updates about the games' development to the [[List of Director's Room Miiverse posts|Director's Room]] {{b|Miiverse|social network}} community throughout 2013 and 2014, and the current Miiverse "pic of the day" also appeared on the official site. The [[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site|official website]] for ''Ultimate'' also featured daily updates from Sakurai up until the game's release date, which are also available through a [[Nintendo Switch]] News Channel. | Starting in 1999, Sakurai wrote and maintained [[Smabura-Ken|Sumabura-Ken]], a website which in its various incarnations detailed the content and gameplay of ''Smash 64'', ''Melee'', and ''Brawl''. The ''Brawl'' website was the first to have Sakurai's updates translated from Japanese to other languages; the English version was known as the {{SSBB|Smash Bros. DOJO!!}} Though a separate [[Super Smash Bros. 4 Official Site|official website]] was created for ''Smash 4'', Sakurai posted daily updates about the games' development to the [[List of Director's Room Miiverse posts|Director's Room]] {{b|Miiverse|social network}} community throughout 2013 and 2014, and the current Miiverse "pic of the day" also appeared on the official site. The [[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site|official website]] for ''Ultimate'' also featured daily updates from Sakurai up until the game's release date, which are also available through a [[Nintendo Switch]] News Channel. | ||
==''Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games''== | |||
On August 23, 2022, Sakurai launched his own [[YouTube]] channel on game design for aspiring game creators.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Sora_Sakurai/status/1562273496960380928|title=Sakurai announces the creation of his YouTube channel''}}</ref> On this channel, Sakurai uploads 2-5 minute videos on various game design tips and mechanics, such as [[hitstop]]. To better help illustrate his points, Sakurai uses real gameplay footage from other games, among those games being the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. With the approval of Nintendo, Sakurai will also use behind the scenes material like older builds and design documents from ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''. On January 9, 2024, he announced in a YouTube community post he was planning to wrap up Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games sometime in 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxUMxRmMfZn7mDYoSb9Tgsu1ku4WirzbuT|title=I'm planning to wrap up Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games sometime this year.}}</ref> | |||
There are two versions of the channel, one in Japanese and another in English. | |||
==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
*Sakurai provided voice acting for [[King Dedede]] in ''{{s|wikirby|Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards}}'', ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''.<ref name="Dedede">{{cite web |url=http://www.smashbros.com/wii/en_us/gamemode/various/various38.html |title=Smash Bros. DOJO!!: Smash Trivia |accessdate=2010-11-17 |date=2008-04-14 |publisher=Nintendo |quote=Brawl’s director, Masahiro Sakurai, provided the voice for King Dedede.}}</ref> | *Sakurai provided voice acting for [[King Dedede]] in ''{{s|wikirby|Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards}}'', ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''.<ref name="Dedede">{{cite web |url=http://www.smashbros.com/wii/en_us/gamemode/various/various38.html |title=Smash Bros. DOJO!!: Smash Trivia |accessdate=2010-11-17 |date=2008-04-14 |publisher=Nintendo |quote=Brawl’s director, Masahiro Sakurai, provided the voice for King Dedede.}}</ref> | ||
*Sakurai's wife, Michiko Sakurai (née | *Sakurai's wife, Michiko Sakurai (née Takahashi), worked on the user interface for many of his games, including ''Meteos'', ''Kid Icarus: Uprising'', and the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, as well as other HAL Laboratory projects such as ''Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards''<ref>http://kyoto-report.wikidot.com/michiko-sakurai</ref>. In the original ''Super Smash Bros.'', she additionally designed the [[Title screen|title]] and [[Character selection screen|character selection]] screens, as well as the [[Peach's Castle]], {{SSB|Mushroom Kingdom}}, and {{SSB|Yoshi's Island}} stages<ref>http://themushroomkingdom.net/ssb_credits-full.shtml</ref>. | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
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*[http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/index.html Smabura-Ken] | *[http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nalj/smash/flash/index.html Smabura-Ken] | ||
*[http://www.smashbros.com/wii Smash Bros. DOJO!!] | *[http://www.smashbros.com/wii Smash Bros. DOJO!!] | ||
*[https://www.youtube.com/c/sora_sakurai_en Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games], [https://www.youtube.com/c/sora_sakurai_jp Japanese channel] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
{{Important persons}} | |||
[[Category:Game developers]] | [[Category:Game developers]] | ||
[[Category:Nintendo people]] | [[Category:Nintendo people]] | ||
[[Category:Voice actors]] | [[Category:Voice actors]] | ||
[[Category:YouTubers]] | |||
[[Category:Kirby universe]] | [[Category:Kirby universe]] | ||
[[Category:Super Smash Bros. universe]] | [[Category:Super Smash Bros. universe]] | ||
[[Category:Super Smash Bros. series]] | [[Category:Super Smash Bros. series]] | ||