Super Smash Bros. creator may be done with series
If you're a fan of Super Smash Bros., you probably know who Masahiro Sakurai is. He's overseen the cross-franchise brawling series ever since it began on Nintendo 64, but according to a recent interview with Game Informer (via CVG), the most recent pair of titles may be his last.
"I can't positively declare there won't be [another Smash Bros. game]," Sakurai said. "With both Melee and Brawl, I made those games with the thought that there wouldn't be any more sequels. Thus, I really can't deny the chance for another. However, as for myself, I don't think there will be."
Sakurai's been upfront about how a medical condition in his left arm, which makes it painful to operate a controller, and long hours of overtime working on the game have worn him down in recent years. On the other hand, releasing a Smash Bros. game any less jam-packed with features would likely provoke outrage from fans - giving players more and more value for their money 'wound up tightening the noose' around Sakurai's neck, as he said.
Even though he'd like to see the series continue without him, he's not sure someone else could take his place. I'd hate to see him go, but if Sakurai does decide to bow out from the franchise after a decade and a half, he couldn't ask for a much stronger legacy than Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
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I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.