Nintendo’s crossover fighting game series, Super Smash Bros, wouldn’t exist without the company’s former president Satoru Iwata, according to creator Masahiro Sakurai.
During an interview with Japanese singer-songwriter Gen Hoshino, Super Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai was asked about his employment interview with the late Satoru Iwata at HAL Laboratory, and how it affected his work. In response, he said that if it weren’t for Iwata, he may not have joined HAL Laboratory in the first place. Furthermore, he mentioned that if Iwata hadn’t made the initial prototype for Smash Bros, the series may not have even existed.
Sakurai also revealed that if Iwata hadn’t asked him to make Super Smash Bros Brawl after he left HAL Laboratory, the series would likely have died out. As such, the former Nintendo president influenced the Smash Bros director in many ways.
On the subject of being self-taught, Sakurai mentioned that, when it comes to his craft, he learned a lot on his own. That is why he always suspects that there is a more efficient way than his way. He mentioned that directors are usually alone, and it is extremely rare for them to join other projects and see how others do things. In that sense, he has hardly ever stolen skills from his superiors or seniors. He believes that he grew and learned in a very unique manner. He doesn’t know whether Iwata was able to see this trait in him during his employment interview, but he thinks that the former Nintendo president believed that if he was given the job, he would be able to produce results. He summed it up by saying that Iwata was a really special person.
As for what Sakurai is working on next, it is believed that his upcoming title is a new entry in the Super Smash Bros series.
