Masahiro Sakurai continued his YouTube career with a new video today that dives into the process he went through to create Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It’s filled with loads of behind-the-scenes information, including the fact that the game’s original proposal document included hopes for VR functionality.
Sakurai explains that he finished his initial design proposal for Ultimate on the same day that Nintendo posted the final Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U presentation. That means that, when Bayonetta was revealed to be that game’s final DLC fighter in December of 2015, Sakurai had already started work on the next game. The proposal document, which essentially served as an outline for the creator’s plans for new features, had more than 200 pages of content by the time final revisions were made in 2016.
“Looking back, I’m surprised I pulled it off, given how extremely busy I was at the time,” Sakurai said, “but I had to stay ahead if I wanted to keep the dev team together. Continuing straight into it without any time to rest was quite the challenge, but it had to be done.”
Not every proposed feature made it into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, though some ideas that didn’t make the cut initially were eventually brought back. Virtual reality fighting might be the most notable feature mentioned in Sakurai’s video today, as he says VR support was touched on in the document. Again, this is in 2015, or at the latest, 2016, years before Switch players learned about Nintendo’s cardboard-based VR technology, Nintendo Labo, which launched in the spring of 2018. VR did eventually come to Smash Bros., however, with an update adding support in 2019. It’s not clear what the original outline for the mode detailed.
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Elsewhere in Sakurai’s YouTube video, he gives an update on his thoughts regarding the future of Super Smash Bros.. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much more to share, as it sounds like he’s still on the fence about how the fighting game crossover series could continue after going all-out with Ultimate.
“As for what comes next for the Smash Bros. series, even I’m not sure,” he said. “I feel like we truly succeeded in making people happy with this game, but now that Smash Bros. has grown to be monstrous in size, I’d say it’s difficult to imagine an increase of this magnitude happening again.”
Sakurai continued: “Every time, we managed to make a game I had previously thought impossible, so I can’t say for certain that there won’t be another, but I do think it would be difficult to push it any further than we have.”
For now, Sakurai considers his next project to be his YouTube Channel, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games. Now more than a year old, the page gives viewers insight into the process that goes into video game development. There are hours of tips here from one of the industry’s most beloved creatives, so if you’re ever interested, catching up on his videos isn’t the worst way to spend your time. Whether Sakurai’s next game is another Super Smash Bros., something entirely new, or not a game at all, you can be sure to read about it here.
