Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Super Smash Bros., reveals the reasons for discontinuing the production of cutscenes in the recent Smash games. Read on to learn his explanations, and more.
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In his Youtube channel, Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Kirby and Super Smash Bros., reveals the reason they decided to halt the production of elaborate character reveal cutscenes in games. He explains the decision was made due to consistent leaks of the cutscenes online, usually before their release, and uploaded by the press they provided pre-release copies for.
Sakurai mentions that he saw the reveal cutscenes as special rewards for players progression in the adventure mode, "Subspace Emissary." However, he reasons that since these "rewards" would find their way online time and time again, their status as such were deemed less effective.
As he was in a situation where he can represent very unique crossovers across different franchises, he aimed to create concrete and charming cutscenes with interactions between them in-game. He opposes them losing their charm when easily uploaded to Youtube, and goes on to relate it to the struggles narrative games face in the modern age of the internet. "They really weren’t much of a reward, so I decided to stop making movies that cut in during gameplay. It’s a tough time to be making story-driven games," he exclaims.
Started Making Reveal Trailers In Their Place
Nevertheless, the dilemma didn’t hinder Sakurai, as he pivoted entirely to the Fighter Reveal Videos we all know today. In order to combat leaks and maintain excitement, he would direct and commission special CG trailers to reveal new fighters that were coming to the Super Smash Bros. franchise. They would usually hold short stories pertaining to the arriving character, or merely the character receiving a strange letter sealed with Smash’s iconic logo. Sneak peeks of their gameplay would also be included, with a more in-depth discussion on their moveset and abilities in a separate video hosted by Sakurai himself.
Years passed, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Nintendo Switch now boasts 37 famous trailers spanning from dozens of different franchises not limited to Nintendo.
Sakurai expresses skepticism about the Super Smash Bros. franchise expanding further, given that its current roster is already so extensive. It would be insanely difficult to hold a candle to the sensation that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was. The cultural impact worldwide upon the internet of its Fighter Reveals was staggering, as the announcements would always "Break the internet" no matter who it was revealed to be.
Though Sakurai had to pivot from in-game cutscenes much to his dismay, it ultimately led to arguably greater success from the popularity of their eventual replacement in the Fighter Reveals. No matter if you agree or disagree with his line of reasoning, we can only give Sakurai praise for his innovations in the gaming industry. He is now trying to give to the future generation of game developers, with his Youtube channel chock full of game design and development tutorials.
