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Sakurai: "If we Direct Smash ONLY at The Competitive Players, It Will Have No Future."

Mrwhatzitooya

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It sounds to me a little like Sakurai doesn't fully understand the potential of his own game! Competitive Smashers and Casual Smashers love the series equally, and to be able to appeal to BOTH parties without making one feel left out is a spectacular achievement for a fighting series.
 

#HBC | Red Ryu

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Awaiting a more official translation with a less HEY LOOK AT THIS type of tittle. If this happens to be the actual case, congrats Sakurai, you pulled competitive smash as a whole back to pre-invitiational period. Let's just forget the No Johns and everything else.

little rant on for glory mode below/compeititvre viewpoints, ignore if you wish.

Otherwise, for anyone claiming that smash 4's for glory mode is a legit example of Sakurai looking at us, if that actually happens to be his viewpoint I can understand this article if it happens to be what the author of this blog post said.

You guys still do realize that For Glory is 50 Shades of Final Destination, right?

I would like to note that outside of an old Youtube vid/otherwise meme concerning fox and final destination, we don't play on FD only and FD isn't even the most common stage in either Melee or brawl (or 64 but well, the stage is only game shark hackable.) He treated us as a joke when it was listed as FD only?

You do realize that he didn't actually input a proper ranking system and specifically said they wouldn't. He surely made smash 4 a more competitive game. I actually think that tripping was removed was since everyone disliked the idea, not just the comp community.

But that is obviously just my opinion, right?
The idea was to make a mode people could agree on and compete 1v1 on.

Given how Japan treated Brawl til the end of it's run I can see why it ended up as it did, vs battlefield only etc.
 

CrossoverMan

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Let's look at this from Sakurai's perspective. He originally created this series as a little side project to cater to fans of Nintendo characters and lore. Now, suddenly, he has a whole new community which I think doesn't really know very well who worship his older games and give him ridiculous amounts of pressure whenever he's about to make a new one. Smash Bros was simply a game made for friends and families to play together while huddled on the sofa.

However, I do think that he was a bit below the belt with how he spoke about competitive Smash. It's a testament to his team's skill at programming that Smash can be played in so many different ways. It's like the fighting game equivalent of Disney Infinity, except he wasn't even trying to make the games so varied. But I know that a lot of people really like playing competitively and put lots of time, effort, and money in order to let players play how they want to.

I think it is just a case of him getting the wrong impressions of hardcore Smash fans. A lot of this community and others can be a bit... Overzealous about a simple video game. I guess that Sakurai is just a little bit sick of trying to cater to everyone, even the people who won't be happy with anything he does. Also, even the best authors and designers get annoyed with people misinterpreting their work, but he can't stop people from playing games the way they want to.
 
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Panda334

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To the people saying I only read the bolded parts, look I don't want to argue. I've had enough of that **** on other forums okay. But yes I did read the whole thing. and YES I appreciate your opinions. I am new and don't know where to start so I don't want to have a bad beginning. and yes I read the whole thing :)
 
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Ryu Myuutsu

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No, it definitely is. It's not one's personal demands, it's quite literally deliberately eschewing the entire competitive community.

It's like asking for someone other than George Lucas to direct the next Star Wars because he's butchered it so bad. And a bunch of little kids shout "But we liked Episode 1! Jar Jar was a great character in a kids movie."
He isn't eschewing anybody. You are simply making a rushed conclusion, misinterpreting and exaggerating his words and pulling the victim card to boot.
If that was the case, he could have made Smash 4 a Brawl 2.0 instead. But he didn't, since Smash 4 is stands as a middle ground between casuals and competitives. He simply wants people to play not just 1 on 1, however he also added that how you play the game is up to you, not that people would pay attention to that anyways.
I also don't agree with his viewpoint but that's ok, because that doesn't stop me from playing the game how I want it and I feel it delivers on both sides.

And yes, wanting someone fired on the spot for saying that is still childish and not understandable at all no matter how you look at it.
 

Saikyoshi

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No he really didnt.
I'm sure everyone is only reading the bolded parts and not eveything else
As a matter of fact, I did read the whole thing. Yes, he said he was glad there were multiple ways to play, but the rest of the interview contradicts that. The potshot at Mewtwo, the possible implication that game balance is a downgrade... He all but said "**** off and bother someone else, Meleetards".

It's as if the comment about being glad there were so many ways to play was obligatory. The phrase "I'm not racist, but..." comes to mind.
 

Jellyfishn

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My translation of the highlighted paragraph:
"If you are talking about 'serious battling' (In Japanese this is also the phrase they use for "For Glory"), there are lots of other fighting games that are designed for that type of play, so personally I sometimes think that those people should play those games. When you look at 'Smash' ONLY from a serious aspect, the game itself doesn't have a future."


'Only' is the key word left out in the paragraph in the article. I read that last sentence and it sounds like to me, he is thinking about making money for the company and keeping Smash what it is. He is not saying smash as a competitive game has no future.
 

D.A. RAFA

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He created the game as a party game. He said that in several interviews.

He did the patches because, while it is mainly a party game, he still needs to acknowledge the competitive base.
There are a large amount of players who prefer to play it competitively, so he can't ignore them, but his main focus is the general audience, and he wants to make it as much a party game as he can.
And that's COMPLETELY okay because HIS EMPLOYER put him on the project to make a game for EVERYONE not just competitive smashers. Once people start to see that he's just doing his job and that he, along w/ everyone else, IS ENTITLED TO HIS OWN OPINION on that matter, then ppl will start to relax. But I honestly don't feel the need to start openly insulting the man responsible for making the very game we've come to love for over 15 yrs. KIDS....PLEASE....GROW UP. - Grown Ass Man.
 
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platomaker

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Great. Sakurai just gave every other fighting game community more of a reason to hate on Smash and call it 'just a children's party game'.
on the contrary, they just made it clear how much different smash is from other fighting games. Am I alone in thinking how goofy street fighter is getting? What the heck is Oni akuma? When's the reboot?
 

Rambeard

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Why must Sakurai be such a butt? He has been proven wrong time and time again. Smash has a future whether he likes it or not.
 
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Ryu Myuutsu

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I recall something else he said before. Sakurai once said that the type of games he makes are not necessarily the ones he is very fond to play. So there, even if Sakurai doesn't like people to play a game a certain way he is not going to going to impede them from doing it either.
 

Jerm

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I feel his statement has been misinterpreted. Not necessarily mistranslated but the point Sakurai is trying to make has been taken out of context. Like some people have mentioned on here already-Sakurai is probably saying that Smash as only a competitive fighting game has no future. Smash, of course, is much more than only a competitive game because it is appealing to a wide variety of different players. Besides, if Sakurai's point of view was in line with this he would have never gone out of his way to create for glory/omega's/that tournament mode that should be dropping on Wii U anytime now.
 
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D.A. RAFA

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As a Japanese translator, I think that the paragraph highlighted could be translated better. Sakurai was not firing shots at the competitive community whatsoever. Just look at the paragraph before it. Play the game the way you like it.
Nah Bro! What do you know? You only know the very language the man speaks and can DIRECTLY interpret what the original text says. You know nothing about what he was saying. You are a fool. smh. LMAO.l
 

DrRek

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I disagree with Sakurai, Melee is fun regardless of skill level. And Smash 4 had pulled in a huge competitive crowd as well as casual gamers. The thing is, the base mechanics of this are focus on fighting opponent(s). And fighting is inherently competitive, Smash is a fighting game disguised as a party game with all of its RNG and stage hazards. If Sakurai wants to make a non-competitive game, a fighting game is the worst genre he could have chosen.
So who wants to start working PM2: Smash 4 edition? Cuz Sakurai clearly had no interest in it.
 

CrossoverMan

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on the contrary, they just made it clear how much different smash is from other fighting games. Am I alone in thinking how goofy street fighter is getting? What the heck is Oni akuma? When's the reboot?
By reboot I assume the recently revealed Street Fighter V is what you mean, which is probably due in late 2015, I guess. Also, Oni is pretty cool in Ultra Street Fighter IV. Don't diss.
 

PlateProp

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I see his point. His vision was to create a game for the entire family, one that they could all enjoy, and that wouldn't be hard for new players to get into. Sure, it turned out differently, and he could be a bit more supportive, but in the end, the competitive smash scene kind of goes against what he believes in.

However, as he said, people are free to play Smash however they want, and that's the cool thing about the game, whether it be 1v1 no items omega or free for alls with all items on in palutena's temple.

It's all about what kind of player you are, and Sakurai himself is just a person, he wouldn't prohibit you from playing the game the way you like.

It just isn't his preferred playstyle, the guy's just being honest.

But if he didn't care, then there'd be no For Glory mode.
For Glory is in because Nintendo wanted the game to be presented as if it had a competitive side, not Sakurai.

Also, him saying a game that's focused only on competitveness dying is just wrong lol. PM is thriving and it isint even an official game.
 

Starfall11

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I agree with a couple points he made about the execution barriers found in most fighting games. But I love the execution barriers, that's why I play other fighters.

When he mentioned that people don't want the feeling of "losing" or "experiencing negative emotions". And that decreases the playerbase..........

I'm sorry, but he crossed a line. Losing is a part of any sport, game, endeavor, or life. It teaches us to become stronger and move forward. If you quit something because you lose too often, you have only failed yourself. Smash can be played competitively or "for fun". I don't understand why he's bashing the competitive community.

I'm ashamed to have him as the director, when he continuously bashes his consumers.

His PR people are either extremely lazy, or completely uninvolved.


All in all, Sakurai needs to be more open-minded. Maybe he's just burnt out from working all these long hours. But I'm sick of this man bashing his own community.
 

Jellyfishn

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Nah Bro! What do you know? You only know the very language the man speaks and can DIRECTLY interpret what the original text says. You know nothing about what he was saying. You are a fool. smh. LMAO.l
I gave an updated post with a translation if you look a couple posts earlier.
 

Chinaux

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...I have no reaction to this...

It's like John Lasseter saying that Pixar is only for children.
It's meant for children/family, including children. Like MLP or most cartoons.


Anyways, we decide whether or not it's played competitively. Just because Sakurai says it won't be, he could be wrong.
 
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platomaker

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I mean water is wet...We know sakurai doesn't like competitive gaming? We have the pmdv which is more than enough. And I mean sm4sh is pretty competitive and technical end lag on moves isn't that bad (sorry marth). There only 2 things I wish was different about sm4sh are 1 that gimping was a more real component and 2 that there were more competitively viable stages.
my only beef with this comment is, we have a community that can make rulesets but doesn't have the ability to regulate a custom stage that could satisfy pro players? How was anything ever agreed upon initially is beyond me, but for sake of "more competitive stages", since this is a real concern and not the first time I heard this, why not just MAKE them?

The ones I've seen the most from melee were Final D, Battlefield, Fountain of dreams, the other kirby stage, and Kongo Jungle. Three of those are pretty similar already. Smash 4 actually has three of those stages, and two other legal starter stages. I might not remember much from melee, but what's the count of legal and starter stages versus Smash 4's legal and starter stages (for most tournaments)?
 

Banjo-Kazooie

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Despite what Sakurai says, we can still play the game the way we want. I mean, nothing has changed from before we read this interview. Just another detractor to ignore, even if this one is the father of the game itself.
But yeah, Sakurai "You are hard to love, but you are harder to hate".
 

phish-it

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Whats the surprise here? We know Sakurai doesn't like competition and doesn't want the Smash series to be competitive, unfortunately. One thing Sakurai fails to notice is that Melee had these competitive aspects but casuals and new players could still enjoy the game.
 

Praxis

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It's not an opinion.
The creator of Smash said it's not a competitive game.

That means it isn't a competitive game.

Sure, you can play it as a competitive game, which is completely fine, but at its core, it is isn't one.

Therefore, one can't complain that it isn't competitive enough.

So if I build a car and say it's not a car, it's not a car?

It doesn't matter if Sakurai says it's not competitive if it matches the definition of a competitive game.
 

Darklink401

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For Glory is in because Nintendo wanted the game to be presented as if it had a competitive side, not Sakurai.

Also, him saying a game that's focused only on competitveness dying is just wrong lol. PM is thriving and it isint even an official game.
But he didn't say Smash 4 was created to kill competitiveness...like wtf.

In fact, if anything, Smash 4 is Sakurai's way of having a happy medium between competitive and casual. And it shows.

BTW, Sakurai is the director.

As in, if he didn't want there to be a For glory mode, you really can't just be like

Hey yo, Sakurai, **** what you want, lets add 1v1 matches aight?
 

Juggleguy

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I cannot believe Sakurai doesn't have the vision to make Smash into something more. There's only so much we can expect when the creator of our game is trying to make it into a party game, actively removing competitive elements. Ugh.
 

PillsBuryDopeBoy

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Not sure why people are surprised though. Ever since brawl came out, it was clear that this was the direction/mindset he has for the series.
 

Jellyfishn

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I feel his statement has been misinterpreted. Not necessarily mistranslated but the point Sakurai is trying to make has been taken out of context. Like some people have mentioned on here already-Sakurai is probably saying that Smash as only a competitive fighting game has no future. Smash, of course, is much more than only a competitive game because it is appealing to a wide variety of different players. Besides, if Sakurai's point of view was in line with this he would have never gone out of his way to create for glory/omega's/that tournament mode that should be dropping on Wii U anytime now.
You are correct. The word "only" (だけ) is used in that paragraph. The translator just missed it. It only happened to be the most important word that he missed.
 

platomaker

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page 6 and beyond is where most people stop reading comments, but I'll post mine anyway:

Ahem, I would like to point out the difference between "SMASH" as a franchise and each "Smash" game, since I believe this interview was in regard to the ENTIRE franchise.

another thought, was there ever a player on this board who's never played casually? Did ya jump into melee wavedashing like a pro? and to those that did, was it for the money?

SMASH would DIE. Look at Playstation-brawl for comparison.

(for those that reply, use capslock SMASH when referring to the franchise as opposed to each game to eliminate confusion like this article had)
 

Tobi_Whatever

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I don't even see a problem here. No one expected another Melee and Smash 4 fixed a lot of stupid things from brawl.
It's fine, no matter what Sakurai says.
 

AirFair

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Well, if melee can thrive after 13 years, there's no reason to say Smash4 can't considering the wider audience and whatnot.
 

Big-Cat

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He is referring to "competitive game as "games where the beginners are walled by a endless amount of imputs to memorize" such as Tekken.
He didn't refer to "competitive game" as "game without tripping, for glory mode, powershielding, the limited buffering system ecc" although for some reason people are claiming he did.
Believe it or not, there aren't that many inputs to memorize in Tekken.
 

Faltrazz

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Melee is a success casually and competitively. Removing the competitive side did nothing for the casual side.
 

ViRuSy

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So the game might not be intended to be competitive, but what Sakurai doesn't understand is that WE MAKE IT COMPETITIVE.
 

platomaker

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By reboot I assume the recently revealed Street Fighter V is what you mean, which is probably due in late 2015, I guess. Also, Oni is pretty cool in Ultra Street Fighter IV. Don't diss.
Oni is cool, don't diss... that doesn't answer what it is. You had shin akuma from previous games, ya know, when he can finally use all his power kinda like Oro when he uses both hands. I'd be hyped to see that, a sequence you enter to actually play as both characters at their potential. That was kinda the reason Akuma wanted to tempt Ryu into Evil Ryu so they can both fight to their extent. Ryu denied evil intentions followed his master's footsteps and became mediocre in streetfighter 3 (story wise- so he can be the protagonist in the comic and he's mid-tier in the game where ken's super top tier) blah blah blah, you get the point. This was what the game was BEFORE street fighter 4. Reboot as in a continuation from street fighter 3's story and maybe see Sean training with Ken's kid.

...ahem, so a game like this has fans that are this divided, you can imagine how divided SMASH is, even just by these comments. You got control freaks versus mind gamers on the topic of what SMASH is, and then you have the words of the developer twisted to where people only see the short-term and even express how ungrateful they are to his efforts. Say what he will, I like the damn game. I liked brawl too, and melee. How competitive they were and the love competitive gaming garnered? Remove money from the equation and let's see where that love goes.
 
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