Summary
- Masahiro Sakurai says that Japanese developers should remain authentic with the games they create.
- Sakurai advises continuing to create games that Japanese people enjoy, without conforming to international standards.
- He believes that overseas fans enjoy this authenticity, and don’t want a diluted experience.
Legendary Japanese developer Masahiro Sakurai has advised Japanese developers to continue creating games that Japanese people enjoy, rather than trying to conform to whatever is becoming the industry standard.
Sakurai recently accepted an Art Encouragement Prize from the Japanese government’s Agency of Cultural Affairs. The award was presented to Sakurai in recognition of his Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games YouTube channel, an educational resource for game developers where Sakurai leverages his decades of experience in the industry to provide advice and tips on creating games. In an interview with Entax (translated by Automaton), Sakurai gave his opinion on how Japanese game developers can keep pace with booming industries in China and abroad.
Authenticity is Key
“It’s not really my own idea, but as an industry trend, I think Japanese people should keep pursuing the things that Japanese people like,” Sakurai suggested. “There was a culture of making Americanised games because various [games] were popular in America.”
Sakurai believes that overseas fans who enjoy Japanese games enjoy them because of their authenticity, and don’t want filtered experiences intended to cater to their personal experiences: “I think they seek the uniqueness and fun of Japanese games,” Sakurai said.
The Super Smash Bros. creator concludes by saying, “I think that the ideal would be to make games the way you like, as those who agree with you will like them.” He stresses that “doing things freely” without succumbing to external pressure is crucial to creating good games.
Sakurai’s thoughts on the importance of an unfiltered creative process are poignant in an industry where creation is so expensive that publishers, venture capitalists and conglomerates have an inordinate amount of power over the finished product. We’ve seen numerous times the value of allowing studios and developers to execute their visions without interference. As a counterpoint, we’ve also seen studios flounder for many years without producing a viable product. It’s a never-ending balancing act within triple-A development and isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon.
Split Fiction creator Josef Fares recently shared a similar sentiment to Sakurai, saying that Hazelight Studios operating without interference from publisher Electronic Arts is integral to the studio’s success.
