How this Game Came to be Made

Inside the Super Smash Bros. Brawl Project

Where has the development of this game been taking place? Now that I'm independent, how did this project get started?

I answer these questions only for those who are interested.

Weekly Famitsu magazine in Japan publishes a column called Masahiro Sakurai's Thoughts on Video Games. In that column I revealed some of these answers... and that explanation was perfect!

So, with the cooperation of the Famitsu Editorial Division, I'd like to reveal that explanation here. Please have a look.

Weekly Famitsu Column "Masahiro Sakurai's Thoughts About Games" Reproduced with permission from volumes 130`vol.132

Since this right here �ª is the headline, I'll just write it plain and simple: I have begun work on the newest installment of Super Smash Bros. as both director and game designer.

So, for a short while starting now, I will write in this column about the sequence of events that led to my involvement in this project.

It was May of 2005 on the day before the opening of E3 (The Electronic Entertainment Exposition-the world's largest video game show).
It was near the location of this event at Nintendo's Show Preview where they announced their efforts for the coming year.
It was announced that Smash Bros. was being developed for Nintendo's new game system, (tentatively) called the Revolution.

The theater filled with applause. But I thought "Huh?"

At the party afterwards many people spoke to me asking "So, you're gonna make a new Smash Bros.?" But I had heard nothing about it, and in fact at that point in time there was no Smash Bros. project in motion anywhere.

Now, I am the designer who gave birth to the Smash Bros. games, but I own no rights to the franchise. So if Nintendo says they will make Smash Bros., they absolutely can. So I saw nothing strange about it whatsoever, but...

Flashback to fall of 2003.
It's shortly after I've resigned from the company I had worked for: Hal Labs-the makers of Smash Bros.

I was in the office of Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, my former boss at Hal Labs, for some idle conversation.

During the conversation, the topic of whether or not there would be a sequel to Smash Bros. came up.

This is what Mr. Iwata said:
"Smash Bros. was a game that came about through your connections because you, Sakurai, gained the understanding of a variety of people, so I don't think we be able to have just anyone create the game.
It is a franchise of great importance for Nintendo, so I can't promise you that we won't create a new game, but if we do I would definitely run it by you."

Because of these events, the announcement at E3 was a mystery.

Then one day during the E3 show...
I was called to the hotel where Mr. Iwata was staying, and I went to meet him in a room on the top floor.

The creation of a new Smash Bros. was for the most part decided.
I was called by Mr. Iwata and came here to meet him.
It didn't seem like grumbling would get things started...

"What would you like me to do?"
"I'd like you to be involved in the development of the new Smash Bros. in a position that is very close to a director-style position."

Weekly Famitsu Column "Masahiro Sakurai's Thoughts About Games" Reproduced with permission from volumes 130-vol.132

There was a reason Smash Bros. was announced at the meeting. That was because when it was asked what product Nintendo would want to use to help it unveil its Wi-Fi Network, the first title on the list in both America and Japan was Smash Bros. So it was first decided to talk about Smash Bros. as an example of a Wi-Fi title, resulting in the game being announced before the development structure was finalized.

That was all fine and good, but it put me in a very tight spot.

As an independent game designer, I had come to E3 to try to foresee what type of work I would take on next.

Several companies had requested my game creation skills, but I asked them to wait until after I had seen everything at E3. That was so I could make plans after seeing each company's next gen machines with my own eyes.

Then this muscled its way in. What if I had declined this offer?

"We'd work to make the game independently, but we might be told to simply focus on making the game Wi-Fi compatible, and may be instructed not to lay a hand on any of the 26 characters in the current game, Super Smash Bros. Melee."

They would make Smash Bros. without changing any of the 26 characters in any way whatsoever. What kind of a new installment would that make. And Mr. Iwata wouldn't be too hot on the idea of just handing the franchise over to someone else. Probably.

So came the sudden request to create Smash Bros. and the related complications. Should I do it? Or not?

A conversation I had with Eiji Aonuma, producer of the Legend of Zelda series, best represents what caused me to make my decision.

It was after Nintendo's announcement at a party packed with people from the industry.

"Sakurai-san! Please make Smash Bros.! You are gonna make it, right?"

"Well, uh, I wonder what will happen." (I was a little incoherent because I didn't know how to respond.)

"To be honest, if you aren't involved with it, that will probably mean the end to the Smash Bros. series. Smash Bros. piles together so many elements from so many games and continues entertaining people without ever growing old. It's your skill, your sense, your thinking that's allowed that to happen. I don't think there's anyone who can replace you.
Creating a Smash Bros. with no soul would be a waste of time."

There is something that only I can create, and it is desired now. If I'm not going to show my strengths now, when will I? And among all the activities I could undertake, the best way to satisfy the most consumers, including those overseas, would probably be to create Smash Bros.

If the result of leaving it up to someone else was to cause regret for both the fans and the creators of the games related to Smash Bros., then I, too, would likely be deeply wounded.

Weekly Famitsu Column "Masahiro Sakurai's Thoughts About Games" Reproduced with permission from volumes 130-vol.132

So, I decided to become director. And as of May, 2005, I was the only member of the new Smash Bros. development team.

As an independent designer, my decision to participate and Smash Bros. development caused me a great deal of damage.

If I were to work as director, that would mean I would have to be involved in that project exclusively. What's more, it would require all of my strength to create a Smash Bros. caliber of game. It was not the type of "just providing a little input" type of work that I was trying to do going forward.

The result was that with the exception of one project that was already underway, I had to decline the other offers of work that I had received.

Including those individuals whom I had asked to wait until after E3. So I am filled with apologies for those people who had sent work my way.
If I could ask for one thing it would be that they not abandon me.

So what of the magnanimous development staff?
It turned out that Nintendo would build a new team around me in Tokyo.

In other words, we would create a new studio.

There was also a proposal to develop the game in Kyoto at Nintendo headquarters, but the there you'd draw a different people, and I had need to be in Tokyo anyway.

Additionally, there are several people in Tokyo with experience developing Smash Bros., and it was decided that they would join the team. And the name of talented staff members were offered up.

So, development would not be occurring at Hal Labs. But, the code and development environment of Super Smash Bros. Melee, which I had developed in the past, was offered. Having this versus not having this means the efficiency of the development changes dramatically, so I'm thankful.

But we still didn't have enough people. To create a game like Super Smash Bros. Melee, I would want a team with a minimum of 50 people. Getting together that many people would be a back-breaking task.

So it was that Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto introduced me to a "particular team" that had just completed a large-scale game.

Until the day comes when I can announce the team's name, I shall simply refer to them as "The Studio."

"Let's do it. Let's definitely do it!"
The words of The Studio's executive were very simple.

I was surprised when I saw the GameCube controllers they were using. The coating on the analog stick was worn down like an old eraser...
"Our guys have played Smash Bros. more than 10,000 times!"
It had to be a lie.
But when I saw their battle records, it showed a terrible number of matches that were not fabricated.

This was the result of years of uninterrupted playing of Smash Bros. during lunch breaks. There are often cases where your team doesn't understand the content of the game you're making, but that wouldn't be a concern this time.

It was promising.
This had to have been fate.
So, with the members of The Studio as our core, we dramatically increased our staff members.

Weekly Famitsu Column "Masahiro Sakurai's Thoughts About Games" Reproduced with permission from volumes 130-vol.132

Next we had to decided where we would work. In other words, we needed to create an office somewhere.
With the assistance of the head of Nintendo's Tokyo Branch I visited several possible office candidates and decided on A Location with convenient transportation links.

And, since I can't be a slave to the last train of the night, I decided to move to that area to.
The topics that have come up from time to time in column-me going into solitary to write the design document, founding my own company, Sora Ltd., moving, and getting sick from overworking were all related to my development of the new Smash Bros. game.

With me issuing requests, we determined room layout, and then began construction and brining in equipment. We proceeded under tight deadlines, and it's ended up being a difficult space for our staff, but thankfully our office steadily moved toward completion.

In the meantime, I presented and adjusted my design document, and connected with the creators of the required characters. It's the type of game design that cannot be completed without the cooperation of others.

So in October of 2005, Nintendo's newest office opened. And it was established solely so that we could create the new Smash Bros.

"We're really doing this..." I thought.
When they go this far for a single title, the only thing you can say is "that's Nintendo."

With The Studio at its nucleus, this office will probably continue to gather and add people. One doesn't get many opportunities to be placed in such a situation.

Also, more than anything, this Smash Bros. will be a game that we make while paying thanks to all the people who made so many different games and to all the fans who have supported them.
And we must pay respect to the original games while doing so.

But we will not flinch!
By which I mean, there will be no question about whether or not its fun.

The table has been set, so if I can't enjoy developing this game I will have failed.
Let's take it to the edge with a lot of weird stuff!
We're creating entertainment, so the creators have to have fun while creating it!

Development has only just begun.
And completion lies far off in the distance.

But now it is today, and I am full of energy.