Masahiro Sakurai recently released a new video where he talks about why it’s important as a game developer to be mindful of players’ time. He notes how players are less likely to pick up a game if it requires too much time to beat.
“If, before you start a game, you’re told ‘This game has 300 hours of content!’ you’ll likely be a bit put off,” explained Sakurai. “When players are deciding whether or not to buy a game, no matter how fun that game might look, they may decide to pass on it if it seems like it’ll take too long to finish.”
In a sense, this is actually quite rich coming from Mr. Sakurai himself. After all, he’s been the Director of Super Smash Bros., a series that’s known for the countless hours that players have put into it, since the beginning.
It would seem that the irony was not lost on Sakurai. He would then go on to comment about the addictive nature of the Super Smash Bros. series.
“Of course, some games do end up getting played for hundreds of hours,” continued Sakurai. “There are plenty of people who have spent hundreds or even thousands of hours in Super Smash Bros., for example.”
Following this, there was a noticeable pause within the dialogue of the video, which was even signaled by an on-screen ellipses. Sakurai then showed a cartoony image of himself adopting an apologetic pose while exclaiming “I’m so sorry!”
It’s funny to note that the “All Trophies Speedrun” for Super Smash Bros. Melee, which requires the player to collect all 290 trophies within a game that was released over 20 years ago, is said to take somewhere in the vicinity of 18 to 19 hours. That’s for the speed runners though.
Even then, players aren’t technically achieving a 100% run in Super Smash Bros. Melee considering the notification system. The most troublesome of these notifications requires 1,000,000 VS. mode matches.
“1,000,000 VS. mode matches! Never thought you’d see this!” An in-game message saying this much is the only reward players receive for actually pulling this off.
However, as previously mentioned, Super Smash Bros. Melee is a game that was released over 20 years ago. Since then, later entries have only gotten larger in scope.
While most of the fanbase aren’t actually hoping to achieve 100%, the hours end up flying by without being noticed. Despite his “apology,” Sakurai notes this as being a positive thing.
“Still, the time you spend on a game should be a result of how fun that game is!” exclaimed Sakurai.
For Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the game known for its supposed one-time “Everyone Is Here” theme, the act of getting all 86 characters into Elite Smash is one that is often known to take many, many hours.
Rumors suggest that Masahiro Sakurai is already working on the next Super Smash Bros. entry for the Nintendo Switch successor along with Bandai Namco’s Studio 2 & Studio S. If this is true, then we have to imagine that the next Super Smash Bros. title will somehow end up being even bigger than Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Despite everything that Sakurai says in his video, it makes sense for a series such as the Super Smash Bros. to keep expanding on what was previously established to keep players invested for longer. Check out the video below to hear everything that Masahiro Sakurai had to say about being mindful of players’ time: