In the opinion of legendary Super Smash Bros. and Kirby series creator Masahiro Sakurai, while video games and their developers may not contribute to the world on the same level as “doctors”, their work is still capable of uplifting the lives of any and everyone who chooses to play them.
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The veteran game dev offered his frank-yet-uplifting take on his preferred creative medium while accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s entry of the Association of Media in Digital awards, as hosted annually by the Japanese government’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in recognition of the country’s most influential digital content creators.
Beginning with a personal acknowledgement that, as transcribed by Japanese news outlet Oricon and machine translated via ChatGPT, “I’ve received this Lifetime Achievement Award, but according to my research, it seems I’m in the ‘legendary’ category in the gaming industry, alongside people like Mr. Horii, Mr. Miyamoto, Mr. Kutaragi, and Mr. Shibusawa. I feel like my name doesn’t quite belong in that group,” Sakurai then admitted to his peers that on his YouTube channel, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, he “shared the knowledge I’ve gained as a game director with the world, for free, which is quite an irrational thing to do.”
Proceeding to pose the rhetorical question of “Why did I do that?”, the industry icon answered in turn, “I think I’m lacking in many ways compared to other professions.”
“Of course, I’ve contributed, but for example, I could never compare to doctors,” said Sakurai. “There are many other important jobs like in infrastructure and production, and without those, things like digital media wouldn’t even exist. That’s something that worries me. However the digital media we’re involved in can ‘buff’ people in many ways, and it’s a very rewarding field, so I hope everyone will do their best. That’s why I decided to distribute the content for free on the channel.”
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Notably, this is but the latest bit of positive inspiration the Smash Bros. creator has offered to game devs both old and upcoming in recent weeks.
Speaking to local news outlet Entax after being honored with the Japanese government’s 2025 Art Encouragement Prize, as sponsored by the country’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and awarded to eleven artists whose “outstanding achievements have opened up new vistas in a given year”, for his Media Arts work on his aforementioned YouTube channel, Sakurai said that his best advice for Japanese devs seeking to remain competitive in an ever-growing global video game market was to simply pursue “what they love.”
“There was a time when American entertainment was hugely successful, and people in Japan thought, ‘We should create something more Americanized,’” he explained. “There was definitely that kind of culture—trying to align with the de facto standard (products or standards that become widely accepted through market competition).”
“However, I feel that overseas fans of Japanese games aren’t necessarily looking for that,” he added. “What they love is Japan’s unique style and its distinct charm. In other words, I believe the ideal approach is for creators to make the games they truly want, and for those who appreciate them to enjoy them.”
Further pressed as to whether or not he had any additional words of dev encouragement, Sakurai ultimately declared, “The most important thing I want to say is, ‘Do what you want freely.’”
“When I was creating my various shows and my YouTube channel, I always kept in mind that forcing my own views onto others isn’t a good approach,” he said. “What I share is just one way of thinking—it’s not an absolute truth. As I’ve mentioned in my videos, my goal is to ‘give people a boost’ so they can find their own paths. What matters most is how individuals take that knowledge and apply it.”
“I hope that each person will push forward in the direction they believe in and refine their work in their own way,” Sakurai concluded. “So, let’s all do our best together!”
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