“The More I Reveal, the More Tight-Lipped I am” Sakurai’s Famitsu column vol. 450

Note: Do not repost the full translation. Please use the first two paragraphs and link to this translation. For additional information, please read this post. This translation is for fan use only, and may not accurately reflect Masahiro Sakurai. The following is a selection from Masahiro Sakurai’s book: Think About Making the Video Games 2. If you enjoyed this article, I would strongly encourage you to support Sakurai by buying his books. If you have any questions about this article, please contact the administrator.

Without further ado, I’d like to introduce Luigi as he adjusts his nose. Hope you enjoy!

The More I Reveal, the More Tight-lipped I Am
March 26th, 2014 Vol. 450

On the official website for “Super Smash Brothers for Nintendo 3DS/ Wii U”, from every Monday to Friday you can view the ‘Picture of the Day’, which are images from mid-development taken by me. I comment on the pictures on Miiverse, and there are even times where I will even post two, three pictures.

Miiverse functions somewhat like an Social Network Service (SNS) on the Wii U or the 3DS. You can also access it on smartphones and computers. Originally, this plan started off during “Kid Icarus: Uprising” development, on the internal company wiki. On the wiki, I would place one picture every day. Since taking just one picture a day can be easily done, I decided to make this lighthearted service public, so that many people could enjoy it. What’s more, I initially planned that two months after Smash’s announcement, I would stop updating and become fully absorbed in development.

However, it might have been inevitable, but that concept drastically changed. It was made simply for [everyone’s] enjoyment, and it provided a constant flow of information. Since the game has a lot of content, there is no shortage of amusing material, but providing continuous updates has proved tougher than I thought. The feeling I have between showing it within the company and to the world is very different. In addition, we can’t mix unreleased information, and there were times where the ROM is in bad shape.

Since I updated Brawl’s website, “Smash Dojo!!” with new information every Monday to Friday, this time around has been much easier. However, that in itself was abnormal. I had to consider the reveal schedule for certain pieces of information again. What’s worse is that I’m developing for two systems at the same time. My workload is not [equally] divided. Finding time to take pictures of the game is difficult. Having someone like a producer take unique pictures for public consumption would be good, but Smash does not have that kind of project plan.

Therefore, as the information that I should make public increases, the more I keep myself quiet. On Miiverse or Twitter, no matter what the question is, I cannot answer it. If I was developing the game by myself, then I could be more casual but since [Smash] is being published by Nintendo, I cannot talk freely. If I answer one question, then other people may wonder why I didn’t answer theirs. I get a lot of questions and requests from abroad, but I can’t answer them all. Generally speaking, I would like to respond to the customer’s demands politely. Smash is [a game] that [requires me to be very] careful. Moreover since there are infinite number of character requests, if I over thought them it would bring my work to a halt. Speaking of which, I should back to work. I think I’m going to move my hands more than my mouth.

However, I will answer two questions. We are still planning on releasing both“Smash Bros. for 3DS” and “Smash Bros. for Wii U” in 2014. In addition, the subtitles, “for Nintendo 3DS”, “for Wii U” will become the official names. If I added a name like “Melee” or “Brawl”, when it came time to release the two games out into the world, it would become difficult to understand which name went with which. The names are there in order to prevent confusion. Furthermore, the characters are the same but the stages and modes vary in these two versions. The intent was never that you can play the game at your house, and then take it outside while having it be the same game, so be warned!

Looking Back:

Sakurai: Now, I don’t usually tweet on Twitter.

Interviewer: You aren’t talking about the Smash Brother’s official account, but your own, right?

Sakurai: That’s right. It’s become a little tiresome…

Interviewer: I can see how it would be unfortunate. Every time you say something, strangers’ replies from all over the world come flooding in.

Sakurai: There are a lot of fanboys, so there are a lot of strange requests and questions…. But really, I’m just a person who makes video games.

Interviewer: There are people who won’t accept your opinion either. How do you go about talking?

Sakurai: I usually just stay quiet and maintain my composure, but if someone is being really rude I’ll block them.

Interviewer: Speaking of which, how many people are following you?

Sakurai: I haven’t checked recently…. (while looking at his smartphone). Over 115,000 people.

Interviewer: You’ve gotten so many followers. There are so many people paying attention to you, it’s like they are coming in from everywhere! ^[1]

Sakurai: I can’t carelessly tweet, so my tweets are very brief. I have to speak in a way so there’s no misunderstandings, and there are times where I enjoy Twitter and I appreciate it. But, there’s a lot of times where I get too caught up in people’s reactions…

Interviewer: That must be really tough.

TRANSLATION NOTES:

[1] The Japanese for this part is: そりゃあもう海のものも山のものも飛んできますよ。We weren’t 100% sure how to translate this, as it seems to be a phrase of some sort. Literally, “coming in flying from the seas and the mountains”. Just an exaggeration on how many people are following Sakurai.