Masahiro Sakurai says ‘all-rounder’ game directors are very rare these days
The Smash Bros creator says not enough game directors have experience in different aspects of development
Smash Bros and Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai says it’s rare these days to find an “all-rounder” game director who has previous experience in multiple aspects of game development.
In an interview with ITmedia Business Online (via Automaton), Sakurai was discussing the fact that his company Sora Ltd consists solely of him and his wife, and how each project they take on is on a freelance basis.
Asked if this was the best solution for working in the industry, Sakurai stressed that he’s only able to work like this now because he has a track record with games like Smash Bros and Kirby, and that freelance directors without such experience may not get any work.
Sakurai then stated that the position of ‘game director’ is rare these days, in his opinion, particularly when it comes to those who understand every aspect of game development.
“I think it is quite rare to have a director who can take on a project with hundreds of staff members,” he said (via machine translation). “There are many people who want to make games and are making games, but there is a shortage of game directors who can manage large-scale projects.”
Asked why he thought this was, Sakurai explained that the industry has fragmented each aspect of game design and development, to the extent that while he worked on graphics, sound and game design over the course of his career, these days it’s rarer for a single person to have experience working in numerous departments.
“I have a broad view of things like graphics and sound effects, but these days there is almost no environment in which such ‘all-rounders’ can develop,” he said.
“In the past, there was a trend for a graphic designer to become a game designer and then a director. Nowadays, though, graphics alone have been subdivided into models, effects, textures, and so on.
“I feel that we are living in an age where it is extremely difficult to grow as a generalist. I believe that this increasing specialization and fragmentation is the cause of the shortage of directors with a broad perspective.”
It was announced back in April that Sakurai is directing Kirby Air Riders, which is coming to Switch 2 later this year.
Last year, Sakurai said he was “still creating games for the time being”, despite previously claiming in 2022 that he was “semi-retired” following the release of Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s final DLC character.
He then revealed in the penultimate episode of his YouTube series that he had started production on his next game project back in 2022, saying: “I’m sorry I can’t share more about this project, but assuming we’re able to get it made, it should be announced sooner or later.” It now appears that he may have been referring to Kirby Air Riders.
