After more than 600 columns published, Super Smash Bros. and Kirby series creator and director Masahiro Sakurai is planning to end his bi-weekly Famitsu columns. Sakurai clarified via Twitter (translated by user PushDustIn) that despite rumors he was retiring from the gaming industry entirely, so far he is only ending the column to likely coincide with the end of DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
For the last 18 years, Sakurai has written casually about his experiences as a developer in the gaming industry. His latest column has been translated by Kody “NOKOLO” and Robert Sephazon of Source Gaming, in which Sakurai writes that he has been enjoying some free time and “likes the idea of early retirement,” citing the long development times for games. Sakurai went on to say that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be finalized when the last two DLC fighters are released, which he anticipates being sometime this year.
Sakurai’s column touched on many different topics outside of Super Smash Bros. over the years, including his thoughts on the similarities between Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn, his experience at the late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s funeral, and why “farming is dangerous.” Many of his columns have been published in book form (Japanese only).
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has become the bestselling fighting game of all time since its launch in 2018, with more than 23 million copies sold worldwide. Gamers were surprised by the announcement of a second DLC pack in 2019, bringing the total number of downloadable newcomers to 11 and the overall roster to 89 playable fighters.
