Free From 'Smash Brothers,' Masahiro Sakurai Becomes A YouTuber

With Super Smash Brothers Ultimate supposedly finished and no imminent new Nintendo console on the horizon, Masahiro Sakurai (creator of Super Smash Bros. and a beloved game developer) now has some free time on his hands, which he will apparently spend creating content for a new YouTube channel.

I've decided to start a new YouTube channel called "Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games."
It launches…right now!

Subscribe today and you can brag (?) about being one of the very first to join me on this new endeavor. I'll share more details soon!

[EN]https://t.co/NC0yM3U9sd pic.twitter.com/oXDajaS8ld

— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) August 24, 2022

Sakurai announced yesterday the creation of "Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games," a YouTube channel where he will share tips and philosophies on video game design. The videos will be subtitled in English, and no, Sakurai clarified he won't be a Let's Player.

The announcement generated excitement from gaming fans and particularly the Super Smash Brothers community, as even though Smashers have made no secret about their numerous quibbles with the series, Sakurai has continued to be held in high regard for the hard work he has put into creating the beloved series.

This is super exciting. I think openness from a developer like Sakurai, especially in a format like this, is rare. But it's so important to further games and help aspiring devs. It's really sweet that he mentions that in his opening video. https://t.co/OO88lIEvTR

— Alax (@RelaxAlax) August 24, 2022

Finally, Mr. Sakurai began youtube. That with English subs. What a kindness person. I already know he is good video game creator and good looking guy. You should check his Youtube channel. :) https://t.co/YSsTZvlixf

— yokotaro (@yokotaro) August 24, 2022

I love him @Sora_Sakurai pic.twitter.com/tVUfYG38eO

— AntDude (@antdude92) August 24, 2022

Many were impressed with the quality of his introductory video in which he explained his motivations for creating a YouTube channel on game design. Sakurai explained that while he had spoken at gaming development conferences in the past, he felt a YouTube channel may be more useful for aspiring game designers and even those simply curious about what goes into creating a successful video game.

He also made several quips about copyright, YouTube's algorithm and the site's monetizing practices, promising that he would not pepper his videos with ads nor attempt to pad them out to please YouTube's algorithm, which tends to favor longer videos.

Sakurai understands YouTube better than most game companies pic.twitter.com/quzSFEwngK

— André (@AndreSegers) August 24, 2022

Sakurai's humbleness with the new channel amazes me when he CAN make big money pic.twitter.com/f8gN2WvtiX

— Bun (@GodmasterBun) August 24, 2022

Sakurai's first video about game design focused on hit stun, a design concept in fighting games that makes a character freeze in place for a split second after getting hit. This helps sell the impact of an attack better than if a character simply flew away the moment the other fighter connected with them.

While kudos were sent Sakurai's way for opening a new, potentially fascinating YouTube channel with a relaxed attitude towards monetization, many jokingly feared that the combination of unruly Smash players and the general tone of YouTube comment sections might make Sakurai's comment section particularly rowdy.

When Sakurai deletes his YouTube channel because people keep spamming his comments about Smash 6 pic.twitter.com/1eiI39Eedm

— 👑ℂℍ𝔸𝕆𝕊𝕂𝕀𝔻👑 (@DatChaosGuy) August 24, 2022

sakurai's youtube comments are gonna be a top 3 worst things to ever exist

— clobbopus fan account (@GeorgeOD_) August 24, 2022

Sakurai when the YouTube comments keep saying “Nerf Steve” https://t.co/Mnu51scl1e pic.twitter.com/Gk661RgUy2

— 👑ℂℍ𝔸𝕆𝕊𝕂𝕀𝔻👑 (@DatChaosGuy) August 24, 2022

While it's almost assured that Smashers will spam Sakurai's comment section with loads of complaints and requests for Ultimate (and hey, he did open up another potential avenue for him to hear the community's request to please nerf Steve), most seem eager to see what Sakurai has to say about game design and are happy to continue to see regular videos from the legend himself.