Masahiro Sakurai, the legendary mind behind Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the beloved 25-year-old series behind it, thinks developers in Japan should focus on creating more games "that Japanese people like" after a shift to "Americanized works."
Speaking in a recent interview with Entax reported by Automaton, Sakurai explains what he thinks the Japanese gaming industry should do in the future to ensure steady growth similar to the success seen in other countries' own industries like that of China's. "It's not really my own idea," reveals the director, "but as an industry trend, I think Japanese people should keep pursuing the things that Japanese people like."
Sakurai describes how the success of Japanese games in the United States kickstarted a trend of developers "making Americanized works" rather than focusing on more local consumers' tastes – or their own. "You could say that there was a culture of following de facto standards," states the Super Smash Bros. lead, referring to the standards adopted by the industry as a whole as a result of competition within the market.
He doesn't think that the overseas market is actually searching for this more "Americanized," filtered experience, however, "but rather, I think that they seek the uniqueness and fun of Japanese games." That's why, as Sakurai says, devs should remain true to their own interests rather than perceived expectations: "I think that the ideal would be to make games the way you like, as those who agree with you will enjoy them."
Sakurai concludes that it's vital for devs to "do things freely" while creating new games – but he does emphasize that his opinion is just that. As a longtime fan of JRPGs and other titles from Japan myself, though, I'm inclined to agree with him. After all, some of the best JRPGs out there arguably stand the test of time as genre gems thanks to their creators' freedom of expression and divergence from industry "standards."
