Smash Bros creator may quit games development

The creator of Nintendo’s Smash Bros series may abandon games development following the stress of producing the latest instalment for Wii U.

Writing in Famitsu – spotted by Kotaku – Masahiro Sakurai responded to various fan letters, including one that sympathised with how worn out he had previously appeared when discussing how difficult development on the newest Smash Bros had been on him.

"It was very tough this time around… I doubt I’ll be able to go on making games if it continues like this," he said.

Kotaku has previously reported that Sakurai was working six day weeks, sacrificing his private life and further damaging an injured arm to ensure that Smash Bros met his standards. 

He said he also chose not to delegate much of the development, such as animations, because "it’s faster and more accurate to do it myself than to tell someone else over and over again what to do".

Sakurai’s comments echo sentiments in our recent feature on development crunch, in which seasoned devs said colleagues should not be sacrificing their quality of life for the sake of their current work in progress.

We’re currently calling on developers to further discuss the impact of crunch on their lives, their peers, their studios and their games. Want to get involved? Email cchapple@nbmedia.com.