Smash boss Sakurai’s big surprise is a new YouTube channel

Revealed directly after he stopped doing the “daily Smash Ultimate screen” tweets

Just this week, we were reminded by Super Smash Bros. boss Masahiro Sakurai that the “daily Smash screens” fun was coming to an end. On August 22, 2023, the dream was over, and the last screen was posted. But the beloved designer had another trick up his sleeve: an entire YouTube channel! The era of Sakurai YouTube has begun.

Dubbed “Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games,” the channel will deal with creative topics pertaining to game design; with Sakurai speaking in Japanese, alongside English subtitles. It has a similar feel to his humble Smash DLC reveals, with Sakurai hanging out and talking (with purpose!).

At the time of publication, he’s put out three videos on his channel to kick things off. If you’re remotely interested in game design and/or Sakurai himself, all of these videos could be considered must-watches. They’re generally two to seven minutes long, and concisely touch on various topics utilizing Sakurai’s level of expertise.

A Sakurai YouTube “About This Channel” rundown:

Sakurai walks people through why he started the channel, and states upfront that people shouldn’t expect him to stream games from it. Rather, he’ll be “talking about topics like game development and what makes games fun.” Part of the purpose of the channel is to provide a wide net of education, which Sakurai says is more effective than speaking at an event to a limited crowd, or even giving talks at conferences like GDC.

Masahiro Sakurai’s Creative Works:

This extremely short sizzle reel is a quick speechless rundown of Sakurai’s career. His credentials, as it were! Some text is provided to explain a few concepts.

Game Design Specifics: Stop for Big Moments:

As the first major game design video, this clip has Sakurai explain “stop effects”; specifically “hit stop,” something he uses liberally in the Smash Bros. series. In short, he explains how stuff like zooming in and slowing down the action when finishing someone off in Smash Bros. can create more dramatic tension. Fascinatingly, he showcases that he’s been using that concept since the early days of the Kirby series, when you finish off a boss.