Masahiro Sakurai: It Will be Difficult to Push Super Smash Bros. 'Any Further Than We Have' - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 November 2023 / 4,513 Views
Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai in a new video posted on his YouTube channel discussed the future of the series and said it would be difficult to push the series any further than Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
"As for what comes next for the Smash Bros. series, even I'm not sure," said Sakurai. "I feel we truly succeeded in making people happy with this game, but now that Smash Bros. has grown to be monstrous in size, I'd say it's difficult to imagine an increase of this magnitude happening again.
"Every time, we managed to make a game that I had previously thought impossible, so I can't say for certain there won't be another, but I do think it would be difficult to push it any further than we have."
The Super Smash Bros. franchise has sold over 73 million units through June 2023, while the most recent entry, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch, is the best-selling entry with 31.77 million units sold.
Thanks, Nintendo Life.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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The biggest thing I think they could do is beef up the story for the next game.
Add a Subspace Emissary to Ultimate and it will be enough of a new game for me
Regardless of the challenges, Nintendo will always release a Smash Bros game every generation.
Switch 2 with better graphics, good character roster, and bringing back subspace emissary would be good enough I think. You don't need to go overboard trying to reinvent the wheel with new modes and such, just refine what you already have and bring back Subspace Emissary.
And that’s the sort of mentality that leaves franchises out to die. There are so many ways to reimagine and further evolve the formula of Smash Bros. Maybe the current formula has been perfected: in which case a degree of alienation may need to unfold in order to allow for greener pastures. Similar to how BotW revolutionized Zelda, so too could the next Smash game do just that.
Unless they give it enhanced ports each gen that add a few more characters at a time, there are going to be roster cuts.
82 characters with all the DLC (89 including echoes), is not sustainable.
Smash really should get at least two releases on Switch 2. An enhanced port of Ultimate for those who don't want fighters cut, and a sequel to Ultimate that acts as a soft reboot and slashes the roster in half.
Yeah obvoius.
They should either just add an upgraded Smash Ultimate with some new additions and features to Nintendo's online service next gen to make that a premium draw for NSO subscribers, or just have the next game be the same old fighting mode but really focus on turning the story mode into a legit full length action adventure game on its own like a beefed up Subspace Emissary.
Can't imagine anything else to do unless they completely reinvent the Smash formula but then that risks alienating the tens of millions of Smash fans/buyers. If they went with a new formula then I'd say putting a classic Smash (like upgraded Ultimate) on NSO would need to be done as well so people can still play the Smash they are used to. But yeah the era of trying to make a bigger and better Smash in the same formula is over, Ultimate was the ultimate and final version of that path for the series.
Also the fact that they don't even know what they are gonna do is confirmation they haven't even started working on next gen Smash despite Ultimate coming out 5 years ago. So if its a whole new game (as opposed to just like throwing an upgraded Ultimate on NSO next gen) it definitely ain't coming until late next gen.
Astronomical sales numbers of ultimate
Difficult… but not impossible.
It doesn't need to grow bigger, just change direction. I say drop the third party characters, change everyone's moveset, add lesser known characters, add challenges and mini games with leaderboards, story mode with platforming sections and more unique bosses.
Turn it into Power Stone
So basically they are already talking about it
Yes it will be hard, but they will make it happen.
If the rumors are true on the next system having a new game in 4k hdr will be enough to warrant another game or at least remaster the Ultimate.
