Masahiro Sakurai is a madman in the gaming industry, but he’s tended to overwork himself…

Think about it: he started developing Kirby’s Dream Land, released for Game Boy in 1992, on a Twin Famicom. It was a combination of a Famicom (the original Japanese edition of the NES) and a Famicom Disk System (a Japan-only floppy disk add-on), and it had no keyboard support. He then continued to work at HAL Laboratory to launch the Super Smash Bros. franchise. Although he later left the studio, where another genius (Satoru Iwata, later Nintendo president, now sadly deceased) emerged, he remained in charge of Smash Bros.

Sakurai completed Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC last year, the game being one of the killer apps for the Nintendo Switch. Meanwhile, he runs his YouTube channel, where he often talks about his past in addition to his game development tips, as Sakurai considers himself semi-retired (so he’s in the same position as Fallout creator Tim Cain). In a video released Friday, he discusses the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl (the first game he developed outside of Nintendo as a freelancer!) and the franchise’s future. He doesn’t believe the franchise can continue without his involvement but thinks there is hope for a new game. However, Nintendo will have to figure out how to approach it…

“For an ongoing game series, not using the original development studio and instead assembling a new team around a freelance director is an infrequent occurrence. The question now is, what happens next time? I mean, whatever comes after Smash Bros. Ultimate. One option would be to separate the series from the original creator. But for now, I can’t imagine a Smash Bros. title without me. You might think that’s a natural stance for someone in my role, but I say so, speaking objectively. I feel the same way President Iwata did when we formed the team for Smash Bros. Brawl. Currently, we don’t have someone who can take the reins… Smash Bros. is a massive, important title for Nintendo, so it’s fair to assume there will be another one at some point, but it will take some work to figure out exactly how to make that happen. For my part, I’d like to keep working with Nintendo however I’m able,” Sakurai said.

During the development of Super Smash Smash Bros. Ultimate, he was on intravenous fluids because he was pushing himself too hard and didn’t want to fall out of work. Sometimes you have to rest!

Source: VGC