Sakurai on Voice Chat and Brawl

ElronMac · 02-21-2008, 10:03 AM

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February 20, 2008 - The name Masahiro Sakurai is well known to die-hard Nintendo fans. A 13-year HAL Laboratory veteran, he helped shape the course of the Super Smash Bros. franchise and has more recently just completed work on the enormously anticipated Wii fighter Super Smash Bros. Brawl. We had the chance to catch up with Sakurai at the Game Developers Conference 2008 and naturally we had a flood of questions for him. In the paragraphs below, Sakurai speaks to topics ranging from why Brawl doesn't include voice support to the future of the franchise.

IGN: How big was Sora at Brawl's development and are you an exclusive Nintendo developer?

Masahiro Sakurai: First of all, I'm very impressed that Sora is so well known. Really, Sora is at its core just two people. When making Brawl, what basically happened was through a connection with Nintendo we rented out an office in a portion of Tokyo and had a lot of staff come in. However, it's really important to realize that Sora really is just two people and that everybody else is not part of Sora technically speaking.

It's kind of strange answering this question here in the Nintendo booth because I'm not sure this is the best place to do it, but no, I have no particular ties to them and, of course, any company that comes along to me afterwards and says, "Hey, we have an interesting project for you," I'm going to look at that and going to help with that job. So, no.

Masahiro Sakurai
IGN: Do you think Mr. Iwata would track you down if you tried to make a game for a non-Nintendo system?

Masahiro Sakurai: Ah, I'm not so sure about that. I would imagine he would probably understand, but I suppose the possibility exists.

IGN: Now that Brawl is complete, how do you feel about the game? What are you most proud of and is there anything you would change if you had more time?

Masahiro Sakurai: As far as tailoring or trying to get more down now that it's finished, looking back on it, I could have had another year or another two years and it wouldn't have changed the fact that I never have enough time to adjust or refine -- that's just the way it is for me. Thinking about the typical development process, the trend seems to be that when you finish a game that you've been working on for so long and breaking your back over, you kind of don't want to look at it anymore. You're done with it. But seeing Smash, I really, truly feel that this is a game that I'm really not tired of yet. I'm really enjoying it. I feel relieved in knowing that this game has that kind of staying power for myself and I'm very proud of that.

IGN: What would be that one specific feature you wish you could have added?

Masahiro Sakurai: I feel like anything I've considered I'm probably going to think about when -- I mean if -- another game was to come out in the series and so I'd like to keep a lid on that for now. and not disclose anything I've been thinking about there.

IGN: Brawl seems like the perfect game to introduce a Wii headset for voice chat. Why have you avoided this?

Masahiro Sakurai: Well, when I first started making Smash Bros. Brawl, I thought it would be wonderful if online battles between friends had voice chat and potentially keyboard based chat as well. But there are all sorts of rules and regulations regarding communication on the Wii platform and so it was apparent to me that it just wouldn't come together, we weren't going to be able to do it, so we decided to cancel that feature. I'm very sorry about that. But if you're really desperate for it, you could set up Skype by your game station and go at it with a friend if you like.

IGN: You debuted two crossover characters -- Sonic and Solid Snake -- in Brawl. Awesome additions! But we have to be honest, with all the music from different famed composers in the game, we were expecting even more character crossovers from the likes of Square and perhaps even Capcom. Any reason Brawl doesn't feature even more? (And we know -- Nintendo fans are never happy!)

Masahiro Sakurai: Adding characters from other series and from other worlds, really, outside the Nintendo universe, is an incredibly difficult process. In some ways it's more difficult from just building a game from the ground up because you're really trying to make everything match and in some ways that creates limitations. I hope that people can understand that's the reason we can't include more characters from outside the Nintendo universe. And, of course, I believe that when you increase the number of worlds, you're also increasing the number of people who could potentially enjoy that videogame and the series that you're putting in there. But there are also problems because having these non-traditional characters in there -- even with just Snake and Sonic -- has resulted in a number of people who do dissent in seeing these characters put into the Smash series. It's not a simple matter of adding as many worlds and characters from other games as possible -- you can't be careless in doing that sort of thing, you have to be careful. Internally and externally, there have been people who have raised objections to it.

IGN: Have you received interest from other third parties who would very much like to have their characters included in Smash Bros. Brawl?

Masahiro Sakurai: Nope. No other ones.

IGN: We have to ask because there are so many rumors about this. Are there any hidden characters to come? Can you unlock more hidden fighters by way of WiiConnect24 or will you offer new downloadable content -- new fighters, for example. -- using the service?

Masahiro Sakurai: No. There are no characters that can be unlocked via connecting to WiiConnect24 or interacting in that fashion. And I may be mistaken here, but the Wii doesn't have a hard drive -- it's a disc-based system -- so I don't think we'll be doing that, I don't think it's going to happen.

IGN: Have you done everything you can do with the Smash Bros. franchise now? In other words, can Wii owners look forward to a Brawl sequel in the future?

Masahiro Sakurai: Well, the series has already had three iterations so I cannot say with one-hundred percent confidence that there won't be any additional Smash Bros. games ever. But, at the same time I'd really like to note that I feel like with Brawl there are already so many modes and so much to do that it's really hard to exhaust what you can do with this game. I'm really against the idea of merely creating a sequel that would add modes or increase the number of characters in the roster -- all the sort of things that just simply fatten up the game. I'd like to avoid just doing that if a sequel ever came out.

IGN: We think one of the obvious next steps for Smash Bros. is a Nintendo DS game. The fighter seems perfectly suited to the handheld. What're your thoughts about such a project?

Masahiro Sakurai: Seeing the success that Brawl has had with the Wii remote being playing sideways, I don't think that there are control limitations that keep it from being ported to the DS. But I personally have no plans to do this myself. If, in the future, such a thing was to be planned, it would be up to Nintendo to decide how and when and in what way they would like to create that sort of game.

IGN: Smash Bros. is a very competitive series, but you have avoided detailed online stat tracking and leader board ranking systems for Brawl. Why is that?

Masahiro Sakurai: Well, I'm sure that people hitting ranks one through 10, were there such a ranking system, would be incredibly pleased with it and having a lot of fun. But, you know, it's not fun for everybody involved per se if such a system were to exist. I was asked this time around to try and get Wi-Fi into the game and so certainly we've managed to get wireless battles so you can play with people in other places. But it's really a game in my mind that has been designed to be played with a smaller group of people -- be that a group of friends or within your house a group of family members -- competing in the small circles and not really worrying about winning and losing so much as the process that gets you there. That is where the fun should hopefully be for a lot of people. It can also be kind of trying and painful for some people who want to be at the top and think that they're really good at Smash and they look at their online ranking and they're the one-hundred-thousandth best Smash Bros. player -- those are some of the reasons I've decided not to go with leader boards.

IGN: Why can't players in random online matches communicate or even see each other's names? What's the philosophy behind that?

Masahiro Sakurai: When thinking about this game and when realizing that we were going to do Wi-Fi, we had to think a lot about the whole idea of communication over the Internet. When we were doing this, one of the things that we paid a lot of attention to is the fact that there are a lot of unpleasant experiences to be had out there, be that being insulted over the Internet or that sort of thing. You know, it's one thing if you're used to it and you're playing a first-person shooter online with 16 people and you know these guys and you're trading insults back and forth and yelling at each other, that's all well and good. But when you've got new players, and one thing I've aimed to do is to really bring new players into the fold, if this is their first online experience I want it to be a pleasant one. I want to dodge and avoid those kinds of situations that could make the whole experience online psychologically damaging or unpleasant, so that's one of the reasons we've decided not to include that feature.

IGN: Thanks so much for your time, Mr. Sakurai. We just have a couple final questions. First, who is your favorite character to play with in Brawl and do you think there is anybody in the world who can regularly win matches as Dedede?

Masahiro Sakurai: [Laughs] I'm in love with all of my characters and I couldn't possibly choose one. And I personally believe that no matter which character you choose, there is the possibility that you can win your matches. And there is no character that will guarantee that you will win.

Source

flight1991 · 02-21-2008, 10:06 AM

man i dont want to read all that. good find i guess

Eddienoteddy · 02-21-2008, 10:14 AM

he says use Skype if you must have voice chat.

so do that..and stop crying about no voice chat..Nintendo made the right choice...admit it

flight1991 · 02-21-2008, 10:39 AM

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Originally Posted by Eddienoteddy

he says use Skype if you must have voice chat.

so do that..and stop crying about no voice chat..Nintendo made the right choice...admit it

right choice with no voice chat on brawl?? man u got to be nuts

ElronMac · 02-21-2008, 11:00 AM

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Originally Posted by flight1991

man i dont want to read all that. good find i guess

Are you just lazy, or illiterate as well?

Lugia · 02-21-2008, 11:34 AM

at first i figured voice chat wasnt important but now i figure they could of at least made it optional like WoW did. i mean dont get me wrong nobody uses WoWs voice chat anyways but its there.

Dinner · 02-21-2008, 11:50 AM

WoW didnt have voice chat either. People just used Ventrilo.

spiff-ssbb · 02-21-2008, 12:18 PM

great thread. cleared up a lot from voice chat to possible DLC. i find it odd though that he didnt even know that wii has a small hard drive haha

WiitnessID · 02-21-2008, 12:21 PM

LOL I would turn it off any ways. Why listen to BS when you are winning... Gamers are such sore losers lots of times. I mean really if you need that stuff then there are pther ways... but really it's been lame for a while now. It's bad enough I have to read what people type....LOL!

FLYNNN · 02-21-2008, 12:29 PM

The right choice, wrong, Nintendo is making themselves look VERY good but they are losing money because of it, if they came out with there own mic they could make A LOT, but they make themselves look good for not having it and like they actually care about the well-being of kids playing their game.

WiitnessID · 02-21-2008, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLYNNN

The right choice, wrong, Nintendo is making themselves look VERY good but they are losing money because of it, if they came out with there own mic they could make A LOT, but they make themselves look good for not having it and like they actually care about the well-being of kids playing their game.

They don't care but their court room super stars do. It's a very painful for them to have kids playing on their system. But really it's a good idea to let player choose what they want to use since chatting with random assholes usually sucks. I mean really why do people need chat any way? Do they really think that talking juke works in a game? Crutches!

spiff-ssbb · 02-21-2008, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WiitnessID

LOL I would turn it off any ways. Why listen to BS when you are winning... Gamers are such sore losers lots of times. I mean really if you need that stuff then there are pther ways... but really it's been lame for a while now. It's bad enough I have to read what people type....LOL!

haha agreed. it would have been nice to chat with friends though

AoWFraggit · 02-21-2008, 02:06 PM

never fear, my comrades.

once wii get an external hard drive, we WILL get dlc!

spiff-ssbb · 02-21-2008, 02:28 PM

we'll get external HD? rumor of fact?

flight1991 · 02-21-2008, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElronMac

Are you just lazy, or illiterate as well?

i can read really well, i just dont want to read for like 15 min, i hate reading long stuff !

PacMan200 · 02-21-2008, 03:13 PM

Nintendo should have voice chat. It would be a simple feature to control via parental controls or something of that nature. They talk about trying to open up gaming to everyone and I think that voice chat is a part of getting many people involved. It would make for a much stronger online based Wii community as well. That all said I probably will set up Skype or something. Also, could it be possible that a third party developer will be the ones to create voice chat for the Wii?

zapasant · 02-21-2008, 03:27 PM

that was a very nice find, thank you

though im worried at the fact that he said "if we" make another smash game......oh no

also, i think he's reason to why take away leaderboards and random battles opponents to see your name is utter bullcrap

spiff-ssbb · 02-21-2008, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PacMan200

Nintendo should have voice chat. It would be a simple feature to control via parental controls or something of that nature. They talk about trying to open up gaming to everyone and I think that voice chat is a part of getting many people involved. It would make for a much stronger online based Wii community as well. That all said I probably will set up Skype or something. Also, could it be possible that a third party developer will be the ones to create voice chat for the Wii?

well it'd have to be approved by nintendo first wouldnt it to allow the needed connection and specs for compatability

02-21-2008, 10:06 AM	#2
flight1991 STOP IT! Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 287 Friends: 2 6396-1679-5264-9815	man i dont want to read all that. good find i guess __________________ :: Call of Duty World at War FC :: :: 309433315990 :: :: Skype = xx_smiles ::

02-21-2008, 10:14 AM	#3
Eddienoteddy mii love wii Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: CT Posts: 245 Friends: 0 1656-4947-1080-8284	he says use Skype if you must have voice chat. so do that..and stop crying about no voice chat..Nintendo made the right choice...admit it __________________ -=Join the Waluigi Fan Club (WFC)=-

02-21-2008, 11:34 AM	#6
Lugia WiiChat Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: wisconsin Posts: 317 Friends: 0 4841-8322-0786-7773	at first i figured voice chat wasnt important but now i figure they could of at least made it optional like WoW did. i mean dont get me wrong nobody uses WoWs voice chat anyways but its there. __________________ Member of Ganondorf's Army SSBB CODE: 305072459278

02-21-2008, 11:50 AM	#7
Dinner Reading Rainbow Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Scarborough, Ontario Posts: 830 Friends: 16 2878-9257-8140-1234	WoW didnt have voice chat either. People just used Ventrilo. __________________ Thanks for the sig, gidget! Gamertag: D1nner SSBB Code: 2878-9257-8140 Peach Smash Guild Member Working on L4D Achievements 49/50 PM if wanna play

02-21-2008, 12:18 PM	#8
spiff-ssbb WiiChat Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 657 Friends: 5 8140-2366-3149-0356	great thread. cleared up a lot from voice chat to possible DLC. i find it odd though that he didnt even know that wii has a small hard drive haha __________________ "YOUR A HOOKER!" -Grandma's Boy


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02-21-2008, 12:21 PM	#9
WiitnessID WiiChat Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 453 Friends: 0	LOL I would turn it off any ways. Why listen to BS when you are winning... Gamers are such sore losers lots of times. I mean really if you need that stuff then there are pther ways... but really it's been lame for a while now. It's bad enough I have to read what people type....LOL!

02-21-2008, 12:29 PM	#10
FLYNNN Join The Sonic Fan Club! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 284 Friends: 0 0204-2578-2014-7346	The right choice, wrong, Nintendo is making themselves look VERY good but they are losing money because of it, if they came out with there own mic they could make A LOT, but they make themselves look good for not having it and like they actually care about the well-being of kids playing their game. __________________ Currently Owned Nintendo Games: Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy, Medal of Honor: Heroes 2, Guitar Hero III, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. -=Join the Sonic Fan Club=- Current Members: Spoiler Alert! FLYNNN, Luigi!, 13ofHEARTS, Wiimoto, ironmanswe, hotsammysl, minto, bw!, tampa2012, PrinceLink, Staszy26, ROB64, anax4aero, tony26121, BIGWAVE, Nick Attack. [16 Members] Brawl Friend Code: 0173-0953-7101

02-21-2008, 02:06 PM	#13
AoWFraggit WiiChat Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,061 Friends: 3 8480-0209-2306-3955	never fear, my comrades. once wii get an external hard drive, we WILL get dlc! __________________ Currently Playing: The Conduit Call of Duty: World at War

02-21-2008, 02:28 PM	#14
spiff-ssbb WiiChat Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 657 Friends: 5 8140-2366-3149-0356	we'll get external HD? rumor of fact? __________________ "YOUR A HOOKER!" -Grandma's Boy

02-21-2008, 03:13 PM	#16
PacMan200 Wakka Wakka Wakka Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: NY Posts: 67 Friends: 0 3119-8826-4522-9070	Nintendo should have voice chat. It would be a simple feature to control via parental controls or something of that nature. They talk about trying to open up gaming to everyone and I think that voice chat is a part of getting many people involved. It would make for a much stronger online based Wii community as well. That all said I probably will set up Skype or something. Also, could it be possible that a third party developer will be the ones to create voice chat for the Wii?

02-21-2008, 03:27 PM	#17
zapasant Where is your god now? Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 2,883 Friends: 5 2887-9874-6238-6951	that was a very nice find, thank you though im worried at the fact that he said "if we" make another smash game......oh no also, i think he's reason to why take away leaderboards and random battles opponents to see your name is utter bullcrap __________________ PSN ID: zapasant93

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