Super Smash Bros. 4 is one of the most anticipated games in the world, and series creator Masahiro Sakurai recently penned a column for Japanese website Famitsu (translated by Polygon) discussing his new Super Smash Bros. game, as well as the video game industry in general. Sakurai revealed that he does not understand the industry's obsession with remaking older games.
"Is there any industry that relies so much on reusing and reusing their old titles as much as video games? Compared to other media like movies, dramas, animation, novels and comics, the glut of franchises and remakes is at an unnatural level," wrote Sakurai.
Sakurai went on to explain why he thinks there's a constant stream of older games getting remade or remastered, claiming much of it is caused by the nature of the medium that requires users to learn how to play each individual game:
"You have to learn the rules of a game before you can play, and that presents hurdles from the very start...That's why you have a generally unified approach to control methods between titles, and you can usually play one by taking what you already know and adding a feature or two to it - X means jump, Square means attack, and so on."
The industry veteran added that alternative games and blockbuster titles deserve equal attention from gamers or else the industry could get stale:
"Good games attract fans, and if you have fans, you have an advantage...You try to use that to make the title something bigger, but that doesn't mean it's okay to give up on innovation. Popular, well-made games deserve praise, but titles that have some kind of unique creative spark to them also need to be praised in this way. That's what the judges are trying to do here, and it won't work if it was just popular majority vote. That would lead to people just voting on names and past performances."
It will be interesting to see if Sakurai can back up his thoughts on the industry by delivering a unique experience with Super Smash Bros. 4, which will be available on both the Wii U and 3DS.
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