Masahiro Sakurai departs Nintendo and HAL Laboratory
What happened
Masahiro Sakurai has departed from both HAL Laboratory and Nintendo. This follows his previous departure from the companies after the release of Kirby Air Ride for the Nintendo GameCube in 2003. Satoru Iwata had previously promised Sakurai that they would speak again if Nintendo chose to continue the Super Smash Bros. series in the future.
From eventhubs.com
Why it matters
Sakurai was the sole individual overseeing the Super Smash Bros. series, and his departure created uncertainty regarding the franchise's future. Reports indicate that Nintendo had planned a new Super Smash Bros. entry for the Wii, but Sakurai was not involved in the project's initial stages.
From eventhubs.com
Who's involved
- Masahiro SakuraiJapanese video game designer who oversaw the Super Smash Bros. series
- Satoru IwataFormer president of Nintendo who promised to speak with Sakurai again
- NintendoJapanese multinational video game and consumer electronics company
- HAL LaboratoryJapanese video game developer where Sakurai previously worked
Who could feel it
Possible knock-on effectsThese are possibilities Brind reasoned out, not predictions, and not advice. Most are not stated in any report.
- NintendoSpeculative
Nintendo might face changes in the supply of intellectual property and game production for the Super Smash Bros. series.
Keep exploring
The entities involved
-
Masahiro Sakurai
Japanese video game designer (born 1970)
Nothing else this week.
-
Nintendo
Japanese multinational video game and consumer electronics company