Super Smash Bros.creator Masahiro Sakurai made a surprising comment recently, stating that the online play isn’t a “very good fit” for the fighting game series. Online play wasn’t first introduced inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, but the latest release in the franchise has the most robust support for online play for the franchise yet. Despite that, the addition of online play toSuper Smash Bros.has consistently been a surprising topic of controversy, as some view it as a strictly in-person competitive experience.
The firstSuper Smash Bros.game was originally released in 1999 as a Nintendo 64 exclusive game. While online multiplayer games were increasingly popular on PC then, consoles wouldn’t start supporting wired internet connections for years. As such,Super Smash Bros. was strictly a couch-competitive multiplayer game with support for four players at a time.Super Smash Bros. Meleefor the Nintendo GameCubewould also lack online play, which was first introduced withSuper Smash Bros. Brawlin 2008.
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The success ofSuper Smash Bros.as an offline multiplayer game for nearly a decade has fostered a strong community sentiment surrounding the “right” way to play the game. That sentiment appears to be held byfranchise creator Masahiro Sakurai, as well. Speaking in a recent “Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games” YouTube show, theSuper Smash Bros.creator said explicitly that he doesn’t think “online play andSmash Bros.are a very good fit for each other.”
The reason why Sakurai holds this view may surprise someSuper Smash Bros.fans. He says that “one of the best parts” of the game is that players can become “champions among their friends.” In contrast, Sakurai says that playing online can “cause people to lose confidence.” It seems that Sakurai sees offline play as healthier for the game and for the player.
Sakurai does acknowledge a more specific issue withSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, which is that the game’s online play isn’t technically perfect. He mentions that the game’s network lag can lead to a “choppy experience.” He only tacitly acknowledges that this is in part due to thelimitations of Nintendo’s Switch hardwareand multiplayer server technology, saying that technically, “it doesn’t really matter what I think” and that “If my job is to do it, I’ll do it.”
In a different reality where Sakurai was able to stay true to his game development philosophies,Super Smash Bros.may never have added online multiplayer. There are undoubtedly a not-insignificant amount ofSuper Smash Bros.fans who would have preferred that. But it’s hard to deny that online play has madeSuper Smash Bros.multiplayer accessible to a much broader and more diverse audience. Further, it wouldn’t be surprising for thenextSuper Smash Bros., whenever it arrives, to have even better online multiplayer support and functionality.
