Masahiro Sakurai has explained that there are 'no plans' for a sequel to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate right now, and says that "it would be best not to assume that there will always be another one." Even if he did return to the series, the director says a sequel would be unlikely to keep all of the current fighters.
Speaking to IGN in an email interview, the beloved Smash Bros. director touched on the future of the series, and his part in it.
"I can’t really think about future prospects at the moment," he explained when I asked if he planned to direct another Smash Bros. game. "If Nintendo decides they want to make another one and offers me the job, that’s when I’d start thinking about it."
However, it seems that, at least right now, Nintendo isn't thinking beyond Smash Bros. Ultimate – which recently added its last character and released its final balance update.
When I ask if he'd like to make a different game before potentially returning to the series – as he did with Kid Icarus: Uprising between Smash Bros. Brawl and 3DS/Wii U – he makes very clear that returning to the series is not a foregone conslusion:
"When you say 'returning to the series', it makes it sound like there is going to be another Super Smash Bros. title, but currently, there are no such plans. It would be best not to assume that there will always be another one.
"Apart from that, I may not necessarily continue with creating more games, as I could potentially go down a different path. As for involvement with the gaming industry, there are various ways to do that. I like to keep an open mind about what I should do and take a look at all the different possibilities."
Even if Sakurai did come back to direct another installment, it feels like a tricky task. I ask how you follow up a game quite literally called the 'Ultimate' version of a series.
"At the very least, I don't think it would head in a direction where all of the current fighters are kept and the roster continues to expand," he explained. "I presume that running such a game on a hypothetical new system alone would exceed the game’s budget."
"However, if we try to keep things fresh by shifting to a different genre or greatly changing the direction, then it's no longer a Super Smash Bros. game. I can't deny that making this title so expansive has made it a tough act to follow."
It may well be that Sakurai feels that Ultimate includes all he needs to prove about himself with the Smash Bros. series he's steered for so long. Famously, it was revealed that the late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had called Smash Bros. Ultimate his "final mission" for Sakurai. I ask the director if he felt he had succeeded.
"Yes," he replies simply. "I believe I was able to fully complete this mission."
Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
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https://www.ign.com/articles/smash-bros-sequel-no-plans-masahiro-sakurai-director
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