Sakurai: "I don't think online play and Smash Bros. are a very good fit"
"Network lag tends to make the game a pretty choppy experience."
Nintendo's blockbuster fighting game franchise Super Smash Bros. isn't a good fit for online play, its creator Masahiro Sakurai has said.
Speaking in his latest YouTube video on game development, Sakurai discussed the addition of online play to the series in Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. In it, he lined out why he believed the series was better suited for local competition - for both philosophical and technical reasons.
Indeed, Sakurai addressed Nintendo's often shaky online servers, saying that "network lag tends to make the game a pretty choppy experience". Ultimately, though, it sounds like adding online play was something he had to do: "when it comes to technical issues, it doesn't really matter what I personally think," he said. "If my job is to do it, I'll do it."
Sakurai also discussed why he felt the series was simply better to play with those in the same room, likely with friends.
"I don't think online play and Smash Bros. are a very good fit for each other," Sakurai said. "One of the best parts of Smash Bros. is how players can become champions among their friends. But being subjected to online competition can cause people to lose confidence, which isn't great."
Moving on to the technical difficulties Smash Bros. can face online, Sakurai noted how the series had to use "fully synchronous communication", where input timing is synchronised among all players every frame.
"Compared to the aysnchronous communication seen in games like Mario Kart, that's a major disadvantage," Sakurai said. "You're limited to playing with people as close to you as possible, so it works best sticking not just to your own country but your own local region within it. Plus, network lag tends to make the game a pretty choppy experience.
"Still, when it comes to technical issues, it doesn't really matter what I personally think. If my job is to do it, I'll do it. And you never know, it could be fun in its own way. In fact, when we got online play working, I remember thinking. 'Wow, it's actually possible'."
Sakurai goes on to discuss other elements added in Smash Bros. Brawl, including its expansive single-player mode Subspace Emissary. This was such an undertaking it was almost like "making a whole other game", he said, and initially was planned for an external studio to take on.
However, Sakurai said his team could not find a suitable contractor to make the mode for them, so he ended up deciding it should be made in-house, with Sakurai himself handling its character movement.
The full video is worth a watch, below:
