Yes, I know it sounds confusing. But this interview of former Nintendo employee Masahiro Sakurai by Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata is totally worth the read, especially if you're interested in the development process of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
The four-page interview at Wii.com is packed with interesting tidbits. The two begin by talking about how they both came from HAL Laboratory to Nintendo, and how they were originally tasked to develop the prototype for the original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. Suprisingly, Sakurai was only 19-years of age at the time.
Iwata goes on to talk about E3 2005, and how he mentioned that he would like to see a Super Smash Bros. sequel that took advantage of the Wii's (or Revolution, at the time) Wi-Fi capabilities. Many took this mention as an official announcement, and the boys back at Nintendo were taken by surprise.
Iwata: Looking back at it now, I do regret the way I said this; you can’t blame them for interpreting it that way…Naturally, it was a splash of cold water for you.
Sakurai: Absolutely. (laughs) You can imagine my surprise when I was told by the others at the E3 show site that you made the announcement out of the blue.
They go on to talk about how they had to look for staff to develop the game. I found it interesting that about 100 people worked on the game, and some staff was secured from other game developers like Game Arts (Grandia and Lunar series developers).
This is only the first part of the interview, so keep checking back for more.
Contest:
9:47 AM on 01.22.2008
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It's a good read.
Iwata's even got a brew sitting there on the table. I bet it's reaaaally tasty.
Nice interview.