Even though Sakurai is done with Smash for now, it’s nice to see him still around

This recent It Takes Two joke is gold

Sakurai is done with Smash for now (so you’re saying there’s still a chance), but he isn’t done hanging out.

The joke in the tweet mentions how It Takes Two won the top spot at The Game Awards 2021, then talks about how it’s a barrier to entry that it’s a two-person game that can possibly be tackled alone. Sakurai provides his classic “playing two characters at once” stance as he dons two PlayStation 5 controllers. For those of you who don’t follow Smash, this is a stance Sakurai takes often in his character rundown videos.

And you know what? It’s amazing to see It Takes Two get some love around the world, given how much same-screen co-op-enabled games have fallen off the face of the Earth. They don’t even ship with some games anymore!

I hope to see more of Sakurai enjoying himself like this. He has a huge following of people who are grateful for his impact on the industry over several decades, and it was fantastic to see him just hanging out with other contemporaries recently. With any luck, Sakurai can get some rest, but still be around and maybe do some consulting here and there.

Or maybe he’ll go the Hayao Miyazaki route and just never retire. Whatever makes him happy!

The  Game  Award  2021を獲得した『It  Takes  Two』。
ふたり専用ゲームであることが最大の障壁だけど、ひとりでできなくもない…かも? pic.twitter.com/xb2WtE8Fvn

— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) December 11, 2021