Super Smash Bros

Legendary game developer Masahiro Sakurai has started his own gaming-centric YouTube channel.

As the name suggests, “Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games” follows the Super Smash Bros. creator as he explores the ins and outs of game development in both Japanese and English (subtitles). He says the channel is intended to be approachable for both game developers and fans alike, and each video will be ad-free and roughly two to five minutes long to offer easily digestible “bite-sized” explainers.

In his videos, Sakurai will draw from his extensive portfolio, including the Smash Bros., Kirby and Kid Icarus series, as well as a slew of other games from across the industry. Notably, Sakurai says he’s been given permission by Nintendo to include design documents from his work on Super Smash Bros., although the Japanese gaming giant is otherwise unaffiliated with the channel.

At the time of writing, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games has already hit 170,000 subscribers with three published videos. The first introduces the channel, the second unpacks his creative works and the third focuses on the concept of “Hit Stops” (using delays like slow-motion to enhance the impact of specific gameplay moments).

Since December 2019, Sakurai has been using his personal Twitter account to share entertaining images from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate that were taken with a special developer camera. With the last of these photos being posted on August 22nd, Sakurai has decided to launch the YouTube channel.

It’s certainly a tantalizing project. Over the past few decades, Sakurai has become a beloved figure in the gaming industry, with fans especially loving his passionate and charming fighter breakdown videos for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. With those coming to an end last October with the game’s final DLC character, Kingdom Hearts‘ Sora, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games offers a new way for fans to engage with the prolific game developer.

Image credit: Nintendo

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment may be working on its own Super Smash Bros.-inspired platform fighter.

Over the past few days, an unverified rumour hit Reddit regarding such a game with characters from many popular WB brands.

While that normally would be sketchy in and of itself, VentureBeat‘s Jeff Grubb, a credible source with a solid track record, took to Twitter to back up the leak. Other than refuting the leak’s claim that Mortal Kombat and Injustice developer NetherRealm is working on the WB crossover fighter, Grubb stated that the rumoured game is, indeed, “real.”

This WB platform fighter is real, but it is not a Netherrealm game. Come on. https://t.co/WkMiKf4dTH

— Jeff Grubb (@JeffGrubb) October 24, 2021

Grubb didn’t specifically say if any other parts of the leak are true or false, though. According to the rumour, a variety of iconic WB characters are set to join the rumoured game’s roster, including Batman (DC), Gandalf (The Lord of the Rings), Shaggy (Scooby-Doo), Mad Max (Mad Max), Fred Flinstone (The Flinstones), Tom & Jerry (Tom & Jerry) and Johnny Bravo (Johnny Bravo).

Interestingly, the rumour claims that the Wizarding World’s Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were also mentioned as part of the roster. However, the leaker noted that the rights for the Potter characters are “weird” — presumably due to creator J.K. Rowling maintaining control over the series — and conceded that they may have even been mentioned in jest.

The leaker also makes the rather interesting claim that the game was originally conceived due to all of the memes over the mega-powerful ‘Ultra Instinct Shaggy.’ Given that a family-friendly character like Shaggy wouldn’t make sense in a game like Mortal Kombat, WB instead reportedly came up with the idea of a Smash-like crossover where he and other characters could face off instead. This is especially credible since we already knew that Warner Bros. was paying close attention to the memes, as the company even added a nod to them in the opening titles of its Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms animated movie.

Further, the leaker says the game is a ‘tag team’ fighter, which suggests some sort of synergy between characters. They said they didn’t have any more details, but this sounds similar to Capcom’s Marvel vs. Capcom series, which lets you switch between a party of characters on the fly. This added layer of strategy would, in theory, help the WB game stand out not only from Smash, but the other inspired titles that have been popping up, including, most recently, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.

It’s worth noting that while the leaker didn’t suggest a title for the game, WB did file a trademark for a project called “Multiversus” last month. It remains to be seen whether that’s actually related to the rumoured crossover fighter, but it certainly sounds like a fitting title.

The leaker concluded their post by teasing that the WB game is just one of “at least two” other companies “with major IP” working on Smash-like games. This would make a lot of sense, given that Smash Bros. Ultimate became the best-selling fighting game of all time in 2019.

Meanwhile, properties like Fortnite and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have proven immensely popular by featuring their own major crossovers. Warner Bros. itself has also dabbled in this realm, be it through its ‘DC Extended Universe’ of superhero films, major DC characters appearing in Fortnite or even this year’s Space Jam: A New Legacy, which featured dozens of WB properties.

The company has not yet commented on the rumoured crossover fighter.

Image credit: Warner Bros. (1), (2), (3)

Source: Reddit, @JeffGrubb