Sakurai avoids talking about what he is playing to quell Smash Bros DLC speculation

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate boss Masahiro Sakurai has been quiet about what he plays to keep DLC speculation from running rampant.

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Masahiro Sakurai is undoubtedly overseeing a game with one of the most active and speculative communities in nearly all of gaming in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Everybody is on the lookout for what comes next when it comes to character DLC in the Smash Bros Ultimate Fighters Pass Vol. 2. According to Sakurai himself, that has caused him to be more cautious in talking about what he plays and enjoys in his spare time.

Sakurai shared his caution around Super Smash Bros Utlimate in his recent Famitsu column, a bit of which was translated and reported by Nintendo Everything on June 3, 2020. In the column, Sakurai shared that he treads carefully in openly talking about what video games he’s playing and enjoying anymore because of rampant player speculation as to what it could mean for the remaining Smash Bros Ultimate DLC.

“I normally play a ton of games, but if people find out what kinds of games I’m playing, they have a tendency to start making a fuss over, ‘Did Sakurai just confirm so-and-so for Smash?!’” Sakurai explained.

Masahiro Sakurai would go on to explain that the matter often spins out of control so much that he takes caution in any kind of avenue in which he could be directly associating with a specific game in public.

“These misunderstandings spread like wildfire particularly in countries abroad,” Sakurai continued. “I have to be extremely careful, so I don’t write about what I’m playing on Twitter, and I have to decline appearing on TV shows or programs that highlight a specific game.”

It’s kind of a bummer to hear such a thing. There’s no lack of developers that share interest in what they’ve been playing or show solidarity with other developers in their projects, but what Sakurai is talking about is very real, despite admitting that Nintendo has the final say on what characters go into Smash Ultimate. Even without his opinion on the matter, speculation on Smash Bros Ultimate Fighters Pass Vol 2 is pretty rampant as players and fans try to figure out who will show up next.

We all love Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Of that, there can be no doubt, but given that the Fighters Pass Vol 2 DLC collection will supposedly be the final content for Smash Ultimate outside patches, maybe the day will come when Sakurai can start sharing his gaming opinions freely again.

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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