Latest news with #MasahiroSakurai
Globe and Mail
01-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Nintendo Stock (NTDOF) Jumps as Veteran Warns AAA Development Is ‘Becoming Unsustainable'
Long-time Nintendo (NTDOF) collaborator Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Kirby and director of the Super Smash Bros. series, warned that AAA game development is 'becoming unsustainable.' He points to the increased size of games and says that there's too much work needed on them. Despite this warning, NTDOF stock was up today. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Sakurai is far from the only video game developer who believes this. Several other prominent figures in the industry, including Sony's (SONY) former PlayStation head Shawn Layden, have warned that the growing cost to develop AAA games is a problem the industry needs to tackle. For Nintendo's part, the company releases several AA games, those with smaller budgets and development times, between its AAA releases. This allows it to have a variety of exclusive titles for its consoles and frequent game releases. This is what partially led to the success of the original Switch and could see lightning strike twice with the Switch 2. Sakurai's Suggestion to Solve the AAA Development Slog Sakurai didn't just complain about growing development costs for AAA games. He also suggested a potential solution. The Nintendo veteran believes that generative artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to make game development more efficient. Sakurai told IGN, 'I think we are getting to the point where (AAA studios) have to change their way of working by using gen AI to improve work efficiency.' He also noted that 'only the companies that successfully respond to these changes will be able to survive.' NTDOF stock was up 2.06% as of Tuesday morning, building on a 49.82% rally year-to-date and a 58.56% increase over the past 12 months. Is Nintendo Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold? Turning to Wall Street, the analysts' consensus rating for Nintendo is Moderate Buy, based on eight Buy, two Hold, and a single Sell rating over the past three months. With that comes an average NTDOF stock price target of $91.34, representing a potential 4.7% upside for the shares. See more NTDOF stock analyst ratings Disclaimer & Disclosure Report an Issue
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"We must change our methods": Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai says game development has become "too time consuming and unsustainable"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Kirby and Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai has spoken about the current state of game development and why he believes it is becoming "unsustainable." You rarely hear much about developers when it comes to Nintendo games, but Masahiro Sakurai is well known as a workaholic. From 2012 until 2021, he worked on Super Smash Bros. non-stop between the 3DS, Wii U, and Switch editions, in the midst of suffering from calcific tendonitis. And in the five months he had off in between finishing up with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and his then-unknown next project – which was revealed to be Kirby Air Riders in the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct – he created two-and-a-half years' worth of content for a YouTube channel. However, even Sakurai is beginning to think large-scale development is getting to be a bit wild, as we're currently in an era where it looks like developers like Naughty Dog will end up going a full console generation without a new game. Speaking to Yahoo Japan (translated via Source Gaming), Sakurai responds to a question asking what he believes the future of the gaming market holds, saying that, "To be honest, it's hard to see what the future holds. I think we've reached a point where creating large-scale games like we do now is too time consuming and unsustainable." He says developers must adapt to new ways of thinking: "I believe we are at a stage where we must change our methods, such as by using generative AI to improve work efficiency." Sakurai adds, "It seems that only companies that can adapt well to these changes will survive in the coming era." While Sakurai presents generative AI as a tool that could be used to ease game development troubles, he doesn't clarify if it's something he himself is particularly interested in using. Given how Sakurai's games typically have a ton of personal touches where you see them and think, "yep, that's a Sakurai thing," I'd be shocked if he started using the plagiarism machine. Super Smash Bros. creator says instead of making more "Americanized works," Japanese devs should "seek the uniqueness and fun of Japanese games."
Business Insider
25-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Nintendo Stock (NTDOF) Jumps as Veteran Warns AAA Development Is ‘Becoming Unsustainable'
Long-time Nintendo (NTDOF) collaborator Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Kirby and director of the Super Smash Bros. series, warned that AAA game development is 'becoming unsustainable.' He points to the increased size of games and says that there's too much work needed on them. Confident Investing Starts Here: Sakurai is far from the only video game developer who believes this. Several other prominent figures in the industry, including Sony's (SONY) former PlayStation head Shawn Layden, have warned that the growing cost to develop AAA games is a problem the industry needs to tackle. For Nintendo's part, the company releases several AA games, those with smaller budgets and development times, between its AAA releases. This allows it to have a variety of exclusive titles for its consoles and frequent game releases. This is what partially led to the success of the original Switch and could see lightning strike twice with the Switch 2. Sakurai's Suggestion to Solve the AAA Development Slog Sakurai didn't just complain about growing development costs for AAA games. He also suggested a potential solution. The Nintendo veteran believes that generative artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to make game development more efficient. Sakurai told IGN, 'I think we are getting to the point where (AAA studios) have to change their way of working by using gen AI to improve work efficiency.' He also noted that 'only the companies that successfully respond to these changes will be able to survive.' NTDOF stock was up 2.06% as of Tuesday morning, building on a 49.82% rally year-to-date and a 58.56% increase over the past 12 months. Is Nintendo Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold? Turning to Wall Street, the analysts' consensus rating for Nintendo is Moderate Buy, based on eight Buy, two Hold, and a single Sell rating over the past three months. With that comes an average NTDOF stock price target of $91.34, representing a potential 4.7% upside for the shares.
Tokyo Weekender
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
Switch 2 Smashes Nintendo's Record, Selling 3.5 Million Units in Four Days
Nintendo announced on Wednesday that it had sold a record 3.5 million Switch 2 units worldwide in the first four days after the launch of the console. The astonishing figure surpasses the first month's sales of the original Switch (2.7 million units) and Sony's PlayStation 5 (3.4 million units). The former went on to sell more than 152 million units, making it the third best-selling game console of all time, behind the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS. Switch 2 Sales Predicted To Exceed Company's Expectations Last month, Nintendo said that Switch 2 sales would reach 15 million during the current financial year which ends on March 31, 2026. Analysts, however, consider that to be a modest target set by the company. Serkan Toto, CEO and founder of gaming industry consultancy Kantan Games, believes it will sell over 20 million units in the first year. He told CNBC , 'All signals prior to launch pointed to significant demand, and I believe we will see further records broken over the next weeks or months.' The coveted console, which is similar in design to its predecessor, though has a bigger screen and larger, redesigned controllers, was released in most regions on June 5. Around the world, excited gamers lined up outside electronic stores, waiting for the midnight opening. In Japan alone, around 2.2 million people applied for a lottery system to buy the console. Even before it went on sale, Nintendo reportedly started shipping Switch 2 branded 'Out of Stock' signs to retailers. Mario Kart World Mario Kart World was also released on June 5 as the launch game for the Nintendo Switch 2. It has added an open world to the series, providing players with the opportunity to race across a giant connected map from one circuit to another. Other exciting titles include the 3D platforming action-adventure game, Donkey Kong Bananza , which will be released on July 17, and Kirby Air Riders, a new title from Super Smash Bros.' director Masahiro Sakurai, which will come out later this year. Related Posts Nintendo Announces the Successor to the Nintendo Switch Bricks and Buttons: The Lego Nintendo Game Boy How to Find Tokyo's Secret Nintendo Bar: 84 Hashi Cafe
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai is surprised the Switch 2 Direct is an hour long, and no, he doesn't know what's coming, even if "people are going to suspect no matter what"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Today's the big day – the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct will air in a few short hours. Ahead of the stream, Nintendo confirmed that we can expect it to be "approximately 60 minutes long," making for a lengthy broadcast that'll be about the same length as the January 2017 Switch 1 presentation, something that even Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai seems pretty shocked about. In a tweet posted a few hours ago (translated by Automaton), Sakurai calls the length of the Switch 2 presentation "a surprise," but quickly clarifies that "I do not know the contents of the announcement (besides, I don't belong to Nintendo)." Despite his disclaimer, he acknowledges that "people are going to suspect no matter what I say," and he knows this from experience. As Automaton points out, it was only last week that the Smash Ultimate director's short, simple response to Nintendo announcing its March Direct prompted fans to speculate whether he was teasing an announcement of his own. Needless to say, he wasn't and remarked that he can't tweet "carelessly." To be fair, fans do have reason to anticipate an announcement from Sakurai at some point. Last October, he confirmed that in July 2021, he "received a request to write a game proposal" and was "given the OK to move forward with production" in October 2021. He apologized that he wasn't able to "share more about this project," but added: "Assuming that we're able to get it made, it should be announced sooner or later." He's remained quiet on this since – we still don't have any idea what the game is or when we can expect it to surface. It's certainly one to look forward to, but it sounds like the developer knows better than to give away any clues on Twitter. In the meantime, we'll just have to get ready for whatever Nintendo has up its sleeve today – Sakurai says he's "looking forward to it," and he's definitely not the only one. You can keep up with all the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct news in our live blog – here's hoping we get some news about upcoming Switch 2 games.
