Smash Bros creator talks strange contract details

Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai has revealed some strange and rather unique details about his development contracts with Nintendo

Masahiro Sakurai, the famed creator of the Super Smash Bros. video game series and the creator of Kirby, has released a new video detailing the unique contracts he and his company have with Nintendo.

Sakurai, who has taken to making videos on YouTube in recent months, released a new video this week talking about the company he created and leads, Sora Ltd.. Sakurai revealed that Sora is more or less just him and his wife, and that going independent was important to him as a creator.

However, it also comes with its own set of challenges, as Sakurai revealed that his development contracts with Nintendo are quite unusual. Instead of being paid upfront for his work, Sakurai says he doesn’t receive payment at all during the development of a game, instead getting paid after a game has started selling.

“My contracts generally stipulate that I don’t receive payment during development,” Sakurai said, “I don’t see any compensation until a game is finished, on sale, and earning revenue – and my income is based on game sales. If the project falls through, I earn nothing, of course. Even if I wasn’t responsible for its failure. Truly a high-risk job.”

Sakurai said that the policy typically doesn’t extend to external contractors, who get paid a set amount each month. But, he said, the company publishing the game, usually Nintendo, doesn’t see profits until the game starts selling, and he prefers to take that risk alongside the publisher.

“The company actually selling the game, though, doesn’t see profit until the game goes on sale. I don’t ask for compensation during the project as a way of sharing that risk with them. I don’t know if I’ll do it this way forever, and maybe I should consider a case-by-case basis, but for now at least, I can’t say I ever struggle to pay the bills”.

Sakurai’s best-known work is on the Super Smash Bros. series, which saw its latest release, Ultimate, in 2018. The game was a roaring success, both critically and financially, selling almost 30 million units since its release.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a roster of over 100 different characters. Picture: Nintendo

Nintendo reportedly shut down a Smash Bros tournament in late-November, after its organisers failed to gain a commercial license for the event. A lengthy statement from organisers, however, suggested that Nintendo’s esports partner Panda was pulling the strings behind the cancellation.

Nintendo claimed it didn’t actually shut down the tournament, instead saying that it simply wouldn’t be considered a licensed event and that it could have gone ahead if the organisers wanted it. That didn’t stop popular streamer Ludwig from hosting his own Smash tournament, however, offering to fly out the top 8 players from the cancelled tournament so they could play in his.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.