The Super Smash Bros. franchise, despite its immense success, has always suffered quite a few problems when it came to online multiplayer options. Series creator Masahiro Sakurai recently spoke about online multiplayer in the franchise in a recent video on creating video games.
Spotted by IGN, Sakurai’s latest video has him talking about Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which was released on the Nintendo Wii, and its online multiplayer implementation. In the video, Sakurai states that he does not feel that online multiplayer is a good fit for the Smash Bros. franchise.
“I don’t think online play and Smash Bros. are a very good fit for each other,” says Sakurai. “One of the best parts of Smash Bros. is how players can become champions among their friends. But being subjected to online competition can cause people to lose confidence, which isn’t great.”
Sakurai also goes on to talk about the implementation of multiplayer in the game, and how it uses full synchronous communication compared to the asynchronous communication used in Mario Kart games with online multiplayer. Full synchronous communication means that the timing for all player input is synchronised in every single frame.
Because of the network demands of Smash Bros. Sakurai states that online play in the games can often be patchy unless you’re playing with others not only in the same country, but in the same region as well.
Sakurai also speaks about other aspects of Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the video, including single-player content like the Subspace Emissary game mode. You can check out the video below.