Super Smash Bros. is a series loved by millions. It's got one of the biggest, baddest competitive scenes out there and each time a title is released into the franchise, it's an event of magnitude. While Nintendo might be looking to appease the casual crowd as of late, Super Smash Bros. is one of the titles keeping Nintendo loyalists on board.
However, series designer Masahiro Sakurai has recently spoken out, saying that he doesn't think he'll be working on more entries to the series. Since the intellectual property itself is owned by Nintendo, this obviously doesn't mean the end of Super Smash Bros., but it could spell disaster in other ways.
"I can't positively declare there won't be [another Smash Bros.]. With both Melee and Brawl, I made those games with the thought that there wouldn't be any more sequels. Thus, I really can't deny the chance for another. However, as for myself, I don't think there will be."
"Our intention [with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U] was to provide extra merits to the game which go far beyond the sale price," he continued. "In terms of scope, and in terms of sheer number of characters, we went beyond our limits long ago. And yet, if we cut the number of fighters or modes in a future game, I'm sure there would be complaints."
Sakurai feels that the development teams are being asked to do too much for too little. The reason that they have pushed their limits for the past two Smash games is because they thought that they were going to be the last two titles in the series. Sakurai feels that due to this, his successor will have an extremely hard time both adjusting and improving on an already working formula.
"I feel like we've arrived at a very difficult place. One thing I can say, however, is that I hope people don't think that Smash Bros. has come to its natural conclusion as a matter of course. That's my personal plea."