As anyone in the video game development industry will tell you, there will always be ups and downs. Setbacks, long hours, and the occasional gaming delay often offset days of great progress and development. But, then, when it comes to the “peaks” of the pros and cons, many would agree that the biggest peak is your game going gold, and the biggest valley is should your game get the axe and be stopped before it could ever get released. Masahiro Sakurai dedicated a special “Grab Bag” episode of his YouTube series to discuss the pain of canceled games.
Ironically, Sakurai himself didn’t know any canceled games that he oversaw. Still, he has noted in the past that he made prototypes that were “game ready” in theory, so he does know about having to leave projects behind. He admitted that a game getting canceled could be one of the hardest things for a game developer to do and for the workers at that company to endure.
After all, it’s not simply canceling the “concept” of a game, as that would happen very early in the process, and no real “loss” would be felt. Instead, many times canceled games happen after months or even years of development, with the workers spending numerous hours putting everything they have into making the game special, only to see it get the axe.
But, there is a small bright side to this, as Masahiro Sakurai reminds his viewers that while it is sad, most times, people are still getting paid for their work. So it wasn’t a total waste of their time and effort as they were “rewarded for their efforts.”
As for why companies often cancel games, that’s because they sometimes can’t afford to push multiple projects at once. Or, they feel that their time and money are better suited for a “more promising title” than the game certain people are working on. Sakurai even hinted that there are canceled games from surprising franchises and their developers. One can only wonder what games he meant. But given how connected Sakurai is, it’s not surprising he has some “dirt” that he would’ve loved to have shared.
Regardless, he acknowledged that the best way to avoid getting a game canceled is to not be in a position to have it canceled. Furthermore, we should appreciate the video games we have, especially the good ones, as it takes a lot of effort to release them.
