For his YouTube instructional videos
Masahiro Sakurai, the iconic creator of Kirby and Super Smash Bros., has been honored by the Japanese Government’s Agency for Cultural Affairs.
Sakurai announced on social media platform X (noted by VGC) that he has been recognized as a recipient of the Cultural Affairs’ yearly Art Encouragement Prize for Emerging Artists. However, this recognition is not for his game development career; it is indeed for his YouTube channel, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games.
In response to the award, Sakurai expressed his gratitude towards the Agency, humorously stating (translated by Google), “Does this mean I can consider myself a cultural person?” Additionally, he was presented with the AMD Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Sakurai launched his YouTube channel back in 2022 and shared his final “regular” video in late 2024, with his content covering a variety of topics, including game development, UI design, animation, marketing, and his personal career. The channel was last active two weeks ago, releasing compilations of some of his shorter videos.
At the conclusion of his last video for the channel, Sakurai hinted that he was developing a new video game. While the details remain undisclosed, we speculate it might be for a new Nintendo console expected to be released later this year…
Share your thoughts about the award in the comments section.
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Alana has been part of Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs hold her primary interest, Nintendo comes in a close second. She relishes the challenge of analyzing battle strategies, character development, and narratives. She also wishes she were a Sega air pirate.