Sakurai Ends Game Designers Award After 16 Years
The designer says an industry that loses originality will only die slowly, citing Steam's growth from about 275 yearly releases to over 19,000.
Masahiro Sakurai has discontinued his Game Designers Award after 16 years at Tokyo Game Show, and said in a new interview that an industry which loses originality will only die slowly. The interview was published by Denfaminico Gamer and reported by kotaku.com.
Sakurai pointed to the growth of Steam as context. When he opened the award in 2010, roughly 275 games were sold on the platform in a year; that figure now stands at over 19,000, he said. He also said more than 8,000 titles appeared in this month's Steam Next Fest.
Looking ahead, Sakurai said AI will increase the number of released games, and that most of them will be copies of existing titles.
For 16 years, Sakurai handed out the Game Designers Award at Tokyo Game Show, honouring original game design regardless of sales. Past winners included Life Is Strange, Mario Kart: Home Circuit, Viewfinder and Scribblenauts.
In a speech at the awards show last month, Sakurai said originality ranks low among priorities for many and does not strongly affect sales.
Quick answers
Why did Masahiro Sakurai end the Game Designers Award?
Sakurai said the industry that loses originality will only die slowly, and cited the sharp rise in the number of games released on Steam.
How long did the Game Designers Award run?
It ran for 16 years at Tokyo Game Show, with Sakurai handing out the award since 2010.