Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Super Smash Bros, has been declared the “Most Valuable Creator” at the Famitsu Dengeki Awards.
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Sakurai is best known for creating adorable pink bob character, Kirby, at the age of 19. Since then, he has also directed numerous acclaimed games including the Super Smash Bros series. Sakurai also directed Kid Icarus: Uprising on the Nintendo 3DS.
The Famitsu Dengeki Awards were voted on by Famitsu readers, game developers, and voice actors.
In a tweet, the Super Smash Bros creator expressed gratitude. He stated “I received an award. Thank you to everyone who supported us!”.
賞をいただきました。
支持してくださった方々、どうもありがとうございました！ https://t.co/KM7r2M1CMZ— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) March 12, 2022
Elsewhere at the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards, Monster Hunter Rise won game of the year, while Tales of Arise won best graphics (thanks, Nintendo Life). Also, the best online game went to Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker with Hades winning best indie game.
Our own Game Of The Year, Metroid Dread, won best action adventure, beating Resident Evil Village and Lost Judgment. Also, Apex Legends won best esports game, defeating Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition and Valorant.
NME‘s 20 best games of 2021 included Monster Hunter Rise, Tales of Arise, Resident Evil Village and Metroid Dread, while Final Fantasy 14 won best ongoing game at the BandLab NME Awards 2022.
In other gaming news, Warren Spector has said that OtherSide last worked on System Shock 3 in 2019. He added that Tencent is “taking the franchise forward” and it will “be up to them to say what they want to say”. Because of that, it is uncertain what that means for the much-anticipated sequel.
Also, Bandai Namco has donated £650,000 to Save The Children in Ukraine. However, the company stopped short of condemning Russia’s actions and is not planning on halting sales of its products, like many other companies.