Masahiro Sakurai says there is a shortage of “all-rounder” game directors in the industry, with devs becoming increasingly specialized in narrow fields

The video game industry has evolved significantly in the past 30 years; however, many leading Japanese creators seem to be worried about the direction the industry has taken recently. In a special interview with ITmedia Business Online (which will only be available until June 29), Smash and Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai voiced his concern about there being a shortage of game directors in recent days – especially the kind that’s versatile and possesses comprehensive knowledge about multiple aspects game development.

“I believe that the occupation of a ‘game director’ is very rare nowadays. And even rarer are the directors who are able to work in an environment where they have to oversee hundreds of staff members. While there are plenty of people who make games or who want to make games, there is a shortage of game directors would be able to consolidate them as a team.”

He explains that behind the lack of directors in the industry lie several factors, but the most difficult one to tackle may be the growing specialization and subdivision of various tasks in game development. While Sakurai himself handles many different aspects of development, from graphics to sound effects, he notes that, “Now, there is no fertile ground for these types of all-rounder game directors to grow.”

Sakurai explains how he kicked off his career working in the graphics department, then became a game designer, and finally a director. However, he says that in recent years, even the graphics-related work is divided into modeling, effects, textures – and in that kind of environment, it’s very difficult for someone to acquire a wider knowledge of how a game is made. “It is because of this continuing specialization and subdivision that there are not enough game directors who would be able to oversee a game’s development in a wider sense,” Sakurai remarks.

When asked about the prospects of having such a successor in this day and age of game development – Sakurai replied that even thinking about that is pointless, because each person has different characteristics unique to them, and the key to success is in how you utilize them. “Maybe there is someone who won’t follow the same road as me, but will be able to break through by going in a completely different direction […] I believe every game creator should pave their own unique way (instead of being a successor to somebody else).”