"If we direct Smash ONLY at the competitive players, it will have no future."

[Punishment_Fatal]

http://smashboards.com/threads/sakurai-if-we-direct-smash-only-at-the-competitive-players-it-will-have-no-future.384952/page-15

Sakurai basically states in the interview that if Smash were more geared towards the competitive community instead of a casual community, then the skill gap would get wider and wider to the point where it would spoil some people's fun with Smash and ultimately drive them away from it. What do you guys think?

 

TL;DR Sakurai says Smash focused only on competitive is bad. What do you think?

[knavesmith]

"some people's fun with Slash"

 

I don't mind a game being competitive, but when the game is ONLY competitive is when my jimmies become rustled. Games are made for entertainment, not for competition. Sure you CAN have competition in a game, but there will always be those people who just want to use a damn Wii Remote to have fun playing Smash.

[Alex From Security]

Completely true.

I don't play the lord falcon against my scrub friends.

I play whatever on whatever maps on items on high. Its retarded but leave it like TF2 or most other games.

Fun - Casual - Competitive.

[Punishment_Fatal]

"some people's fun with Slash"

Fixed it before you posted

[Gent♥]

You mean a wider skill gap, don't you?

Regardless, I completely agree with him. As someone who's been around the competitive circuit a couple of times, the current difference between casual and competitive is bordering on perfect, it's really nice.

[A n d y]

I don't mind playing comp.

 

I just play for fun in smash

[knavesmith]

Fixed it before you posted

Noticed it before you fixed it.

 

Your mistake does not go unnoticed.

[Punishment_Fatal]

You mean a wider skill gap, don't you?

 

Er, yeah. I think I got mixed up by Sakurai's quote:

 

When the game becomes more like a sport, a tool that more strictly rewards the player with more skill, the game tapers off more, like a mountain. Just like how a mountain tapers off into its peak, that area becomes more and more narrow.

[Alex From Security]

So yeah, what mains do you guys play at tournaments?

 

We just had one for a new years party and I was first because Zero Suit is 2stronk.

 

CappyFalc

Fawks

Sub-par man.

[Punishment_Fatal]

So yeah, what mains do you guys play at tournaments?

 

We just had one for a new years party and I was first because Zero Suit is 2stronk.

 

CappyFalc

Fawks

Sub-par man.

I don't partake in tournaments, but:

Little Mac

Captain Falcon

(somewhat) Shulk

 

And my joking around main: Luigi

[Alex From Security]

I don't partake in tournaments, but:

Little Mac

Captain Falcon

(somewhat) Shulk

 

And my joking around main: Luigi

Green Mario's down taunt and down air are insane though.

Mario is my joke main because if you string Fair meteors, it's stupid fun.

[Space Jesus]

Competitive Smash players don't want a game that's specifically tuned to them, just the flexibility and resources to enjoy it on a more competitive scale. If the latest Smash game was almost 1:1 with Melee physics/techniques/etc, but required 4 people or characters to start a game, that would be a blow to competitive play despite being considered "better" than say Brawl's competitive potential (Teams would be the only format, and that's generally less played). If the stage list doesn't include many "decent" competitive stages, that's a downside to competitive play without being a burden on casual play etc.

 

Brawl had some mis-steps for competitive play, that were also bad for casual play. The wifi system was absolutely atrocious: Smash 4 finally got it right for the most part. I don't see the argument or outlook as Casual vs Competitive, since they can co-exist together just fine. The opinion that a lot of players have is that Sakurai is stifling the competitive side, but in weird and hypocritical ways since he has implemented balance patches, For Fun vs For Glory online modes, changed game mechanics that would mostly only be noticed or viewed as flawed if you were a competitive player (edgecamping mechanic, additional airdodge lag when landing, chain-grab nerfs, etc). Not many casuals complained about the Brawl edge mechanics or airdodge mechanics etc.

[Avenging Flame]

I agree it should not be totally competitive based, but I think the game has gone too casual. They have taken out so many of the high skill cap techniques that for someone like me who enjoys the competitive side of smash, the game has lost a lot of its fun.

[Marty Birdman]

Yeah, "only" is basically the key word in Sakurai's statement. Smash has the potential to accommodate both kinds of play, and it ought to. I wouldn't have ever begun playing Smash in tournaments if I hadn't first taken an interest in the series as a casual player back in the day.

 

That said, the game that I picked up as a casual player was Melee, which is also the iteration of the game best suited for competitive play. Nothing about it turned me away or made me feel that it wasn't something I could fully enjoy, and this was before I even knew that competitive Smash existed. So while I agree with the gist of most of what Sakurai has to say, I still don't think the series has become more accommodating to all audiences over the years. Still great for casual, slightly worse for competitive. Excellent series either way, but I probably wouldn't have had any interest in buying Smash for WiiU (or a WiiU itself for that matter) if Project M hadn't kept my interest in Smash alive for the past few years.