Sakurai On Smash Ultimate Win Rates: “Any Fighter Has A Shot At Winning”
Masahiro Sakurai, the director of the long-running fighting game franchise Super Smash Bros., has revealed that most characters in the game have about the same win rate. In a recent YouTube video, Sakurai talked about game balance. He said that game design is about “push and pull” and that he advises developers and designers to avoid making everything feel or play the same. Instead, characters should be unique, and their weaknesses should balance their strengths.
Data-Driven Balance
“For Smash Bros. Ultimate, we have data regarding win rates in online battles,” said Sakurai. “This is actual data gathered from around the world, so it’s safe to say this is impartial global data, without any bias.”
While he couldn’t share “real specifics” about the data, he was free to provide some reference points. Out of all the fighters in the game, Sakurai says the highest win rate any character possesses is 51.43%. Meanwhile, the lowest win rate is 47.18%. What this means is that the win rates of all the fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate land within a very narrow range of about five percent.
“This tells us that any fighter has a shot at winning a match,” explained Sakurai. “In fact, it would be difficult to make them much closer.”
Caveats And Criticism
The director and creator of Smash did add that “win rates aren’t everything.” He further explained that the “true metric” is how each fighter feels and plays. But still, this is interesting data.
As for all those online tier lists claiming certain characters are broken or too powerful, Sakurai had this to say: “The internet can tend to be an echo chamber of sorts, so if people start saying something is strong or weak, that assessment will gain momentum and make people think it’s truer than it is.”
The Echo Chamber Effect
Sakurai’s comments highlight the importance of critical thinking and avoiding groupthink, especially when it comes to online discussions. Tier lists can be useful as a starting point for learning about a game’s characters, but it’s important to remember that they are just one person’s opinion. They should not be taken as gospel, and players should experiment with different characters to find one that they enjoy playing and that suits their playstyle.
Ultimately, the best way to improve at Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is to practice and learn the game’s mechanics. There is no one “best” character. Any character can win if the player is skilled enough.
also read:How did Masahiro Sakurai prioritize user experience in game development?
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