Update [Wed 31st Aug, 2022 05:45 BST]: Following on from the launch of Sakurai's YouTube channels last week which gained 200,000 subscribers in less than 24 hours (see the original story below), exactly one week later he's announced his channels have now exceeded a combined total of 700,000 subscribers.
That's his English YouTube page and also the Japanese one. His English channel currently sits at 379K subscribers, and his Japanese channel has 326K subscribers. Not to take away from this milestone, but as some have pointed out, his fans could possibly be following both channels, which would no doubt bolster numbers. Still, the fact is it's a combined amount of 700K in a week!
Here's his latest message thanking everyone and mentioning how in time he may surpass his Twitter subscriber count (currently just under a million followers).
"In the week since I started my channel, I've uploaded five videos and somehow gained over 700,000 subscribers between EN and JP! My hope is that as more people watch these videos, games as a whole will grow even more fun. Thank you so much for watching!"
Have you subscribed to Sakurai's YouTube channels yet? Tell us below.
Original article [Thu 25th Aug, 2022 02:05 BST]: We always knew Masahiro Sakurai had a loyal fanbase, and this has been proven once again with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director gaining over 200,000 YouTube subscribers (on his English channel) in less than 24 hours of his account's launch.
Yes, following the official announcement yesterday - Sakurai has already surpassed 200k subs! It seems it's even caught him by surprise so far. Here's what he had to say in a rough translation, courtesy of Google:
"Thank you for the great feedback! The number of subscribers was double digits higher than expected..."
He also seems to be keen to "remove" any commercials, as he does not want to monetize the channel:
"In order to remove the commercials, it is not enough to just turn off the monetization settings, maybe it is necessary to enter the Youtube partner program and turn off the commercials...? I can't seem to set it up yet, so I'll try it later."
Sakurai's Japanese YouTube channel has also gained more than 185k subscribers.
So far, Sakurai has uploaded a total of three videos. His first one was an "about" video - explaining how his goal is to try and make games around the world more fun by sharing the knowledge he's gained from the video game industry. At the time of writing, it's already got over 200,000 views and 40k Likes.
He will also be providing some "behind-the-scenes" glimpses into various aspects of development, including footage of Smash-related design documents and dev builds (and don't worry, he's apparently got approval from Nintendo for this).
While Sakurai's YouTube subscriber count is impressive, it shouldn't be all that surprising considering just how popular he is within the video game community and factoring in that he's already got more than 980,000 followers on the social media platform Twitter.
Have you subscribed to Masahiro Sakurai's YouTube channel yet? Leave a comment down below.
Comments 43
Good for him! Pretty unsurprising tho
His first video on “hit stops”, “boss stops”, and “death stops” is great. I now fully understand why scrolling shooters have always felt unsatisfying to play.
I mean, he's Sakurai, why is he surprised? xD
Never realized but he seems incredibly humble based on this video. The content on the channel could be intriguing.
I want a video on how to play your games with 2 controllers at once thank you.
Hey hey, I'm one of those 200k!
Seriously though, I love the concept and am very eager to watch more! His first dev video on stopping was one of those slap to the forehead kinda things. "I never thought of that, but it makes perfect sense!"
Well it’s more like almost 400k if you add both the Japanese channel and the English one right?
People know quality when they see it! I subscribed without hesitation this morning, and I’m really looking forward to Sakurai-san’s insights and anecdotes.
Every time I listen to him, he reminds me of what I love about video games.
I didn't sub just cus its Sakurai, I subbed because that ***** was interesting.
But I also subbed because its Sakurai.
I love it so far. He deserves it.
Good idea something fresh and interesting to inspire future generations. Myself I have loads of ideas but suffer from the terrible illness of CBA but seriously that will help a fair few people as long as it don't result in more shovelware on special offer scroll down a thousand times or scamware on phones this could be a winner.
I'm honestly as surprised if not more. Out of all the people that have played Smash, Kirby, Kid Icarus, etc, 200k have subscribed to his channel within 1 DAY?! Man I can't wait to see how he does! 1 mil by the end of the month!
Well he's a celebrity, they are known to gain massive followings real quick.
Well my channel hit 5 subs in 2 months, so who’s really Winning here,
I enjoyed his video about Kirby's Dream Land. I'm looking forward to Sakurai talking about all the other games he's developed.
I’m happy that he is doing things other then smash, because this is great! And I hope for a behind the scenes demo for all the smash games, I know there is a lot of information out there already, but I would just love to see the creative process.
people love knowing how a game is developed from a person beloved as Masahiro Sakurai, also his videos are very informative, well edited despite been short
Sakurai with the Surfshark VPN sponsorship
This is now one of three in total YouTube channels I subscribe to. ^^
The 30 fps bullet bill should not look that janky, for reference set the video to 480p and the 60 fps bullet bill is still smooth. I guess it's exaggerated to make a point, but still odd.
That's cool to see and congrats to Sakurai, well deserved. I'm going to enjoy his videos and what he has to share for a long time to come. But at the same time, it's a little unfair. Seeing Youtube as originally a platform for new creators who rise from the very beginning of nothing, some people take multiple years and put in hard time and work to really earn those subscribers. Unfortunately celebrities have pushed aside these smaller creators along with the YouTube algorithm so they are being bullied out of their views or new subscriber growth. Everybody flocks to these channels instead, and they instantly gain tons of subs just because of their brand recognition. I know the YouTube landscape has changed dramatically since it's original purpose, but I cannot help but wonder how some of these smaller or early content creators feel when they hear the metrics of years of work being achieved in the span of days. This isn't a dig a Sakurai, but of the YouTube platform as a whole.
@Axecon I understand the gripe, especially when it comes to Hollywood actors, but Sakurai really did start small. In a way he already did work himself up to this, look at the crazy knowledge he's shown off in 24 hours. After his life, he deserves this.
@blindsquarel you of course! Here’s to five more subs by the end of next month!
Sakurai seems to be the closest thing to a saint in the game development world. Paying his video staff to make these videos, not monetizing them at all, and just hoping to make new games in development more fun.
Famous man grows YT channel fast. Whoop-de-doo
Why does he have 2 channels? It's in Japanese and subs in english, isn't that good for booth world?
Oh it’s going to keep growing, and I don’t even have to say trust me because I’m sure you all know.
@F_Destroyer so he can get more subs and views lol
@Joeynator3000
I remember watching an old news report on YouTube about Nintendo in the 1990s soon after the release of Super Mario Bros 3. They expected to see Miyamoto to be like a Western celebrity, living in glamour for making some one of the biggest names in the past decade. But what they found was a bunch of Japanese dudes just working in an office on the next game. No real fanfare, and when they asked why he didn’t break out on his own Miyamoto just said that Nintendo let him make games so he would keep on making them (alongside any trips needed for the team for research).
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was also the same for Sakurai.
@supermonkey42
Power/Ultra smash stops were breaking the flow in Mario Tennis, so use it wisely.
I bet some random person has more...
Wow! It took him less than 24 hours to hit 200,000 subscribers, and it took me 7 years to hit that many 🤣
@BloodNinja it's been a slow-news... summer here @ NL, not counting the deluge of Pokemon and Splatoon articles painting the main page daily.
I wish the same would happen when a new or even re-released Zelda or Metroid come out the same year.
@PanFriedSoup I mean I pop in occasionally to oggle at people who still think buy a Switch is a good idea. Other than that, it's been fairly dead lately.
@BloodNinja Don't get me wrong, I love my Switch, but I wouldn't purchase one this late into the life-cycle. The device is struggling to run it's most-recent first-party games and there's just too much shovel-ware released on the eshop for me to care about most of the news.
Some people are very good at marketing themselves. Good for him. He definitely knows how to design a good video game.
@Saturos1 Hey Saturos, how's Menardi doing?
It is always good to learn something new. For a veteran in the field
I like his videos. He has a very pleasant and professional aura.
Even if it is just the job of game developers to entertain gamers, I am still thankful. Keep up the good work.
Now we can talk to him about turn Smash Bros netcode better hmm
@NCChris Not great.. she’s waiting for a new golden sun game, a reboot or even just a port lol
@Saturos1 Yes, she's not alone on that.
Give my regards to her, Karst, and Agatio.
@NCChris love it haha
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