{"id":96108,"date":"2026-10-28T18:30:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T10:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=96108"},"modified":"2026-10-28T18:30:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T10:30:59","slug":"masahiro-sakurai-shrugs-off-ai-games-as-unprofitable-titles-as-clones-and-mods-boom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=96108","title":{"rendered":"Masahiro Sakurai Shrugs Off AI Games as \u2018Unprofitable Titles\u2019 as Clones and Mods Boom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Super Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai explained why the boom in AI-created games isn\u2019t likely to create a lasting demand for such projects, comparing them to \u201clow-quality goods\u201d that could never compare to human-made titles like Shadow of the Colossus.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sakurai made these remarks in an interview with <u>Denfaminico Gamer<\/u> after he was asked for his thoughts on the huge boom in games that have been released on Steam since 2010. The interviewer noted that, since 2010, this amount skyrocketed from 275 titles to 19,000 titles.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">\u201c19,000 is amazing, but I think that number will increase even more from now on. I&#8217;m sure of it. That&#8217;s because AI will increase the number. However, I think most of them will become \u2018unprofitable titles.\u2019 There are too many to keep track of, and it&#8217;s impossible to understand them all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">\u201cWhen it comes to things created with AI&#8230; or things mass-produced with poor quality, I think most of them will simply be reproductions of systems seen in various other games. I think there are already a lot of those now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-slideshow\"><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">Photo Mode in Shadow of the Colossus<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img alt=\"Photo Mode in the 2018 recrafted release of Shadow of the Colossus.\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2277167929 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">He went on to mention conceptually simple games that fall into the puzzle genre, even calling out the viral Needle in a Haystack Simulator as part of his example. According to Sakurai, these types of games are easy for AI to recreate, as artificial intelligence cannot make something original, but only iterate on what has come before.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">\u201cTitles like, \u2018The supermarket has been turned upside down, let&#8217;s rearrange the products,\u2019 \u2018Let&#8217;s put the screws back in place,\u2019 or \u2018Let&#8217;s find a needle in the haystack\u2019 have become incredibly common. They&#8217;re also part of the puzzle game genre. I think that kind of imitation should be very easy for AI. However, even if AI can create various works, it&#8217;s possible that we might see AI creating something similar to the works that Ueda (Fumito) has created \u2014 for example, by studying the atmosphere of ICO or Shadow of the Colossus.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">\u201cBut what Mr. Ueda plans to create in the future is something that AI simply cannot replicate. What kind of artistic style will his future works possess? That&#8217;s something only he can create. I think that&#8217;s where human creativity lies. Basically, AI refers to \u2018things that have been created so far,\u2019 but it can&#8217;t refer to \u2018things that haven&#8217;t been created before.\u2019 I think this is true not only for AI, but for various kinds of creative works, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-video\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sakurai concluded this line of thought by saying that people like Ueda, who \u201cforge their own path\u201d and \u201ccan create their own unique flavor,&#8221; will become &#8220;increasingly important from now on,&#8221; saying this is \u201cespecially true in an era of mass production and low-quality goods.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sakurai\u2019s remarks couldn\u2019t come at a better time. Over the last few weeks, AI mods have become a wildly popular trend in the gaming space, with players using the technology to port games to web browsers, combine two totally different games into a single experience, and even create \u2018new\u2019 games using pre-existing properties. As more and more layoffs hit the industry, and giants like Epic shift to \u201cAI-first\u201d production models, it\u2019s looking grim \u2014 but Sakurai\u2019s humanistic vision for a future that prioritizes human-made games with originality and depth paints a brighter picture.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">This is the latest news to come from Sakurai after he was forced to abandon his Game Designer Award for the Japan Game Awards when was unable to find a successor to take over his duties after a 16-year-run.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Image Credits: Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, YouTube<\/em><\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"author-sign-off\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"author-sign-off\" data-cy=\"author-sign-off\"><span class=\"stack jsx-59817748 jsx-1927875859\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"rounded jsx-444076027 jsx-1730475047 profile-thumb jsx-2141281959 aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-1-1\"><img alt=\"Virginia Glaze Avatar\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image profile-thumb-img jsx-249361588 jsx-2338608387 expand\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/assets-prd.ignimgs.com\/avatars\/6a3973ecf71dd1001d20de39\/XD1zX2FT-1782150223173.jpg?crop=1%3A1&amp;width=56&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=80 1x, https:\/\/assets-prd.ignimgs.com\/avatars\/6a3973ecf71dd1001d20de39\/XD1zX2FT-1782150223173.jpg?crop=1%3A1&amp;width=56&amp;dpr=2&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=80 2x\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"stack jsx-2509706801 jsx-3630940851\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"interface jsx-1132626198 sign-off-text\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Virginia (she\/her) is IGN\u2019s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she\u2019s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at <\/em><em>@TheeMissGlaze<\/em><em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/section>\n<p><\/output><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/masahiro-sakurai-shrugs-off-ai-games-as-unprofitable-titles-as-clones-and-mods-boom\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><br \/>\n<center><script>\n  atOptions = {\n    'key' : 'ab8cc34fbebd96e6c135978b4baca540',\n    'format' : 'iframe',\n    'height' : 90,\n    'width' : 728,\n    'params' : {}\n  };\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highrevenueformat.com\/ab8cc34fbebd96e6c135978b4baca540\/invoke.js\"><\/script><\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Super Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai explained why the boom in AI-created games isn\u2019t likely to create a lasting demand for such projects, comparing them&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6233,15289,321,30068,4013,30069,32206,7358,32207],"class_list":["post-96108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-boom","tag-clones","tag-games","tag-masahiro","tag-mods","tag-sakurai","tag-shrugs","tag-titles","tag-unprofitable","wpcat-32-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/96109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}