This Nintendo game designer doesn’t take sick days, works on IV drips
He could definitely use one of Super Mario’s power-ups.
Masahiro Sakurai — famous for directing Nintendo’s hit Super Smash Bros. games — revealed that instead of taking sick days, he works “like normal” while hooked to an IV drip.
“I guess I’m a hard worker,” he said in an interview translated by Nintendo Everything.
Sakurai said he only took three vacation days last year.
However, the video game designer made a positive change during the development of his newest creation, Super Smash Bros. Smash Ultimate, available on the Nintendo Switch.
“I always left the office by 10 p.m., no matter what,” he said.
Over the past few years, Sakurai’s ailing health has been under scrutiny. Polygon reported that he was diagnosed with a debilitating shoulder injury in 2013, making it difficult to move his arm.
He also contemplated retirement because of his hectic job.
“If I were to hand over the work to someone else, it would be a full-time, multi-person designated workload,” he once stated.
The Nintendo icon claimed the success of his products makes his grueling schedule worth it.
“The fact that so many people have played these games, I think that makes me feel like I can forget like those struggles ever existed,” he said.
Released in December, Sakurai’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate became the fastest-selling game in Nintendo’s history, totaling 12 million units in its first month.
It features a cast of 70 playable characters — a massive roster for the fighting genre first popularized by Street Fighter II in 1991.
Characters include famous Nintendo mascots such as Mario, Donkey Kong and Link.