Ever since I was really young (I feel really old…so don’t judge), I always heard that “video games are for kids” and that “when you’re an adult, you won’t want to play video games anymore.” Gaming has often been stigmatized as being a “bad hobby,” and that always made me sad, as I REALLY love video games. Thankfully, as I grew older and the world changed, SOME of that stigma went away. Sadly, others, including several in the US government, still feel that way about gaming, and it makes me happy that Masahiro Sakurai absolutely has my back on the joy that gaming can bring people.
If you didn’t hear, his Creating Games YouTube Channel was so successful that it got a company in Japan to make a manga about his life and career. During an interview about that book, Masahiro Sakurai made it clear that, in his opinion, gaming can simply be fun and nothing more…and that’s okay:
“Play is play, so I think it’s best not to forcefully associate it with something educational or useful. However… I think that play, or the joy of moving around, is a form of training for life. Perhaps there is nothing wasted in anything that we find enjoyable.”
What a concept, right? “Do things because you find them enjoyable?” That’s why Sakurai makes certain kinds of games, including his upcoming one in Kirby Air Riders, because he wanted to return to that spinoff franchise, as he really enjoyed making the first one.
So, the next time that anyone tells you that there’s “no point” in playing video games, just tell them that you enjoy it and you have fun doing it, and that’s enough.
Source: GameSpark
