“When you’re making money, people think you’re a miser,” Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai about why he never monetized his costly YouTube channel 

Last month, Super Smash Bros. and Kirby series creator Masahiro Sakurai made a series of shocking revelations about his “Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games” YouTube channel, including the fact that he never monetized it despite it costing a whopping 90 million yen to run. 

In a recent interview with Denfaminicogamer, the creator gave some deeper insights into the whole project, including the reason why he opted out of earning even a single penny from his 256 videos’ worth of lessons. 

Sakurai admits to being told by people around him to monetize his channel countless times, but that he knew it was something he had to do as a “volunteer.” 

“I’m going to say something contradictory to my policy of not receiving revenue, but money is the fuel that gets people moving. However, when you’re making money, people tend to look at you like you’re a miser. I was wary of being perceived through a lens of bias, at least when it comes to my activities on YouTube.” 

Sakurai goes on to explain that he was aware that YouTube is sometimes seen as a way to “make easy money just by having fun,” and that he didn’t want the lessons that he poured all of his knowledge into to be regarded as “something done for profit” as this would “completely change” how they were perceived by viewers. 

The Smash Bros. creator mentions that there could have potentially been some practical complications in monetizing his YouTube channel – in terms of obtaining permission to use game footage and resources. However, these things were secondary to his wish to make his channel “a donation and a contribution to the games industry.” 

“It was a rare endeavor that took a lot of hard work and a lot of money, but I think I’ve been able to leave behind something valuable,” Sakurai concludes.