Masahiro Sakurai Says Gaming Needs Originality Or It 'Will Die Slowly'

After ending his 16-year Game Designers Award at Tokyo Game Show, Masahiro Sakurai said originality has little impact on sales and ranks low among many people's priorities, but an industry that loses it "will only die slowly." He noted Steam's yearly releases grew from roughly 275 games in 2010 to over 19,000, with over 8,000 titles in this month's Steam Next Fest alone, and said AI will make imitation even easier. AI may replicate existing styles, he argued, but it cannot create what Fumito Ueda will make in the future.