Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai recently published another column on the Japanese magazine Famitsu. This time he discusses the game that has broken records as one of the most popular games of all time, Among Us. Sakurai has a lot to say about the 2018 title that blew up in 2020, but chief among them is the idea that he is not quite sure if the game will remain popular for the long haul.
Among Us found unparalleled success over the summer of 2020 on mobile and PC. Since then, the game launched on the Nintendo Switch in December, and Among Us sold over 3 million copies in just a month on the Switch. Likely in hopes to promote that version, Sakurai played Among Us and talked about the unique social deception game.
Because the article is written in Japanese, the piece was translated into English by Source Gaming on Youtube. For about the first half of the article, Sakurai digs deep into how the game works, almost as if he is explaining the game design behind Steve in Super Smash Bros Ultimate or any of the fighters in his game. In talking about this, Sakurai comes to the conclusion that there is no clear strategy when playing Among Us. There is also not a lot of action. A lot of this is why he may be wondering if the lack of "game" within the game will mean that Among Us does not have the legs to last.
Sakurai notes that the game does allow for heart-pounding tension, often thanks to player interaction. It, of course, creates suspenseful and stressful situations, whether playing as the imposter in Among Us or nearly surviving and trying to call a last-second emergency meeting. In this way, Sakurai says that Among Us reminds him of playing card games. Sakurai also notes that Among Us is not the easiest game to play as an honest person.
Sakurai ends the article by mentioning that the Among Us is the type of game that is ruled by the community, and therefore, said community needs to be ultra-aware of the systems in place. Sakurai's doubt in the long-term success of the game makes it unlikely that an Among Us fighter finds its way into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, even if recently a fan made a mock-up video of it. Perhaps a spirit or Mii costume is more likely.
The explosion of Among Us is similar to that of Pokemon GO in 2016. Not only did fans of the monster-collecting game get off of the couch to roam the great outdoors, but all sorts of people were enjoying the mobile game. In many ways, that is what Among Us is as well. Perhaps Among Us will not have the sustained long-term franchise success of Super Smash Bros., but few games can. The good news is that Pokemon GO is still going strong. Although the title is far from what was considered mainstream popularity in 2016, many still play and enjoy it. So as long as InnerSloth continues to develop and support Among Us, and ride this 2020 wave of success, it could certainly be played for years to come.
Among Us is available on Mobile, PC, and Switch, with Xbox One and Xbox Series X versions coming in 2021.