Sakurai ditched Dolby Surround audio for Kirby Air Ride so players wouldn't have to sit through the logo

There are plenty of games that bombard you with a ton of logos before you can actually get into the game. Some of these logos are animated as well, which means they take quite a bit of time to watch. On top of all that, these logos often can’t be skipped, which means the player is sitting there, whittling away precious seconds that could be spent playing. That fact isn’t lost on Masahiro Sakurai.

In a new discussion with Sakurai and the team at Hamster, we learn that Sakurai made a cut to Kirby Air Ride all in the name of getting players into the game quicker. (h/t VGC) Earlier on in development, Kirby Air Ride was going to feature Dolby Surround audio. That would have certainly enhanced the audio side of the game, but in Sakurai’s eyes, it would have detracted from the overall experience.

Simply put, Sakurai didn’t want to make players sit through a logo in order to get to the gameplay. He instead decided to yank the Dolby Surround audio, which meant the logo animation didn’t have to appear at the start of the game, getting players to the action that much faster.