Sakurai originally wanted to use Minecraft stage imports in Smash Bros. Ultimate, but the idea was abandoned

Sakurai's next Famitsu feature is available, and this one is all about the addition of Minecraft content to Smash Bros. Ultimate. You can see a complete breakdown of the feature below, as translated by PushDustIn and Sephazon.

- the concepts for the fighter and stage came relatively easily
- Sakurai is very familiar with Minecraft, and understands the game well
- the more that Sakurai relies on the original game, the more difficult it was to actually make new fighters fit in Smash
- the team had to balance what was possible to create, while making Steve unique
- the team wanted to make sure Steve wouldn’t lose the charm from his original series all while not making him unbalanced
- while Minecraft is owned by Microsoft, the developer and department in charge for the characters differed from Banjo-Kazooie
- when the idea was presented to Microsoft, they were very pleased
- Steve might be a bit difficult for new players to handle at first
- as Minecraft has a wide fanbase, Sakurai considered increasing the fighter's accessibility a bit
- if the Smash team did that, then it wouldn’t feel like Steve came from Minecraft
- since Minecraft is a complex game, it seemed fitting to make the character more dynamic to match
- while Steve may be considered as one fighter, he is composed of 4 unique characters – Steve, Alex, Zombie and Enderman
- the additional characters are basically color swaps, and there are no differences in their hitboxes or other characteristics
- main elements derived from the original game, such as mining, crafting and placing blocks, were utilized
- Steve’s stage incorporates the concept of biomes from the original game
- originally, Sakurai wanted to create a level editor that would let players create a stage in Minecraft and import it into Smash
- he gave up on the idea pretty early, simply because it was “impossible”
- due to “various circumstances,” the original songs could not be used in Smash
- a few songs were abandoned mid-arrangement
- Sakurai feels the overall atmosphere of the tracks used fit well with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- recording the “How to use Steve/Alex” presentation was difficult
- Steve was also developed entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic, making development difficult
- Sakurai is happy to be involved with various IPs and to continue working on the next DLC