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

Masahiro Sakurai has ended his Game Designers Award after 16 years at Tokyo Game Show, warning that originality has little impact on sales. He noted Steam releases grew from 275 in 2010 to over 19,000, and said the flood of AI-made copies makes original ideas more important than ever.

• The Game Designers Award ran for 16 years at Tokyo Game Show
• Steam releases grew from 275 in 2010 to over 19,000
• Sakurai: AI will mass-produce copies but can't replace auteurs like Ueda
• He says originality ranks low among sales priorities