Masahiro Sakurai is a game concept designer, and the creative force behind both the Kirby series and the Super Smash Bros. series on Nintendo platforms, and wrote a weekly column for Famitsu magazine.

Sakurai resigned from his position at HAL Laboratory, Inc. on August 5, 2003. Reasons for his departure are said to be because he was seeking more freedom and wasn't happy with the structure that was present at HAL Laboratory. Most of all, however, Sakurai grew tired of the sequelization of the industry and at HAL.

"It was tough for me to see that every time I made a new game, people automatically assumed that a sequel was coming," said Masahiro Sakurai on August 26, 2003, in an interview with Nintendo Dream, two weeks after his resignation from HAL Laboratory. "Even if it's a sequel, lots of people have to give their all to make a game, but some people think the sequel process happens naturally."

He has publicly stated that he wishes HAL to continue working on the Kirby series, but it is unclear as to what will happen with Super Smash Bros. franchise. His resignation came just days after an interview where he openly criticized Nintendo for circumstances surrounding the development of their recently released GameCube racer Kirby Air Ride.