I didn't see this posted yet and I just have to say that it is a great and interesting read.  Im excited to read the rest of the interview as it gets put up because it gives great insight to two HUGE industry figures' lives, and goes on to explain their cooperation in creating a mega title. 

 It also is a good preview of what Sakurai will likely talk about in his presentation at the GDC... check it out:

 http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/ssbb/vol1_page1.jsp

 I also like it because its a signal that Nintendo is really going to start turning up the hype machine for this one soon.  When the president starts getting this pumped about his product, I definitely do too.

Thanks! I saw the link on the Dojo, but couldn't find the interview.

Oh and one more thing, did anybody else know Sakurai was so young?  I thought he was at least in this 40's, and certainly didnt expect he would be only a few years older than me; that's only slightly depressing...

He was 19 when he started working at the Hal Laboratories, it probably took a few years (let's say two) untill he started at Smashbros 1. It was finished early 99, and let's say they worked 4 years on it. That makes him 25 in 99 and 34 years old now in 08.

He is 20 years older than me then, I thought it was much more. You're right, he looks older than he is.

Veeeeery interesting...

Sakurai-
Actually, I was a freelance game developer at the time and had planned to use the E3 as a means to gather information on the newest hardware and software and figure out what I would work on next. And then I met up with you. I had some other job requests already and had a hard time making up my mind. In the end though, I decided there were no other jobs with the potential that I could get people to be as happy as the Smash Bros. project. After all, it was already clear that lots of people were looking forward to it. So, I decided to accept the project. Or, accepted that I had no choice but to take it.

Iwata-
How many staff members did you end up having for this project?

Sakurai-

Roughly 100 individuals. Of course, there would be even more if you count supervisors and contractors. Looking at all the staff that appears in the staff credits, it was about 700 people.

Iwata-

So the number of people involved fulltime was roughly 100.

Sakurai-
That’s right.

Iwata-
Even though I was responsible for the Wii and setting this new direction, I thought the worst thing we could do is keep proposing the same games. Stated simply, I think it’s important to have variety. Back in the days that we worked at HAL Laboratory we used to say that we won’t stand a chance if we do what Miyamoto-san might do, so let’s do something he wouldn’t, right?

i like this interview because instead of being just "an interview" you also get insight on iwata's thoughts as well, although in 2 parts not much has been said about Brawl.

just the dev team and just THOUGHTS on gaming...

@lenardo1 yah, I agree for the most part; Im glad the thoughts are so insightful instead of just random questions about the content of brawl...

It is good to hear some thoughts on the megatitle still though, like this one below:

Sakurai: Of course, I think there was a possibility of taking Smash Bros. in a more casual-gaming direction. For example, we could make the art style simpler or make it possible to use Miis. However, with the various titles that the Wii was to offer, I felt that people were looking for something different. That’s the reason I decided in very early stages of development that the Wii pointer and motion movements would not be a primary feature of the game.

Glad to hear its definitely still a hardcore franchise... sad about losing the Mii's though, i really wouldve liked to beat the crap out of Sonic as my Mii self.

Looking at peoples posts it looks like some people aren't familiar with Iwata asks. It's a series of interviews, in which Iwata makes short interviews of people who have had something to do with Wii development.

can some one copy and paste this for me... it is blocked on my schools stupid filter...