For anyone hoping they could sway Nintendo’s decision on the upcoming DLC fighters for the new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is going to be disappointed.
The director of Smash Bros. Ultimate Masahiro Sakurai has explained that the 5 downloadable fighters to be released over the upcoming months have already been chosen by Nintendo. Sending out a couple of tweets in which he praises Smash fans’ passion and excitement while alternately asking them to be respectful and notflood his feed with suggestions, especially when they haven’t been asked for.
What makes this somewhat interesting is his statement that “this time the selection was made entirely by Nintendo. I decide if we can create a fighter based on their selection, then come up with a plan.” It would appear that while the characters are weeks or months away from their unveiling, they had been figured out during the production. Nintendo deciding who should be added could change things drastically when it comes to characters. Suddenly, the “The Grinch Leak” seems more plausible as a possibility, considering Nintendo and Microsoft’s new camaraderie when it comes to things such as Minecraft (and even though it has been proven a fake). Nintendo may have had a clear vision of pulling some surprises out of their robust catalogue and didn’t want any interference when it came to implementing them. Past additions show that they are certainly willing to think outside of the box when it comes to additional fighters– both Snake from Metal Gear Solid and Sonic joined the battle in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and the Wii U version included Bayonetta and Mega Man. They may have chosen what they feel are controversial characters, but aren’t willing to reveal them yet, thinking that people will react better when they have actually played the game for themselves as opposed to waiting to try it out. This also suggests that in the past, they may have had move-sets or ideas that they had to find characters to fill, and this time they are working it in the opposite direction. Whether this will help avoid the “clone” problem some have had with past fighters is hard to say, but Nintendo is definitely trying to Smash this one out of the park (arena?).
So will there be a bombshell out of left field like Piranha Plant? Or will Nintendo stick with the tried and true? We’ll have to wait months in order to find out, but the reveals, no matter what characters they are, will certainly have people’s attention.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be released for the Nintendo Switch on December 7th, 2018.
