Yeah, it's like when he mentioned he couldn't give Mai Shirunai a cameo because "Smash is for good little boys and girls" but it was really because CERO wouldn't let her in the game, even though they let a stripping witch in as a fighter. But that is another inconsistent issue around Smash development for another thread. I'd like to know when Nintendo and Sakurai picked the DLC. Could they have decided on Banjo before consulting Microsoft? If they had decided on a third-party character before talking to the owners, would they keep begging for that character until that deal could be fulfilled or would they have to change those plans when they get a "no?" If Sakurai's DLC plans were "finalized" in January 2018 and Banjo-Kazooie were negotiated in March 2018, that would be two months for Microsoft to decline. And Sakurai had a heated phone call with Square. I initially thought it was about Cloud, but maybe it was about Hero. If any of these developers reject the deal with Smash, then Nintendo and Sakurai would have to pick new characters in the place of what couldn't make it in. So maybe in 2015, Sakurai had picked five third-party characters from a list Nintendo provided him and Rex couldn't make it in because by the time the game released, the third-party companies had already agreed to allowing their characters in Smash so Sakurai didn't need to change up the plans. Until the work on Steve demanded all stages to be tweaked for block compatibility and he had to be delayed past the February 2020 deadline. And Nintendo rather than allow a drought in content between Terry and Steve gave Sakurai another Fighter's Pass to work on.
I do not believe Sakurai hates Steve. The diamond sword and the fact that Sakurai even gave us Steve makes it clear that he doesn't. But the leaks of Minecraft discussions make it seem like Steve has been in the works before Fighter Pass Vol 2 was conceived. And if Fighter Pass 2 was decided on around the month of the game of the fifth DLC pack, that's a crazy coincidental timing.