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A Question to the Smash Community: Why do you personally participate in Smash Bros. Speculation?

BluePikmin11

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I want to ask the entire Smash Bros. community a set of inner questions:

1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

I believe this is something that will provide very interesting discussion for the Smash community in general. I am VERY curious, and heavily desire to know what the inner specific answers are.
 
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Burb

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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

I'm not trying to predict what Sakurai does. I have theories and openly present a lot of them, but they're not intended to be taken as predictions. It's just things I believe are likely, and things I believe are unlikely. I don't expect 100% of the things I say to end up being true. For everything I've been right about in Smash 4 (Ridley is a Stage Boss, ESRB leak's roster was final and there were no hidden characters left), there's been things I was wrong about (Bayonetta not being a possibility, Roy not returning).

There's definitely a lot of predictable aspects (stuff everyone saw coming, like Inklings being in Smash 5, and Little Mac/Palutena/Pac-Man in Smash 4), but nobody's ever going to have a 100% accurate prediction of the roster. Every prediction list I've seen in the past has ended up being horribly wrong, and I don't see that ever changing.

As for how far my speculation goes, I'm actually just as interested in potential cuts this time around as I am with newcomers. There's not very many characters left that I'm super interested in seeing as newcomers, so a big part of this speculation period for me is which characters we'll be keeping from 4.

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2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

Smash's pre-release period is like no other game's. In many ways, it's as exciting and memorable as the game itself. Pre-release is really the only time I'm active in the Smash community; after launch, the community tends to switch focus to competitive play, which I have no interest in whatsoever.

I'm mostly here for the spectacle. For the theories, the memes, the drama, the leaks, the reactions.....
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3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

My main schtick has always been to go after some of the more ridiculous theories that get cooked up by overhyped individuals (like the Ridley shadow conspiracy and the Trophy Quiz nonsense). Predictions based on misconceptions are also really irritating (the biggest one this time seems to be people making predictions based on whatever game has just been announced or released in spite of it having been openly stated that the rosters are decided at the very start of development).

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4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

More fun, excitement, and memories. Brawl and Smash 4 were both a hell of a ride, and so was Melee, from what I can remember of its pre-release.
 
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Aurane

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I usually don't participate in speculation, because specifically Smash Speculation is one of those types of conversations that turn the people involved within the discussion against each other. I'd say its actually worse here because the topics are usually recycled.

As for the why? Well... Its all just personal hope-building. The logics of the reasoning are usually irrelevant but I would still point them out to convince not just myself, but others as well. A single opinion is hardly convincing.
 

True Blue Warrior

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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

No to all these questions All I really want to do is speculate possibilities. There is no way i can predict Sakurai's roster.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

It's basically because the speculation period is fun.

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

The biggest thing I take part in is speculation about when the roster was likely finalised and how timing could likely affect what we get as newcomers, looking at past trends as well as discussing past and possible "rule-breakers" to the trends of when the rosters were finalised.

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

A fun time having interesting and well-thought out discussions.
 

Hinata

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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

Nobody can predict this crazy son of a *****. He throws us curveballs way too often for us to ever know what he's thinking. I just want to have fun wondering who could possibly make it into each new installment with other people. Even if all of us turn out to be dead wrong, it's always been the ride that's the most fun for me.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

Like I said, I'm here for the ride. Smash speculation season is by far the most fun I ever have on the internet, because it's just so amazing to see everyone talking about "oh, what if this happens? what if it doesn't happen, but this happens instead?". It's quite a ride, and one I'm always so happy to be a part of.

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

I participate in newcomer speculation because it's fun to imagine what Sakurai could do with all these characters we love. We know that he can make a moveset out of damn near anyone, and he's always dedicated to keeping the moveset as faithful to the source games as possible, so every time a new Smash gets announced, we get to have some fun speculating about all new characters, and what movesets they might possibly have.

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

Nothin' but a good time.
 

bksbestbwoy

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I speculate mostly because I enjoy learning about Nintendo game franchises and the fans of each franchise. I don't attempt to try and pose things in order to "learn" Sakurai's method of picking and choosing, I just have a (ever shrinking) small number of favorites I root for and hope to see join the cast in my lifetime. Smash pre-release cycles are unlike most other game cycles because it feels like gaming as a whole is just full of excitement and anticipation of things to come from Smash.
 

Opossum

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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

I have my thoughts about who is and isn't likely, but predicting the entire roster isn't really a goal of mine. I definitely have some thoughts on who'll be cut though.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

Speculation is fun in general. I've been following it since Brawl. Bragging rights is kind of an awful reason to join honestly, haha. Like, congratulations, you guessed something right...I guess?

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

I think there are some characters people over or under rate. I just like giving my input on things, and hey, maybe if I'm right less people will be blindsided one way or the other. Maybe it could help keep the salt down. If there's one thing that makes things un-fun, it's salt. Like no, just because you didn't get K. Rool doesn't mean you should **** on other people's happiness. Saw that way too many times, especially during the ballot.

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

I'm just here for the ride, and from my years doing this I've made a lot of friends, so I enjoy having something to share with them.
 
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AlphaSSB

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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?
  • I don't go about speculation with the goal of trying to get as close to Sakurai's official roster as I can. Rather, I speculate in regards to series representation. This goes from which new characters we may see and what old characters we will or won't see, to possible stages and other methods of series representation. All judging what is and isn't likely, going by Sakurai's way of thinking.
2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?
  • I've been a fan of Smash Bros. for years, and a fan of Nintendo for even more. I enjoy having more people to speculate with. Plus, this community has more to offer than just Smash speculation. Once again, kinda goes back to being a fan of Nintendo, and having more people to discuss different series with in a more general sense.
3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?
  • Many people's perceptions on a character's likeliness are clouded by how much they do and don't like said characters. This makes proper debate hard to come by, and their thoughts too stubborn to change. Because of this, I usually don't debate on a character's chances. I just leave my thoughts where applicable.
4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?
  • Smashboards is a nice place, for an echo chamber, and I've met some pretty cool people along the way. That said, I don't participate in Smash speculation to gain anything. Rather, I just do it for fun.
 

Cosmic77

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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

Not necessarily. While I have had fun predicting what the final roster will look like over the course of different Smash games, I've long since accepted the fact that I nor anyone else will come remotely close to predicting the final roster without the help of leaks or rumors. I mainly predict characters based on series representation and relevancy, but I doubt my roster will end up being close to what we actually get.

Cuts, however, are completely different. I have cemented opinions on who could possibly get cut, and I try to be as realistic and non-biased as possible with my choices. Better to prepare myself for the worst than to be completely surprised by a cut that I truthfully should've saw coming a mile away.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

To keep it short, I like the Smash Bros. series and the speculation is fun for me.

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

In most cases, I'm likely biased towards that character already, and I just really want to see said character in Smash. However, there are times when I've argued in favor of (or against) characters that I honestly could care less about. In those instances, it's usually because I misunderstand the person's thought process or feel like the person is letting their own biased opinions on the character cloud their logical reasoning.

I'll admit, sometimes I take debates WAAAY too seriously. Even then, there's that part of me that finds the useless arguing to be fun and satisfying in a weird, twisted way.

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

Ehh... Not really. Besides the enjoyment I get out of it and the different Smash fans I meet along the way, Smash speculation is just a hobby of sorts.
 
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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

Not really. For Smash For I wanted to feel super smart and know everything. Now i'm just here for the ride. Let him surprise me and have some fun. Instead of trying to figure things out and getting dissapointed when im wrong, im happy to just see what Sakurai has in store.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

I said no and yet I speculate anyway. Frankly I think it's just habit. Smashboards was like 90% of my internet interactions for a while and this is still my most visited site. I think I just have fun doing what i've always done. I just keep a WAY more open mind than I used to though. So I dont need to worry as much. heh. Plus. . .i moderated this place for a very small time so im sort of tethered to this forum.

There is a bit of me that still has that moderator's spirit. To have people stop being ****ing assholes about everything and stop making assumptions but I knew that is never going to happen with how things are going. And i'll never be free from hypocritically doing the same either.

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

I dont really. I think just about everyone is possible for this game lol. The more I speculate the less I know. And smashers are pretty good at proving how little they understand about anything. Most of the speculation I do at this point is either A. calling out misconceptions B. wishlists or C. generally just trying to help keep an open mind so they don't get blindsided and then react negatively

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

Killing time. That stuff I said in part 2 with the "moderator's spirit" but I dont have that much hope there.

:061:
 

Starlight_Lily

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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

Nope, I just hope all veterans return, with fun newcomers.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

I like Sakurai as a developer, and as a Game Design student, I enjoy analysing his work. And my main reason for joining is the fun of coming up with movesets for characters, and seeing if the concepts would work or not.

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

Just enjoy discussing different types of movesets.

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

To have some fun, and people to talk about Smash with.
 

Kirby Dragons

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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?
I do desire to figure out the newcomers, just as much as I desire to play the game. Another game of new characters can only give us more insight into the mind of the creator.
2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?
I love Smash so much, and that includes talking about Smash. I also have my own opinions about stuff that I want to express, and I want to see where other Smash fans stand.
3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?
Seeing reaction to new characters is pretty nice. Some fans may actually make compelling arguments about why a character will get in. Possibility isn't something I argue about much, although I do think certain characters like Ridley aren't possible due to huge changes (no pun intended) that'd have to be made.
4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?
Speculation can be fun sometimes. I want it to keep being fun.
 

CaptainAmerica

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What an interesting topic. Here’s my go at it.

1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

I would like to predict everyone - each game comes with more and more vets I want to keep around, so I’d hope to discuss the vets as much as or more than potential newcomers. Mainly, I want to try to get a feel for who would be in the game based on community discussions about relevance/leaks/etc. Still, I’ve seen that I’m really bad at predicting Sakurai, so it’s more in fun than anything else.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

Gauging the community, and seeing where feelings are. I joined in the Sm4sh speculation days since I wanted to talk about who could be and see what the community thought, and I took a break from the boards between close of DLC and the new trailer. It’s fun (and sometimes frustrating) to guess at characters or imagine movesets, and it’s good to see communities who agree with some.

Also, it introduces me to new ideas. Biggest example is my top two wanted characters, Ridley and K. Rool. I’ve played Metroid II for all of 10 minutes, and my experience with the DK series is DK64, which I never completed past the penultimate level. Still, these boards showed me how necessary those two characters are.

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

For fun, mostly. Odd definition of fun, since it is disappointing to see Ridley get deconfirmed after I started liking him, but it is fun to see people supporting the same characters you do. I’ve always been the person who wants a playble roster for fighting games spoiled immediately, so I like getting a feel for who’s popular.

I will admit though that the most excited I’ve been for a character were when Sakurai threw us a chatacter I like from a series I liked and wasn’t expecting at all. I went nuts about the Pokémon Trainer reveal.

Another thing that’s fun is to see mockups or artwork posted for support, jist because it looks cool.

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

Not really, no. The way the wind blows, but Sakurai has shown that he can’t be predicted - the community voted Bayonetta and Corrin at less than 5% chance each in the Rate Their Chances DLC thread, while K. Rool and Wolf were into the 70s at one point. But it is fun to see where people stand on different characters.
 

Astraltar

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I actually decided that Smashboards is the best hope I have of getting things into the game that i'd like to see, or features I think should have been in Smash Bros. 4. Honestly, I hypothesized that Smash has become a slightly democratically designed game. I realized it when I saw the Duck Hunt Duo. I remember way back in the days of Brawl Anticipation some people were on the forums saying that "Laughing Dog" should be a Smash character. I hated the idea but I guess Sakurai or someone on his team thought it was a good idea. Maybe someone had designed an entire move set like I had done for Ridley once, and it got in because it worked and was kind of unique.

The most important addition I would put in Smash 5 though is not my favorite characters, or my favorite retro stages (though I really think we could bring back ALL of the old stages) but a scenario design function that lets you save and load all the parameters of a match like Stock/Time, Fast mode etc. and item settings. For example say you want to set up a match of 5 minutes with tiny fighters who have damage flowers on their head and the only items to be fire flowers, bats, fans, beamswords, pokeballs and assist trophies. You can set all those parameters and then on the character selection screen there would be two tabs in the corner. One that says "Save Custom Smash (or Custom Rumble if the title is Smash Bros. Rumble or Custom Clash if it's Smash Clash) and one that says "Load Custom Smash". And you'd get to make a name for each Custom Smash scenario design. Like a mode with nothing but healing items and lightning speed could be called Fast Healers or whatever. It's a design feature that just makes sense, so you could have all different kinds of tourney modes and fun modes and you could jump between them in a small amount of time instead of wading through pages of menus like it would be to switch modes in such complex ways in all the previous games.
 
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Morbi

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It, at first, started as a medium to even discuss the game. I do not have a lot of friends that are into Nintendo and my sister, while she loves Nintendo as much as I do, she cannot keep up with me. I just wanted to talk about the game for hours and hours and she was not THAT interested.

However, as I saw more and more people predicting rosters and whatnot, I naturally sort of got into it. I love pointing out contradictions and it does wonders for the self-esteem, being constantly right. I was already somewhat narcissistic before, but when I compare myself to everyone else... Damn it feels good.

I am not even that interested in the roster this time around. None of the characters I want will make it in, but I just want to come back just to get that sensation of being the best again.
 

BluePikmin11

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Well for me personally, I really want to figure out Sakurai this time. For the past month since the Smash Switch reveal, I have been researching Sakurai interviews and connecting that stuff to research about Nintendo's recent marketing moves and successes. I personally am in it for predicting newcomers, veterans are not a thing I wanna to speculate seriously about because all cuts just come simply down to franchise relevancy and development time. Sakurai has said he wants to bring as many veterans as possible and hates cuts. There isn't really any real intentional reason for any unique veteran to be cut, aside from maybe Mewtwo/Jigglypuff and clones whose franchises have uncertain futures.

I joined the Smash community to speculate alongside this time because I want to get as many interesting perspectives on newcomers as much as possible so that I may be able assure that one of my newcomer predictions is something I am sure and confident in risking of. Sakurai provides enough criteria through interviews/ e-mails over the years that it hits that sweet spot where it really motivates me to find out what choices could be rejected or accepted. Predicting the newcomers is not a hard task IMO, aside from maybe predicting third-parties. All it takes is straightforward research and connecting the dots to find that one newcomer Sakurai could definitely pick based on certain circumstances like gameplay potential, game critical reception, franchise popularity, clone feasibility, fan requests, etc. Sakurai's surprise factor really keeps Smash speculation an exciting time for me and motivates me to find which surprises could be chosen.

I personally do not argue, but rather take a curious approach and ask questions so that people may be able to dissect some things that could lead to a newcomer's inclusion. The best example of this happening was in the Smash Switch thread, where we almost got somewhere with Elma's possible inclusion with connecting Sakurai's mech and rifle figure with that possibly connecting to Elma's moveset. When it comes to newcomers I find unlikely, the best I can do in-depthly explain my position. Depending on the character, I might go as far as writing a 6 paragraph essay on why I think something is unlikely, like Captain Toad during his RTC day discussion. (Although the supporters did change my mind when the discussion progressed, it was a fun time) The same can apply to newcomers I feel are very possible to be in Smash Switch, I am currently making a load of paragraphs about each newcomer I put in my prediction roster so that people may be able to see my full perspective. When I have written all of my analyses, I hope to at least get in-depth critiques and suggestions because the only thing I want to do is progress rather than cycle through circling arguments that I have previously participated in Smash 4 speculation.

What I hope to gain by speculating Smash Switch is to gain new friends and become a better writer. I find speculating alongside watching anime/manga to be a great back-and-forth activity that helps me maintain my sharp-witted skills in writing and thinking in-depth and critically. Although personally, I love discussing anime/manga more than Smash speculation, but that is more of a preference in loving character-driven stories more than gameplay. :3
 

Ura

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I want to ask the entire Smash Bros. community a set of inner questions:

1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

I believe this is something that will provide very interesting discussion for the Smash community in general. I am VERY curious, and heavily desire to know what the inner specific answers are.
1. Well kinda. Mostly it's just me being hopelessly optimistic about certain characters. I do tend to change my mind on which newcomers I think will be added in the game frequently.

2. Ehh...I don't really know for sure myself. I guess discussing the possibilities this game could have is interesting itself and it's always something to see the immediate reactions from everyone when a character reveal happens. Pre-release hype is fun to see as well I guess.

3. I just like to throw in my 2 cents on why I think a character will/won't happen. Obviously some characters are more obvious to guess than others and sometimes I like to make "out of there" predictions or even ideas just for the fun of it. Sometimes i'll make the case for why certain characters I like could make it in or why they should be in the game.

4. Not really TBH. Even though there's still a handful of characters I really want in the game, i'm more content with seeing what goes down in this iteration of Smash.
 
D

Deleted member

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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?
Yes and no. I am more on the side of what could be present rather than wanting to be 100% accurate to the final roster. Leaves open some room for possible surprises.

Newcomers aren't the only important aspect of the roster, so I would say predicting veterans' statuses is something to also consider, but is less fun since there's the idea of actual loss involved.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?
Just for fun, even when speculation can get rather heated and makes it less fun.
Bragging rights only factor in on rare occasions.

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?
I just like to argue. :p

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?
Not really.
 

YoshiandToad

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I want to ask the entire Smash Bros. community a set of inner questions:

1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?
Sort of? Like I'm not driven by an all desiring need to guess Sakurai's choices. Any chance of that for me died when Wii Fit Trainer was announced. Yeah, even R.O.B. was workable, but WFT? Forget it.

I'm mostly about the newcomers as bizarrely I don't feel very invested in a lot of the potential cuts. Roy and Mewtwo were sad to see go in Melee and Wolf, Squirtle and Ivysaur was disappointing in Brawl but in 5mash a lot of the ones brought up for being on the chopping block I could easily live without.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?
Fun, spread the passion of my favourite characters, listen to those who get passionate about other characters, learn about franchises I'd otherwise never try; example: that talk about Elma in the Smash Switch thread made me want to try Xenoblade X out, talking in Sm4sh's speculation opened my eyes to the possibility of Duck Hunt pre leak and made me very happy to get the one retro I wanted, and the reactions to reveals are always good.

I also like watching how quickly people 180.
"PAC-MAN IS A TERRIBLE FIT FOR SMASH"
*Pac-Man trailer releases*
"WELL OF COURSE PAC-MAN GOT IN, HE'S THE GRANDADDY OF GAMING"

Heck, I'm guilty of it. I went from hating the idea of Bowser Jr to him being my favourite newcomer thanks to the way Sakurai implemented him. Koopalings and a Clown Car are infinitely more interesting to me than the standard "Paintbrush, Shadow Mario transformation" movesets that everyone was so sure on.

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?
Got a bit of a personal story here, if you'll indulge me.

Smash 64 landed me my very best friends as a kid.
I was a scared kid who'd just moved and didn't know anyone else. This pair of twins got to talking about this new game they got and how it starred Mario and Pikachu. It sounded crazy but I was a fan of both so I went over with my sister as she was also a huge Nintendo fan. Instant friendship was formed and I began to become a fan of Yoshi, one friend loved Mario, the other Sonic(who got in later) and my sister's favourite Nintendo character? Toad.

I was always disappointed for her since she loved the mushroom ever since she was a very small child and his involvement in other games such as Super Mario Kart helped her make friends she'd otherwise struggle to do. I was wishing for Toad for her until Brawl when I suddenly realised how big a character he was on my childhood as a result too.

I'd played hours and hours of Wario's Woods, completed SMB2 as Toad due to his speed(okay I needed Peach for THAT airborne level but give me a break), we'd grown up watching the original Super Mario Super Show, playing Mario Kart together, Mario Tennis 64, etc and continued to play Mario platformers and sports games through to present.

Then 3D World and Captain Toad Treasure Tracker were announced and blew me away. Also Toad is an All Star recognised by millions and I find his(or Captain Toad's) exclusion kind of glaring in general.

OUTSIDE of Toad, I find it very interesting to see people's passions and sometimes arguing or engaging is the best way to find out more about a character and share in that passion.

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

I believe this is something that will provide very interesting discussion for the Smash community in general. I am VERY curious, and heavily desire to know what the inner specific answers are.
I'm at peak creativity(although also peak distraction) during Speculation Season. Just hoping to use it as an excuse to polish some art skills and engage in something fun.
 
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MasterOfKnees

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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?
I've given up trying to figure out the entire roster, although I can see the fun side of it I think it's an impossible task, at this point it'd just be naive of me to think that I could actually nail it. I do like to talk about individual characters' chances, as seen by my activity in the Rate Their Chances thread, but that's as far as I'll go with actual predictions, I don't think I'd be able to put together an actual roster.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?
The primary reason I joined Smash speculation back in the Brawl days was to campaign for the characters I wanted in the game. The Brawl Dojo also got me so hyped that I needed somewhere to constantly be able to discuss the game, that was Brawl Central back then, and it's since become Smashboards. It has very little to do with bragging rights for me, I don't feel a desire to prove others wrong like I might once have, but it's just to socialize around this one game that I feel so much passion for.

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?
Ridley is the only one I've ever discussed to a great length, every other character I desperately wanted got in fairly early in Brawl speculation, and oh boy have I discussed him a lot, the 1392 posts I had on the Smash 4 Ridley thread were just some of the many posts I've had on the subject across the internet. For me it's because of a personal desire to see him in the game, after having supported his inclusion for 12 years I've only grown to want Ridley's inclusion more and more, it has become my biggest video game related wish. It's not just because of the character either (although that alone is the biggest drive), but also what his inclusion would represent, it would be the result of the many people who I have shared this desire with over those 12 years having their voices be heard, even the people who jumped off 10 years ago would have played their part, it would be a feather in the hat for a community who have done a great job representing its character by persisting in situations where other fanbases would long since have thrown in the towel. It's also because I truly believe it is possible for Ridley to be in Smash, I know the big man himself disagrees and that Ridley's inclusion is incredibly unlikely at this point, but that's not going to stop me from putting my point of view out there.

At the risk of sounding completely fanatical, if that's not already too late, I think that if Ridley were to ever get in, then my days of Smash speculation would be over. As much as I love to be here during these crazy periods, I just don't think there'd be any driving force for me to be active on here every day like I am during speculation, the one reason I'm still here is because my favorite Nintendo character still isn't in Nintendo's all-star video game, take that away and I'd probably only have a passing interest in Smash speculation.

When I discuss any other character it's really just my initial thoughts I post on here, I haven't really thought in-depth about any of the other characters, and neither am I willing to take a hard stance either for or against their chances, I might lean one way or another, but I'm now of the opinion that nothing can be discounted.

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?
Not really, I originally took part in it to make sure that the characters I supported would get their due attention, but as all but one of them have been included, and the one who isn't in will likely always have significant support until he finally makes it in, that is no longer something I'm hoping to gain anything from. As of this moment I'm only here to get some of the hype out of my body and to discuss various things with other Nintendo fans, the only thing I hope to gain from it by now are fun memories, which is always guaranteed with the Smash community.
 
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Venus of the Desert Bloom

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Why do I speculate Smash?

Because it’s...





Seriously though, I’ve been speculating since I was a wee-boy during Smash 64. It’s human natural.
 

SonicMario

Smash Master
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Smashboards at Pre-Brawl was both my first experience with Smash speculation and the first internet community I joined in general. The Speculation period before a new Smash game always seems to bring me back despite the fact that after a decent amount of time after the game is released, my activity decreases more and more. (Mainly because when a game gets released, that's when the competitive scene starts to take over many of the discussions. I harbor no ill will towards the competitive scene. It's just not the way I view/play Smash)

It probably helps that only months after I joined Smashboards, my dream inclusion of Sonic got in Brawl. From that point onward, I can almost never be disappointed with what comes next for characters. The only character that could come close is if say... Tails managed to make it in being my favorite Sonic character (But I could easily live without Tails being in Smash, I was satisfied enough that he got a Mii Costume in Smash 4). But still, Sonic being announced back in Brawl was and still is a huge deal and I'm glad he's stuck around and likely will for the remainder of the series barring a weird circumstance where Sega and Nintendo have a falling out. So after that, it's just I hope to see the reactions of many people to see their favorite characters make it, see them as happy as I was when Sonic made it into Brawl. As well as give good guesses and see all the potential candidates whether they're front runners or dark horses we don't see coming.
 

MrRoidley

Smash Ace
Joined
Mar 12, 2018
Messages
548
1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

Not the entire roster, but I like going in a case-by-case basis (like which Xenoblade character will get in, or which will be the retro fighter, or which series will get a Kid Icarus/Fire Emblem-esque boom in representation). Veterans are somewhat less blurry to speculate about (like many ppl already thought Ice Climbers and Snake would be cut in SSB4, or Doc/Roy/Pichu in Brawl), so in this case I try to speculate more.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

Joining the hype train for fun, and liking Sakurai as a dev. In the case of watching reactions, it's more when something so unexpected happens, or to see what people have similar opinions to me

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

This is one I do not particularly discuss much. Since often it's founded on baseless conjecture (ok sure, maybe a certain game is too recent to be considered in Smash if we purely analyze its announcement date, but who knows what are Nintendo's plans with that game? Maybe they want it to be big and set up themselves to provide material to the Smash team to include) or personal opinions and feelings, I don't think there's much to discuss here, at least not until we get more info

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

Just a fun time and to be able to talk with other fans :)
 

MoonlitIllusion

Smash Champion
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It's honestly just fun to share and discuss opinions and wants, talk about ideas. I feel like there's some people that take this **** way too seriously, I'm just here to talk about my favourite characters and why I want them in or why I think they should be in or why I think they're likely to get in.
 

volbound1700

Smash Master
Joined
Aug 26, 2007
Messages
4,443
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SE USA
I want to ask the entire Smash Bros. community a set of inner questions:

1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

I believe this is something that will provide very interesting discussion for the Smash community in general. I am VERY curious, and heavily desire to know what the inner specific answers are.
Easy answer, it is fun and there is nothing else to talk about on here.
 

SethTheMage

Smash Ace
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1. Do you desire to figure out Sakurai's roster for Smash Switch? Does figuring the Smash Switch roster go as far as just predicting newcomers? Or do you go further beyond and predict which veterans will remain or be cut?

Sort of. I like to try and predict what the chances are for the characters I want. Outside of that, I'd rather just wait and see; Sakurai is a very interesting developer to watch because he always throws at least one curveball that no one expects. I don't think predicting cuts is that interesting or fun, so I focus most of my energy thinking about potential newcomers.

2. If so, what is the main reason for joining the Smash community to speculate? Bragging rights, joining the hype train for fun, watching the reactions, liking Sakurai as a developer, or for other personal reasons?

If I'm perfectly honest, it's about one part meeting Nintendo fans like me and discussing my favorite games, and two parts impatience. When a new Smash game gets announced and the game isn't out yet or the final roster isn't known, speculation is a fun way to pass the time. I get pretty obsessive about the potential of a new Smash to the point where I need an outlet to get rid of the ideas that pop into my head. Though, I'd also be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the salt surrounding reveals of controversial characters that I support (Rosalina's reveal for Smash 4 was hilarious to watch in real time).

3. When it comes to discussion about potential newcomers, why do you participate in it and argue why a certain character is possible or impossible?

I like taking patterns and using them to predict outcomes. Also, it allows me to use all of the previously useless knowledge I've gained from from playing Nintendo games for 20+ years.

4. Is there anything you hope to gain by participating in Smash Bros. speculation?

Nope. Just a way to pass the time and alleviate the creative energy I get from thinking about a new Smash game.
 
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