An E3 Retrospective: Part 3 - Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS (2013-15)

This will be a four part series briefly looking over Smash's presence at E3 before E3 this year

With Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Switch expected to have a big showing at E3, now is a good time to reflect on the series' previous E3 showings. While the series has found more activity in recent years at other events, particularly Nintendo Directs, it is fascinating to see how the marketing for Smash has changed from almost invisible to it's own form of a beast. Super Smash Bros. Wii U and 3DS did a very good job using E3 events.

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U was first announced at E3 2011. This reveal gave us no information bar the fact that it would be playable on the both Wii U and 3DS.

E3 2013 was an extravaganza, easily. Mario, Link, Samus, Kirby, Fox, Pit, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, and Bowser were confirmed to return. Newcomers Wii Fit Trainer, Villager, and Mega Man were also confirmed. Gameplay footage was very sparse, but the information that was revealed got everyone excited.

E3 2014 showcased Palutena, Mii Fighter, and Pac-Man. More information was revealed after the event. Not much was announced beyond this, but the release date was gearing up to be close.

E3 2015 was the first time we would get an update on a Smash game after it released. While there was no update at E3, two days before, Ryu and Roy were announced as Downloadable Content, with plans to release them alongside Lucas.

E3 2016 had nothing because the game was officially done updating at this point, with E3 2017 showing no hints of Smash. For Nintendo Switch, we'll be talking about that tomorrow.

Author's note: Were you around for the hype? If so, what were your thoughts at the time? If not what do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Definitely the hype stuff that started me in SSB4, even if I saw them almost half a year after SSB4's release.

Newcomers Wii Fit Trainer, Villager, and Villager were also confirmed.

Never knew they confirmed Villager twice.

 

The best press cycle leading up to a Smash release thus far, IMO. Gave the community a lot to be excited about and discuss for years before the game even came out. I think this was the first time Nintendo truly realized the power Smash holds, and what a marketing dream it can be.

 

I was 11 when Smash 4 was first announced by the late Satoru Iwata, i remember getting excited waiting until 2013.

Ah yes, 2013. It was the last year i was in Primary School (or elementary as people call it in the US) and as such it was an important year for me. I could not see E3 2013 Live because of School, but fortunately it was a short day and we were allowed to leave earlier than usual (i think it was because of a strike by the teachers or something along those lines) and i remember looking at the news online about Smash 4, and seeing Mega Man gave me such joy because he was my most wanted Smash 4 character alongside Mewtwo since he was a childhood favorite of mine. I could not stop thinking about Smash 4 for the rest of the year and every single update that came up only made me more excited (except Rosa's announcement, never was a fan of her as a fighter)

I could go on and on about Smash 4 Speculation era and how it was an important part of my adolescence, but i don't want to stay in the past for too long.

 

I just love how Wii Fit Trainer was revealed by Shiggy trolling the press. Such a classic moment.

Smash 4's speculation was the first where I became an active poster here on SmashBoards. I found how much fun it was to sit in mini communities dedicated to specific characters and talk about shared experiences with other fans of the same character or series. I didn't have much to do during that time, so I spent a lot of my free time on SmashBoards and lurking GameFAQs for the latest rumors and "leaks". I remember the Palutena leak (which ironically turned out to be fake after she was officially revealed), the wars surrounding the Gematsu leak, and the rollercoaster surrounding the ESRB leak. I had a ton of fun during Smash 4 speculation.