Worst timeline is if Steve gets in over Banjo. No offense to people that love that idea but goddamn I hate Minecraft's art style. It is so damn ugly.
Yeah, I can't imagine Sakurai doing it. While technically I can't know what he thinks, I have a very strong feeling that in addition to popularity/relevancy, moveset potential matters above all else. Banjo & Kazooie have a unique design, a two in one fighter that fights as one, a variety of skills (flight, egg shooting, beak buster, rolls, etc). And they're Nintendo legacy characters, regardless of who currently owns them, as many people, including me, still associate them with Nintendo. Not to mention all of the characters, settings, music that could all lead to potentially great stages, assists, trophies, remixes. Steve has none of that--he just comes from a popular series, and most people play as skins rather than Steve.
I also wonder how much of the support is genuine, and how much of it is ironic or being contrarian. Although, I do try not to speak for them, so I assume there are many who genuinely want him. But it just feels like it's a joke character like Goku and Shrek, but since he is a video game character, he's "technically" allowed in the polls. It's like if they can't get Goku and Shrek, they might as well go to their next best option. But that's just a feeling, not what I actually believe.
I wouldn't be surprised if Minecraft did have representation, through a stage and assist. Since you don't like the art style--what would you think of Minecraft getting representation outside of a playable character, if it meant Banjo was in?
Any word on if that leaked photo has potential to be real?
Discussions died down around the time I went to bed, and skimming the pages it didn't look like anything new came up. There was one person who posted a gif, where it shows he could align the "leak" with an official image. Though, if it is a fake, and I always had a suspicion it was, it's a really good one, and I'd love a good quality version of it regardless, as I really like that design compared to the Smashified version. Only thing that's really off to me is the freckles and his teeth--even then, if it was their official render, I'd love it.
EDIT:
https://boards.4chan.org/v/thread/429940289
More """""leaks""""" of screenshots coming out of /v/ again.
It is interesting to see Banjo in these, its bizarre. I don't think I've ever seen this many with them involved. It'd be pretty funny if one of these turned out to be real....
Whenever a "leak" with Banjo & Kazooie pop up--I want to believe. So I understand those who really wanted Agnes to be real despite the writing on the wall. Banjo does look off, especially his hands and expression-less face. Dixie's alright, though I'm not as familiar to know what to call BS on. It is great, though, after so many fake leaks with B&K barely getting a mention, the floodgates have opened. And fake or not, it gives me an excuse to talk about Banjo & Kazooie, and that's a good thing in my book.