But to me that shouldn't matter.The ballot since day one has stated any character is up for consideration.So if a 3rd party has a lot of support and sakurai believes they could bring something unique to the table they'll be added.you said it best Nintendo is a celebration of history. But what is Nintendo without there 3rd party support?You cant deny some of the best games ever made on Nintendo platforms are from 3rd parties.Castlevania ,bomberman, banjo kazooie, Earthworm jim,sonic,street fighter,megaman,no more heroes,resident evil i could go on forever. Or how some characters we want were made by 3rd parties Nintendo may own k rool but rare created him.And another quick point we the smash community are the minority.Were loud but were the minority a nintendo employee just got fired for saying that and who we think is doing good may not being as good as we think.Look i don't personally want the ballot to be a bunch of 3rd parties but if it is so what we are all gonna buy it anyway its always been like that and probably will always be like that.Smash if fun and sometimes i feel we forget that sometimes
Let's remove all the third party titles from the Wii U and see just where Nintendo would be!
We lose
Bayonetta 2. Harsh blow, but let's not forget that it's more of a "Nintendo supporting third parties" than the other way around in that situation, given that the game only exists because Nintendo supported it.
We lose
Hyrule Warriors, maybe? I mean, it's a Nintendo IP, even if it was based on a third party IP and developed with a third party developer. But we'll cut it out too.
Nintendo is thriving on their own IP.
Super Mario Maker,
Splatoon,
Super Smash Bros. (and, yes, it's a NINTENDO IP, and should remain that way). They haven't had solid third party support in quite a while. What's upcoming?
Zelda Wii U,
Starfox Zero... Yeah, I'd miss
Fatal Frame, but it's not a system seller.
Now, I'm not saying 3rd parties are impossible, or even improbable. Ryu blew away any chance of that, as that series hasn't been seriously connected to Nintendo in a long time, yet still got in.
But to say that Nintendo got where it is off the backs of third party IPs is just wrong. The biggest sellers on Nintendo platforms are Nintendo IPs, and have been since the NES.
Also, if we're discussing third parties that used to support Nintendo in a bygone era before abandoning them, Square Enix should get some
Final Fantasy representation in alongside your proposed
Castlevania rep. Or, if you want third parties who
STILL have a solid relationship with Nintendo after years,
Harvest Moon says "hi".