Any character originating from a video game is elligible. . .but only third parties wit immense iconicness are likely. While MK is pretty big here it is far smaller in japan. Or so im told
And that's ignoring the whole, being known for immense blood and gore thing going on.
Blood and gore to the absolute max to the point of being a defining feature are definitely not equal to whatever hapens in MGS.
If you don't even know what features define MGS, it doesn't seem to be a point you can argue, in regard to it having a clear defining quality.
This post seems to be built on things you were told, rather than your own analysis of either franchise.
As far as Mortal Kombat goes... blood definitely would not happen in Smash bros. I could easily see gore being introduced to one character. Its all a matter of choice. We see Ganondorf strangulate other characters- that is pretty violent! It is unlikely that Scoprion would rip Mario's head out of his body with his spine dangling below, (same issue in MK v DC, for Superman)... but this does not mean he doesn't have other gorey things which could be utilized.
It's pretty similar to Snake, actually. The focus was not on realistic weapons (knives, bullets), but on more explosive weapons. Scorpion has his many iconic moves that are not too gorey to be included- from his spear, to fire breath.
Scorpion could absolutely be implemented. Think of it like a stage slap- its not about the actor being hurt, it is about the actor making it believable. If Mario cried out when he were speared, it would make it very believeable (and it wouldnt have to be an excruciating scream, rather, a blend of painful and comedic- a blend we have seen Smash hone in on many times).
He will not. It's been made abundantly clear Ridley is a no-go. . . as much as I hate to admit it.
I think the fact that he is so assumed to be out of the game, is exactly what would make him even more of a bombshell WTF than Cloud.
In reality, this is perhaps the best chance for Ridley- Sakurai has been in brainstorming mode for characters for the longest time ever! The only thing keeping Ridley from being playable is Sakurai being struck with inspiration as to how to do so properly. Whereas in the other Smash Games, Sakurai created the roster in the beginning and then put it down to develop for the rest of the cycle, with DLC, Sakurai has been in 'character brainstorming mode' for over a year now. He even opened up a poll, wherein some amazing individual may have perfectly inspired Sakurai as to how to make the character feasible. For all we know, Ridley was still being worked on to BE playable, similar to the Ice Climbers, and he just never figured out the coding (such as, for an oversized character trope). The only thing Clear about Ridley is that Sakurai has worked hard to get him represented in the game.
say hi
We have a ballot for a reason. Not only has he given us what we wanted many times in the past but we haven't even entered the part of DLC where "what we want" has the most impact. And he certainly isn't going to completely go back on his word like a lunatic because it would be unexpected.
When I say giving us what we want, I meant giving us new things we wanted. If all of your examples are veterans, aka, characters people felt entitled to because they were missing I dont think you have a point.
Not to mention, he gave us Roy and Lucas, as stated, because he believed we wanted them (not because they had been outright requested... the poll wasnt even out then).
It may be my own bias (or hipster attitude), but it seems to me Lucas and Roy were included more so because Sakurai wanted them in the game- he has expressed in the past how he favors them. The fact that they got in before Wolf is also a flat out congruent demonstration that obviously the clone veteran most requested to return, was ignored.
The one character we clearly got out of requests was Mewtwo- this is evident in his reveal (finale to 54 big facts as well as the framing of words used to show how much hype he received) and the altering of the Greninja trailer to make the trailer beckon Mewtwo (hands, charge ball, the fact that it is set in a cave).
As far as why we have the ballot, there are many reasons. The page outright stated it was for Nintendo's general use, to see what characters would cause a stir in other games. Let's not forget this! There is not just one reason we had the ballot, so let us not simplify.
Sakurai isn't some crazy man sitting on a throne thinking how to **** with people.
I never said he is crazy, but he has outright stated that he enjoys shocking us with the unexpected. There are dozens of examples wherein we see this time and time again.
I'm not claiming Sakurai attempts to give us things we dont want, but I definitely think Sakurai has shown us time and time again, that he prefers to go for the unexpected characters that are still desired, versus ones that are just wanted and are in plain sight. This is even what happened with the characters above that you list! We expected Wolf to be the first veteran after Mewtwo, and instead, we got two characters who outright have little to no future in their home series.
