Sorry to be negative on the whole Geno AND thing that's going around, but I don't see it. We know that Geno is owned by Square definitively at this point. If his name has specifically not been credited, I think that either indicates that maybe not all Spirits are mentioned by name or that they just don't care enough about Geno and Mallow Spirits to make a specific deal about them in the credits since Square has already been credited as in the game. We're not getting two Square characters, it's going to be Geno vs anyone else from Square.
I'll also push back on the idea I saw people mentioning of Erdrick being unprofitable to Square. If Nintendo were the ones to suggest Dragon Quest content (Which I think they have plenty of reason to do so), then I'm sure Square was unlikely to push back against Nintendo on that point. They're still getting something from all of this since Nintendo will handle all of the major aspects of marketing, amiibo figures, etc. Most importantly, however, I'm sure Square will always look for extra exposure for Dragon Quest, and shifting some additional copies of the most recent Dragon Quest related titles is probably an equally enticing notion of having a DQ character in Smash. Sure, Erdrick is less profitable on an individual basis, but there's a long term benefit to Square (And again, I can't stress how much we DON'T know the intricacies of DQ licensing).
If Nintendo picked Dragon Quest as something they wanted to realize in Smash (And again, I think there's a big argument here as to why they would do this despite the relative lack of fan requested content), then Sqaure has no real reason to turn that down. I think us focusing in on Square is probably the wrong call. Nintendo chose our characters this time, and our fate lives and dies on their choices... Unless Square asked for Dragon Quest inclusion and chose to handle their end of thing. And again, I don't see a reason for Nintendo to turn down that offer.
I still think our best shot lies with Sakurai having an affection for Geno though. I have my doubts that NoJ are aware enough to see the requests for Geno, they have a horrid track record for being out of touch, especially in comparison to NoA, and the recent Isaac findings from Polar support the idea that maybe fan requested characters are not making the headlines we might hope for. But Sakurai could be our saving grace in involving Nintendo in that discussion/making sure they're aware of Geno in the first place. If that's enough remains to be seen, and I do wonder if Sakurai sees the crossover potential of Smash as more important than fan requests at this point given the amount of base game fan service... but, I think that's really Geno's best shot. Sakurai and fan support is what he has going for him, but I feel less confident the more and more I think about it all.
