You know, I'm probably very biased when I say this, but the fact that DQ may have been base game and was moved to DLC is very interesting to me. The only base game content we got apart from Cloud's bare minimum are Geno's and Mallow's spirits. It makes me wonder if DQ and Geno were both on the table, DQ was chosen for a rep, and Geno's spirit was added with Mallow's as a, "This will do for now, maybe we'll add him as DLC later." Then, DQ was pushed off to DLC.
Just a point of fascination that makes me wonder if Geno, apart from the Fighter's Pass, was never entirely off of the table at any point. Shelved for now and for the Fighter's Pass, yes, but not completely off of the table. It'd make some sense to me that they were both in consideration, one more iconic pick and one more fan-based pick, and they prioritized the iconic one (smart business move). Whether that theory is true and whether or not we'll get Geno at any point is still up in the air, but considering how third parties are negotiated and require more work than first parties, I wouldn't rule it out. Geno's spirit got in the game somehow, and this seems like a logical process.