Maybe because his chances are relatively up in the air and the people who don't think he'll be playable still think he deserves more than just a trophy?
That's probably it, but still there isn't any proof whatsoever either way. I will say that because of things that have been circling around, like say Sakurai posting a tweet about that custom made Monado snd Soraya Saga being hopeful for the inclusion, it at least gives me confidence that Xenoblade Chronicles isn't going to be dumped into the deepest pits of the Chronicle and be forgotten. Worst case scenario, there will be at least music and trophies involved.
Stigma for who? Not for the fans, if anything being an AT has increased popularity for certain characters. Not for Sakurai either, clearly characters who were once items can ascend to playability, look at Charizard.
It's not like being an AT will prevent a character from becoming playable should Sakurai want them playable.
I'm not saying that being regulated to one specific role is a permanent thing, I mean if I did really have that mentality I wouldn't be supporting anything what so ever. It's more like being in that role should be treated as more of a precaution more then an encouragement, because history does have a habit of repeating itself. To play your example game, Toad despite being arguably the most popular Mario newcomer and the next in line for true blood newcomers for the Super Mario Bros. series, is constantly put into the same meatshield role in every game ever since Peach was introduced in Melee.
But it does explain why a character as prevalent as the Mii has more overall popularity collectively.
Which, again, isn't much of a huge issue. We have our popular characters, sure, like the Mario and Pokemon characters for example, but at the same time we do get our roughly equal share of lesser known characters thrown into the mix too. Captain Falcon, Ness, Marth, R.O.B., Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers, Wii Fit Trainer, and so on. Which from a design standpoint of a crossover series does make sense, considering that it's generally a bright idea to introduce as many franchises into the same scenario while making the occasional rule breaker in order to keep things fresh and diverse. After all, Super Smash Bros. would be a ton more dull if it was plagued by too many Mario and Pokemon characters.
Totally. I mean they still have all the same conditions to meet as other series, it's just that most new series (especially those with only a sole game) can't match up to the impact of more established series yet.
Which I still don't believe, considering it's never outright stated at any point. So I still firmly believe that it's free game for many series. However, for series that were introduced
after the roster was compiled, that is where I can understand when something is too new. Hence why I think something like Wonder Red from The Wonderful 101 was introduced too late to be considered, but still find it perfectly plausible for Shulk from Xenoblade Chronicles to be at least considered. However playing with the scenario, Wonder Red would be more viable the next time around a new Super Smash Bros. installment is created like say 2018/2019 where the character wouldn't have the stigma of being introduced too late into development.
Not saying either of the examples provided are going to happen or not, it's merely an example of what I'm talking about.