I'm in the camp that the costume is a bad sign for K.Rool. To me everything about it suggests it's a consolation prize. It came out a couple months after the ballot started, so it would've been clear that he was a front-runner by then. For all we know, the unique assets in the costume could have been a result of trying to make the character, but giving up on it for whatever reason.
The only other DLC newcomer is Ryu, who got SF costumes with his release. That's the thing, if K.Rool was playable I'd figure they'd release the costume with the character. Why bother make the costume in the ballot period if you're going to release the character later anyway. I don't think the costume is pre-ballot. It seems too coincidental that it got released at point into the ballot where they would've had enough time to make it as a reaction to his popularity.
I think it's a consolation prize personally. I think he had issues with him as a character, such as moveset or his size and weight in relation to other characters, and made him a costume instead. I think that's the kind of thing Sakurai would do.
Well, what you're saying does make sense, and I concede that it's a very likely scenario, but the way I see it, Sakurai really does want to please his fans. I suppose that doesn't necessarily mean that he absolutely must make K. Rool to please them, but I do think that he would have tried harder to make him to please the fans.
Afterall, this is DLC, and although he cannot keep the team together forever, I would imagine the deadline being less strict than the one for the main game. Sakurai was able to make a fitting move set for Duck Hunt, ROB, and Wii Fit Trainer, a few rather unorthodox non combatants on their own. Heck, he practically improvised all of Greninja's moveset, since X and Y wasn't even announced when he approached the Pokémon Company. He also said that Smash Bros isn't always accurate to scale, and despite his stance on Ridley, K. Rool's character isn't really depicted by his size. Sakurai and the team worked hard to just barely get Lucario in Brawl, and Bowser Jr. in Smash 4. So I think that if they started work on K. Rool, they would have done the same.
Again, I admit that your theory is completely plausible, but I just wanted to give my thoughts on it. I admit that the costume is a bit of a thorn in our side, but I think there's still hope.
![[Obnoxshush/Dasshizer]](/data/avatars/l/267/267037.jpg?1450250857){kind=avatar}
