A recent importance doesn't really matter. Sakurai can and will do whatever he wants when he wants, BUT that is what the Ballot is for hopefully. A chance for us to actually pick who we want. As long as the Smash Ballot isn't a Kroc then all should be well.
Yes. He CAN chose a character at random. But all of our newcomers have a fairly recent title or are a retro. Edit: Now that I think about it... I think this rule can basically be held for the newcomers in EVERY Smash title, with
and
having some of the largest gaps.
: City Folk when chosen for the roster. New Leaf being released weeks before the game was announced.
: Gaming ICON with last game being December 2012, with Street Fighter x Capcom.
: Wii Fit U.
: Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 8, Mario Galaxy 2.
: Punch-Out!! Wii, honestly the "oldest" of new titles on this list.
: Pokemon X/Y, was chosen from CONCEPT ART before the game was released.
: Tomodachi Life. 3DS Street Plaza Titles.
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: Kid Icarus - Uprising, the game Sakurai was working on months before he started development on Smash 4.
: Was honestly chosen as a retro, but we technically have Ghostly adventures.
: Fire Emblem - Awakening
: Xenoblade Chronicles
: New Super Mario Bros./Luigi U.
: Retro.
I'm not saying King K. Rool is unlikely because his last role was a 2009 (?) Mario Spin-Off game. Infact, he is top 3 of the Ballot if we disregard Roy and Wolf who are all but assured to be DLC confirmations before the ballot comes to a close.
But while it may or may not matter, it IS a present factor. A trend. Correlation does not mean causation but it's something that can be noted.