Sakurai is going to have more space than he could need. A 60 character roster would mean nothing as far as space is concerned.
I'm not sure how much you thought the Wii U would hold but 25 GB is 3 times what the Wii discs held, and that was after they were duel layered. So no worries at all.
http://kotaku.com/5809701/wii-u-discs-will-be-25gb-in-size
Kotaku isn't an official source. Unless Nintendo outright says it, take what they say with a grain of salt, just like any other news. Other news sites says only one controller TOTAL will work. That means one Wii U or Wii controller. No others.
So no, I don't take that as fact.
I also don't believe he'll have space for everyone. 60 characters doesn't get enough new characters in, as he'd want to finish the Brawl forbidden 7. That's 46 characters. 14 new ones is bleh. And if we include all Melee characters, that's 48. 12 new guys?
Yeah, we're going beyond that already. 70 is a reasonable roster if we want returns. Otherwise, don't expect all your favorites back. While it does make sense he'd lesson the amount of new guys, it would be silly to do so. Brawl had exactly 13 newcomers. 12 is entirely possible, but it was planned to have 20 newcomers.
I'm sure the plan'll be atleast 25 minimum. But as seen, newcomers are considered more important than one-time veterans. Cuts may happen. Not saying to expect them, but don't think he won't do it for a second. He cuts two characters in total from Melee, not counting the NPC's with the Fighting Wire Frames.
Here's some data;
Melee cut exactly 12 total characters.(the Polygons) Technically, Metal Mario and Giant Donkey Kong were also cut. They're the same slot as the original, just turned Metal and Giant.
Brawl cut exactly 4 characters. Pikachu, Young Link, Male Wire Frame, Female Wire Frame. The other Forbidden 7 didn't make it due to time. And to be frank, Brawl would've ran even slower if they did. Unless he remakes a finish version of Brawl for the Wii U... those characters may not even get into Smash 4, save for the completely new characters.(Dixie Kong, Toon Zelda, Toon Sheik, Plusle & Minun)
Due to this, he would probably want to finish off that 4. That means 43 playable characters. 17 is a very tiny amount for him to choose unless he cuts a few more for space/time.
So yes, don't be surprised if cuts happen. He does not have a problem with them whatsoever, as shown already.
