The silver lining in this though is that Sakurai may be forced to show SOMETHING about Smash 4 at E3 2012, primarily to give fans confidence about the Wii U.I am betting that if we only get one or two newcomers in the trailer it will be BIG guest characters.
Why would the newcomers be only guests? While Mega Man's reveal would make me very happy (along many others), guests are not guarantee to return. If anything, recent financial situation may be the reason why may end up with no third-party characters at all. SmashChu has a point in which third-party characters will likely receive the lowest priority and since this is Nintendo All-Star, I'm hoping that if we must face cuts, they take it out on third-parties. It will upset many people, but I'd much rather have that then Lucario replaced with *ugh* Zoroark *ugh*.
Ridley and King K. Rool could make as much, if not more audiences, excited about the game and they are potential Nintendo newcomers who are some of the most requested newcomers and aside from trolls, they have almost unanimous support.
As to third-party reveals at a hypothetical trailer. One of the two will almost certainly be Mega Man.
As to Sakurai's comment about how series have to sometimes radically change, I am thinking its possible that this game may be the big overhaul to the Smash Bros. series, and we might be looking at a very meager roster increase over Brawl paired with massive cuts from Brawl (which the Japanese fanbase is bitterly expecting).
The characters they believe to be on the chopping block are:
Snake
Sonic
Lucario
Ike
Lucas
Toon Link
ROB
Wolf
- Read what I said above.
- This is why I only expect 36 slots for this game and seven good Nintendo newcomers. Unfortunately, this comes with lots of cutting.
- From a realistic perspective, the only one I'm worried about that is in danger is Lucario. Snake and Sonic will likely return, as will Ike, Lucas, and R.O.B. Wolf might get the axe (I don't think Falco will be axed) if
Star Fox 64 3D tanks (which the chances of it has sadly risen), but if it does sell well, I say we are more likely to get Krystal then a cut. Toon Link is definitely in danger, but I see him being replaced by Young Link, so I have no worries about that (heck they could cut him off entirely and I still wouldn't flinch). Lucario has an unique move set and a not-so-great chance of returning, which makes me worried about him. However, I do not expect any of them except Ike and R.O.B. to return.
It has already been discussed, it's not just for Monster Hunter. This is, regrettably, a Nintendo product.
As far as major overhauls on Smash. I actually think Sakurai will focus more on the online aspect this time around. That is where I believe the overhaul will be focused on. If nothing else at least for the Wii U installment.
As far as the roster goes another option, though many might not like this, is to have separate rosters that have exclusive characters.
I actually like the idea of roster exclusive on both versions, though to avoid spending more money, I'd prefer for the exclusive on be on the Wii-U.
