Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[I.D.]

With Sakurai being able to state with confidence that season 2 is the end (something he never did for season 1), I remain convinced that Nintendo planned for 2 seasons from the beginning.

 

[Dr. Jojo Phantasma]

Come on, Nintendo. I hope you asked for a Xenoblade character in the pass. ;_;

 

[Invisible Shiny Bulbasaur]

So basically with Nintendo picking the fighters again, its safe to say that is like gonna very in line with what we got with Fighter Pass 1, which was basically.

5 out of 5 were main characters.

4 out of 5 were third party characters whose owners Nintendo has a strong relationship with.

4 out of 5 were characters from Japanese games.

2 out of 5 were characters that are the companies respective most iconic character (Joker for Atlus and Terry for SNK)

1 out of 5 being a Nintendo character from a recently released game.

So basically seems like its gonna be mostly main characters or mascots from Japanese third party companies that have a strong working relationship with Nintendo, with 1 or 2 Nintendo characters from a recent major release and maybe 1 western third party character (though I am not holding my breath for this one as none reached Banjo's height in terms of the sheer volume of request). If Nintendo's past picks are any indication for what we can expect to pick for Season 2.

Calling Joker the most iconic Atlus character seems like a bit of a stretch, given that Persona 5 was only released a few years ago. I would say Jack Frost is widely considered to be their most iconic character and mascot, given that I've never even played an Atlus game but I know Jack Frost by name, and I don't think I could have picked Joker out of a line up prior to TGA 2018. I think Joker was chosen due to the popularity and current relevance of Persona 5 specifically. I'm sure Joker sold more DLC and made more of a splash than Jack Frost would have.

But otherwise, I think you're pretty spot on. I'm betting on FP2 being more or less what you just described.
I think we're likely to get characters from Capcom and Bandai Namco, maybe Microsoft and/or Square Enix (probably from one of their smaller series since FF and DQ were likely very expensive), one or two from Nintendo, and quite possibly one or two from heretofore unrepresented companies like Koei Tecmo. I think Microsoft is the most likely western company to have a character in the second pass now that Nintendo and Sakurai have established a working relationship with them. I think one or two upcoming fighters were chosen based mainly on popularity and/or significance despite not being from a game currently for sale on a Nintendo system, but most of them will likely be from games released between 2017 and 2021. I think most of them will be from games brand new to Smash Bros.

 

[Pinguino21v]

Not that it really tells us anything, but given that Nintendo choose the characters again I wonder if they just went with the next 6 characters on their list or changed things based on sales/response to the first few characters in pass one.

I hope for that. It's basically the only way for Isaac to get in, looking at the seemingly bias against GBA (and overall handeld) content by Sakurai and the supposed fact that Nintendo was surprised by the negative feedback from fans when Isaac appeared in AT gives me hope.

If I had one realistic wish, it would be that somehow, in some way, over the vast expanses of language and the Pacific ocean, that the fan's requests got to Nintendo, and that they listened and all six characters are fan requests.

The vast majority of plausible characters, both first and third party, are fan requests. The question is "what does a fan request mean"? Do we count only long-lasting request from previous the launch of the game, or also requests that got strong thanks to the appearance of previously seemingly impossible third party? Does purely western picks count? Does purely japanese picks count?

 

[Dr. Jojo Phantasma]

Also guys Sabi deleted his Twitter account and Emily Rogers her ERA one. Nintendo is going on full ninja crackdown mode.

 

[Animegamingnerd]

So it appears Nintendo is pretty angry right now.

Apparently since the Pokemon leak, Nintendo has begun going after and finding leakers and their sources more often now.

 

[I.D.]

So it appears Nintendo is pretty angry right now.

View attachment 263038

View attachment 263039

Apparently since the Pokemon leak, Nintendo has begun going after and finding leakers and their sources more often now.

Good. Insider culture is a cancer.

 

[Icedragonadam]

So the only way then for characters to leak is when Nintendo does it.

 

[Cadillac]

So the only way then for characters to leak is when Nintendo does it.

I still wonder what happened to the employee that accidentally leaked SNK

 

[Cosmic77]

I don't know. I'm walking into the second pass having no idea what to expect.

I will say that I hope we get a few good first-parties. There are a couple of characters left I'd like to see be added before Smash goes on hiatus again for another five or six years. I hope people will warm up to that idea, but some of the comments I'm seeing so far aren't instilling much hope in me. Not sure how I feel about this, "I don't care who you are as long as you come from a new franchise" attitude.

So it appears Nintendo is pretty angry right now.

View attachment 263038

View attachment 263039

Apparently since the Pokemon leak, Nintendo has begun going after and finding leakers and their sources more often now.

Two things.

First off, hallelujah, Sabi is dead!

Second, the Pokemon leak lawsuit wasn't from Game Freak after all. Seems like Nintendo is the one who's cracking down on leaks.

 

[Izanagi97]

So it appears Nintendo is pretty angry right now.

View attachment 263038

View attachment 263039

Apparently since the Pokemon leak, Nintendo has begun going after and finding leakers and their sources more often now.

Guess that explains the lack of leaks (fake or otherwise) lately.

 

[Schnee117]

Fire Emblem still living rent free in people's heads lmao

 

[PSIGuy]

Guess that explains the lack of leaks (fake or otherwise) lately.

Either that or Nintendo just don't have anything to leak. Can't have leaks if the well is dry! A bold new protective measure for sure.

 

[TwiceEXE]

Pretty interesting that Nintendo appears to be hardcore cracking down on leaks of all types right now. After what we saw from the second half of last pass, I wouldn't expect any info about characters to come out unless Nintendo messes up again.

And this also means that the Mandycan and Cacomallow leaks are definitely fake, just in case anyone actually thought they were real. Nintendo would have gotten those taken down very quickly if they weren't BS.

 

[Ben Holt]

Good news: More surprises.
Bad news: Less playing detective.

 

[N3ON]

So it appears Nintendo is pretty angry right now.

View attachment 263038

View attachment 263039

Apparently since the Pokemon leak, Nintendo has begun going after and finding leakers and their sources more often now.

I don't see why this should stop Sabi if the last totally and completely real C&D didn't.

 

[Kokiden]

Sabi will be back.

They said they're going to reactivate their account eventually. They're not gone, unfortunately.

 

[GoodGrief741]

I'm curious about what characters Nintendo deemed worthy of picking as the last 6 newcomers for Ultimate.

I'd also like to know - and we'll likely never know this - the identity of the person within Nintendo that's choosing the characters. Is it Furukawa? Honestly it could be very informative about Nintendo's future strategy and/or business relationships.

 

[TwiceEXE]

Sabi will be back.

They said they're going to reactivate their account eventually. They're not gone, unfortunately.

There's a hidden meaning to this I'm scared to say

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Hoo boy, knowing that the 6 characters left are the last is gonna be something, I guess that's why they put emphasis on there being an extra character in V2

 

[Ben Holt]

Hoo boy, knowing that the 6 characters left are the last is gonna be something, I guess that's why they put emphasis on there being an extra character in V2

Ok. I Googled this, but I can't find anything. When/where did Sakurai, Nintendo, or whomever say that Fighter's Pass Volume 2 is absolutely the last DLC?

 

[Curious Villager]

I suppose it makes sense since the Switch would be at its 4th year by 2021 and Nintendo's console lifespans usually tend to last for about 6-7 years (at least until their successors come out).

Nintendo would probably rather Sakurai work on the next entry by that point and get it ready for the next system.

Spoiler

Right after Sakurai got his break, right Ninty....?

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Ok. I Googled this, but I can't find anything. When/where did Sakurai, Nintendo, or whomever say that Fighter's Pass Volume 2 is absolutely the last DLC?

The Famitsu colomn had him call the V2 characters the 'last', meaning the original Japanese had the word 'saigo', ergo, no more DLC after pass 2

 

[Ben Holt]

I suppose it makes sense since the Switch would be at its 4th year by 2021 and Nintendo's console lifespans usually last for about 6-7 years (at least until their successors come out).

Nintendo would probably rather Sakurai work on the next entry by that point.

Spoiler

Right after Sakurai got his break, right Ninty....?

Considering how perfect Ultimate is, I really just want the next Smash Bros. game to be an extension of Ultimate. Just add on to what we already have rather than starting over every time.

 

[Evil Trapezium]

Good news: More surprises.
Bad news: Less playing detective.

They're both bad news for me. I hate surprises...

 

[Ben Holt]

They're both bad news for me. I hate surprises...

Well, I made my Fighter's Pass Volume 2 list with the assumption that it would be the final DLC.
In hindsight, that was a good idea.
But I'll always have my wishlist of 8 Sonic characters, Waluigi, King Boo, Paper Mario, Impa, Midna, Dante, and Spyro.
Ugh. I dream of those dummy slots being filled.

Spoiler: My super uber unrealistic every character I'd want EVER wishlist

SS:
Crash Bandicoot
Doom Slayer

S:
Spyro
Rayman
Master Chief
Kratos (no chance, but hyper than hype)

A+:
Geno
Toad
Waluigi
Paper Mario
Shovel Knight
Rillaboom

A:
Dante
Heihachi
Lloyd
Bomberman
Isaac
Dragonborn

A-:
Ryu Hayabusa
Dixie Kong
Bandana Waddle Dee
Impa
Midna / Wolf Link
Skull Kid
Tingle
King Boo
Ashley
Chorus Kids
Tails
Knuckles
Dr. Eggman
Mega Man X
Zero
Alucard
Spring Man
Akira Howard
Tracer
Jonesy

B:
Krystal
Toon Zelda
Tetra
Bill Rizer
Earthworm Jim
Shantae
Monster Hunter
Leon Kennedy
Crono
Noctis
Lara Croft
Sora
Steve
Jibanyan
Chosen Undead
Yuri Lowell
Amaterasu
Viewtiful Joe
Revali
Pokémon Trainer Red as a Fighter
Venusaur
Blastoise
Charmander (Charmeleon Alt)
Blaziken
Mario Kart Racer
Bass
Starfy
Dr. Cortex
Ezio
Scorpion
2B
Akira (Virtua Fighter)
Rabbids
Cranky Kong
Balloon Fighter
Diablo
Dillon

C: (Echo Fighters)
Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic)
Proto Man (Mega Man)
Zack Fair (Cloud)
Ms. Pac-Man (Pac-Man)
Jeanne (Bayonetta)
Kasumi (Joker)
Coco Bandicoot (Crash)
Jill Valentine (Leon)
Toadette (Toad)
Dry Bowser (Bowser)
Cosmic Mario (Mario)
Paper Luigi (Paper Mario)
Dr. Luigi (Dr. Mario)
Boshi (Yoshi)
Funky Kong (Donkey Kong)
Ninten (Ness)
Tom Nook (Villager)
Octoling (Inkling)
Gooey (Kirby)
Raichu (Pikachu with longer tail, but only hits on the tip)
Dragonite (Charizard)
Zoroark (Lucario without Aura. Some of Wolf's Slash moves.)
Demise (Ganondorf)
Matthew (Isaac)
Ayane (Ryu Hayabusa)
Vergil (Dante)

D:
Lyn
Hector
Saki
Slippy
Peppy
Rick, Kine, and Coo
Solaire
Artorias
Agumon
Jin
Kazuya
Dig Dug & Pooka
Blinky
Pac-Man Jr.
KOS-MOS
Klonoa
Siegfried (Soul Calibur)
Nightmare (Soul Calibur)
Gil
King Galaga
Elma
Euden
Red (Angry Birds)
Gordon Freeman
Heavy
Soldier
Scout
Spy
Chell
Thrall
Murloc
Sarah Kerrigan
Gray Fox
Kasumi (Dead or Alive)
Trevor Belmont
Dracula
Frogger
Black Shadow
Black Mage (Final Fantasy)
Chokobo
Zidane
Sephiroth
Barret
Aerith
Eleven (upgraded from Erdrick skin)
Solo (upgraded from Erdrick skin)
Eight (upgraded from Erdrick skin)
Randi (Secret of Mana)
CJ (GTA)
Marshal
Karate Joe
Tempo
Porky
Masked Man
Donkey Kong Jr.
Stanley the Bugman
Hunter (Spyro)
Gnasty Gnorc
Chun Li
Guile
Akuma
M. Bison
Sub Zero
Arthur
Sukapon
Maxwell (Scribblenauts)
Spave Invader
Chibi-Robo
Mach Rider
Excitebiker
Kamek
Baby Bros. (Baby Mario and Baby Luigi)
Raiden
Wonder Red
Ray Mk. 3
Takamaru
Rex & Pyra
Hades
Medusa
Magnus
Billy & Jimmy
Kunio
Albert Wesker
Serperior
Feraligatr
Giovanni
Cynthia
N
Plusle & Minun
Metagross
Eevee
Decidueye
Gengar
Scizor
Gardevoir
Victini
Infernape
Empoleon
Grovyle
Zhao Yun
Nobunaga Oda
Yuri (Fatal Frame)
Q*Bert
Commander Video
Reimu
Sakura (Sakura Wars)
Gex
Jason & Sofia
Travis Touchdown
RuneScape Hero
K.K. Slider
Cuphead (Mugman Echo)
Conker
Rash
Joanna Dark
Fable Hero
Marcus Fenix
Super Meat Boy
Wart
Pauline
Cappy
Birdo
E. Gadd
King Bob-Omb
Nabbit
Lubba
Koopa Troopa
Dry Bones
Fawful
Mallow (Mario RPG)
Glydon
Andy (Advance Wars)
Baby Metroid
Sylux
Silver
Amy
Blaze
Metal Sonic
Rouge
Chaotix
Nights
Demi-fiend
Jack Frost
Morgana
Ristar
Alex Kidd
Jackie (Virtua Fighter)
AiAi (MeeMee echo)
Rodin
Beat (Jet Set Radio)
Ryo Hazuki
Billy Hatcher
Axel (Crazy Taxi)
Amigo
Ulala
Gilius Thunderhead
Joe Musashi
Toejam and Earl
D. Va
Phoenix Wright
Strider
Morrigan (Darkstalkers)
Dr. Wily
Sigma
Frisk
Sans
Kyo
Ryo
Andy Bogard
Mai
Geese
Iori
Nakoruru
Haohmaru
Marco
Sol Badguy
Bub & Bob
Guitar Hero (Alts for Axel Steel, Johnny Napalm, Lars Ümlaüt, Casey Lynch, Judy Nails, Izzy Sparx, Xavier Stone, and Lou)
Professor Layton
Arle Nadja
Tertris-Man

Sony Tier:
Kratos (Woo, two tiers!)
Jak & Daxter
Ratchet & Clank
Sackboy
Sly Cooper
Nathan Drake
Parappa
Colonel Radec
Spike
Sweet Tooth
Cole McGrath
Sir Daniel
Toro

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Yo wait if the DLC is done by December 2021, then that means we'll likely get the big meltdown Smash fans usually have about this at around Christmas, which means it will be the most horrible time of the year

 

[Kokiden]

Found a very rough translation of the Famitsu article. Doesn't really tell us much.

Better to have PushDustin's translations but this will do for now.

https://twitter.com/bk2128/status/1230027054118252544?s=20

 

[Deleted member]

Sucks that we will get less info beforehand, I'm not of fan of waiting for disappointment.

 

[Gyrom8]

Having a definite close in sight is nice as this ride needs to come to an end at some point, though that comment is gonna put a hell of a lot of pressure on fighter 11, which I doubt they'll be able to possibly deliver

 

[I.D.]

If it were up to (YOU) what kind of character would you pick for the absolute last character to be added to smash? Leaving aside personal preference, what do you think is the best course of action when you have to order 6 characters given to you?

Your most famous character available, to end it with a bang?
A fan request, for our loyal players?
The most niche character, since most people would have already bought the pass?
The one that generates the most butthurt, because who cares it's the last character anyway?

 

[Brindor]

If it were up to (YOU) what kind of character would you pick for the absolute last character to be added to smash? Leaving aside personal preference, what do you think is the best course of action when you have to order 6 characters given to you?

Your most famous character available, to end it with a bang?
A fan request, for our loyal players?
The most niche character, since most people would have already bought the pass?
The one that generates the most butthurt, because who cares it's the last character anyway?

 

[MasterOfKnees]

Hoo boy, knowing that the 6 characters left are the last is gonna be something, I guess that's why they put emphasis on there being an extra character in V2

Just the fact that we got an extra character was probably always an indication that this was going to be the last pass. If anything DLC passes in fighting games tend to get smaller over time as the development team shrinks (see DBFZ going from 8 to 6 to 5), so it's clearly a case of them squeezing that list bit of juice out of the game that they can.

It’s nice to know for sure though, and so far in advance as well. Gonna be a real circus on this forum when we’re approaching the sixth fighter, especially if some of the more popular characters aren't in yet.

 

[Deleted member]

Yo wait if the DLC is done by December 2021, then that means we'll likely get the big meltdown Smash fans usually have about this at around Christmas, which means it will be the most horrible time of the year

we have different definitions of horrible

 

[Evil Trapezium]

If it were up to (YOU) what kind of character would you pick for the absolute last character to be added to smash? Leaving aside personal preference, what do you think is the best course of action when you have to order 6 characters given to you?

The most niche character, since most people would have already bought the pass?

Niche character you say? Heh heh heh...

... Never mind, images are broken. I was going to post one of my gifs of Sgt. Cortez...

 

[Dutch Raikuna]

Afternoon people.

So from I've learned. Nintendo is practically publicly executing the insiders. Interesting to see about Verge's contacts now.

And it's definitely six more. Expected.

Means though the pacing will make this place less busy.

 

[3BitSaurus]

Man the 2000's really need some love.

Dark Samus is it for SSBU. Hell, 4 had more 2000 reps.

Which is a bit funny to me, because I see a lot of people dismissing the first party 2000s picks as "base roster tier".

Then again it's all a matter of balance. Smash 4 didn't get a lot of characters from that era, but the vast majority of them were relevant back in the 2000s/early 2010s. The only exception I can think of first party wise is Duck Hunt.

We're in the endgame. The 2 year long endgame.

The Thanos snap scene, but it's just a staredown that takes 2 years before the actual snap.

I will say that I hope we get a few good first-parties. There are a couple of characters left I'd like to see be added before Smash goes on hiatus again for another five or six years. I hope people will warm up to that idea, but some of the comments I'm seeing so far aren't instilling much hope in me. Not sure how I feel about this, "I don't care who you are as long as you come from a new franchise" attitude.

I guess people have that feeling exactly because Smash is probably going on another hiatus after this. I don't agree 100% either, but I can get why people are behaving like this.

 

[Wrathful_Scythe]

If it were up to (YOU) what kind of character would you pick for the absolute last character to be added to smash? Leaving aside personal preference, what do you think is the best course of action when you have to order 6 characters given to you?

Your most famous character available, to end it with a bang?
A fan request, for our loyal players?
The most niche character, since most people would have already bought the pass?
The one that generates the most butthurt, because who cares it's the last character anyway?

Waluigi.

Famous? Check!
Fan request? Check!
Niche character? Check... well, kinda.
Generate a lot of butthurt people? Oh boy, Check!

Sakurai finally embraces the meme and makes it an ode to the internet. The memers will relish, others will be butthurt and Nintendo has nothing to fear because everyone and their grandma already bought the damn thing anyway.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

Sounds like a lot went down since last night. Can you bring me up to speed

 

[SNEKeater]

Yeah, I'm betting on 1-2 first party characters. It would be a good move to end with Waluigi or something like that, but they will probably end it with a Pokémon or another character from an upcoming game. Not that it's bad, I'm fine with that. But if pass 2 is truly the end for Ultimate, I think it would be wise for Nintendo to end with a popular character or a requested one.

Some people will be angry as always, and being the last fighter isn't an easy situation for almost any character, even for the likes of Chief, Sora or Kratos, because a lot of hopes and expectations will be crushed that day lol