Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[volbound1700]

Going to answer this one completely honestly:

Probably. EA's reputation is near-rock bottom amongst the general hardcore (and few companies can rival how hated EA is - only companies like Activision-Blizzard, Konami and Tencent have come close IMHO) and them getting a character would draw a lot of ire regardless of which character we're talking about. And honestly I don't think Plants vs. Zombies' Crazy Dave would be immune.

There'd be a lot of salt, yes, but there'd also be quite a bit of hype surrounding a lot of these characters - lets not forget that:

• Shepard's hypotheoretical inclusion would introduce the possibility that Mass Effect could heal post-Andromeda.
• Crazy Dave would have intriguing non-standard mechanics and get a lot of attention that way.
• Ditto Sims (or Bella Goth, one of the most famous Sims) - Sims also has a strong legacy by themselves going back to the early 2000s.
• Hawke from Dragon Age might be one of the least controversial pick EA's got, and it would do quite a lot to its favor.
• Command and Conquer's Kane would have the old-school RTS fanbase hyped as hell. It would also come after C&C Remastered came out and got a positive reception.
• Dead Space's Isaac would likewise do quite a lot by itself to reignite interest in that series... although that's dead at this point.
• While Apex Legends is near-impossible (at best), it would draw a lot of attention to unique mechanics too.
• Finally, a Battlefield representative would cause quite a lot of stir and perhaps cross-interest as well.

Not many - if any - are going to trust EA to actually heal, but the salt and EA's routine mistreatment of franchises shouldn't completely overwhelm the fact that EA still has a lot of legitimate choices and the fact that there'd be a lot of positivity too.

That and I just don't think EA has a classic character that fits Smash. They have classic series but not necessarily a character that stands out.

To me, classic characters that fit Smash would be:

1. Sora
2. Lora Croft
3. Masterchief
4. Doom Guy
5. Jill Valentine
6. Crash Bandicoot
7. Rayman
8. Dante
etc...

I just don't see an EA character that is more well-known or better fit than this list.

 

[7NATOR]

I Mention EA cause I keep hearing of these rumors that we getting an Apex Character in Smash, and that a Smash Slot is part of the reason why EA is Now changing their tune when it comes to the Switch. well that and Switch is selling, but it could be both

After all, Part of the Benefit of DLC is you can get Closer Relationships to Partners like Microsoft and SNK, and I could see this being Done with EA. It would be weird for Apex to get in because Apex is a very Recent game, but it's what it might be, and It is a First Person Shooter rep people have been waning (along with being a Battle Royale) it's just not what people expect like Chief, Doomguy, etc.

Also Conspiracy, but it could also be why we haven't seen a Master Chief Costume yet or something. well that or getting Chief just for a Costume wasn't worth it, but you know.

There's also another Conspiracy that Tracer was Planned, but was scraped for Reasons, and that Apex could be the next big thing. I do have to wonder if rumors of Tracer being heavily considered were True, where Crash played into all of that...

 

[SKX31]

Oh god we're not even halfway through the pass.

Here, I got a second one for ya

View attachment 288887

Maybe we should take it the old school way.

SCOOP
SCOOP
HÄAGEN-DAZS

If there's actually some sort of "modern military shooter rep", I'm honestly of the mind that the only real choice there is Modern Warfare. Partially because Call of Duty is huge and damn near overshadows literally everything else in the space, but part of it is that they actually have a recognizable character in the form of Captain Price.

Battlefield does have 3's protagonist Sgt. Blackburn - although as you said, Price is much more famous and the liklier choice between the two (not that CoD's anywhere near likely). I do agree that CoD overshadows Battlefield and most anything else in the genre (although Battlefield has kinda held its own in the post-MW era with 3 and V, 4 was not a relative success). But both CoD and Battlefield have many of the same obstacles between them and the Smash letter: a lot of in-company competition and (IMHO) having to make sure the weaponry is fictional, especially considering Smash's age rating and the fact that it is rated by CERO.

 

[cashregister9]

I Mention EA cause I keep hearing of these rumors that we getting an Apex Character in Smash, and that a Smash Slot is part of the reason why EA is Now changing their tune when it comes to the Switch. well that and Switch is selling, but it could be both

After all, Part of the Benefit of DLC is you can get Closer Relationships to Partners like Microsoft and SNK, and I could see this being Done with EA. It would be weird for Apex to get in because Apex is a very Recent game, but it's what it might be, and It is a First Person Shooter rep people have been waning (along with being a Battle Royale) it's just not what people expect like Chief, Doomguy, etc.

Also Conspiracy, but it could also be why we haven't seen a Master Chief Costume yet or something. well that or getting Chief just for a Costume wasn't worth it, but you know.

There's also another Conspiracy that Tracer was Planned, but was scraped for Reasons, and that Apex could be the next big thing. I do have to wonder if rumors of Tracer being heavily considered were True, where Crash played into all of that...

Those Apex rumors have cropped up multiple times and they are all pretty Bogus, and they read like "Fighters pass 2 is nothing but Shill picks Nintendo bad"

The Tracer thing is also bogus, If it were true would it would be a disgusting waste of time money and resources and that is not how contracts work you can't just sign a contract but once a party does something stupid you cannot immediately cancel that contract.

 

[GoodGrief741]

If we got Another Western Character, but it was one from EA (Like Apex Legends), instead of Crash, Scorpion, Chief, League of Legends, Tracer, would people be Salty?

If it's a character from the few EA games that were positively received by hardcore gamers (Shepard, Isaac Clarke, Jack Cooper, maybe someone from Dragon Age or Battlefield) then I imagine it'd be seen as a pleasant surprise, with some bemoaning that EA got into Smash before "insert X company here".

If it's from one of their more prevalent, modern bad games (Anthem, ME Andromeda) or from a GaaS (PvZ, Apex), I'd expect a pretty negative response. Battlefield would depend on what game they rep (so 4, Hardline, etc are a no-go) and whether they can overcome the generic shooter guy problem (Preston Marlowe from the Bad Company games is probably their best bet, but they still don't have recognizable characters to the degree of Captain Price, Soap, or Mason from CoD). Dragon Age would probably be well received except for the fact that character customizability is a big sticking point for fans of the franchise, so they'd either have to go with a generic protagonist or piss everyone off by choosing Hawke.

 

[RileyXY1]

Those Apex rumors have cropped up multiple times and they are all pretty Bogus, and they read like "Fighters pass 2 is nothing but Shill picks Nintendo bad"

The Tracer thing is also bogus, If it were true would it would be a disgusting waste of time money and resources and that is not how contracts work you can't just sign a contract but once a party does something stupid you cannot immediately cancel that contract.

We've only gotten 1 shill pick so far in FP2 (Min Min). Steve is what I consider a legacy pick.

 

[AceAttorney9000]

The only EA representation I'd be really interested in would be a stage based on Burnout Paradise, with tons of cars racing in the background and crashing everywhere in slo-mo, possibly crashing into the fighters as a stage hazard.

 

[cashregister9]

We've only gotten 1 shill pick so far in FP2 (Min Min). Steve is what I consider a legacy pick.

From Nintendo =/= Shill pick


I hate the term Shill Pick because every character has their merit, but I would define a Shill Pick as a character that would only get in due to a new game coming out or has recently come out and for no other reason.

 

[SNEKeater]

We've only gotten 1 shill pick so far in FP2 (Min Min). Steve is what I consider a legacy pick.

Min Min, a shill pick. Yeah, sure.

 

[7NATOR]

Those Apex rumors have cropped up multiple times and they are all pretty Bogus, and they read like "Fighters pass 2 is nothing but Shill picks Nintendo bad"

The Tracer thing is also bogus, If it were true would it would be a disgusting waste of time money and resources and that is not how contracts work you can't just sign a contract but once a party does something stupid you cannot immediately cancel that contract.

I Agree the Tracer getting cut while in development is pretty bogus, though I Do wonder if maybe there is truth to the rumors, but Tracer didn't get cut for the Controversy (especially since Overwatch is getting a Free trial on Switch), but perhaps because there might be some Implementation issues or Blizzard is being hard to work with, and perhaps she wasn't seen in development, but perhaps was in Process of negotiations and got cut or something

As for the Apex thing, I try to keep an open mind. now the leaks are probably bogus, but the thing is that there is an interesting timeline if you think about it

Like if you think about, Reggie got Replaced by Doug Bowser, and Doug Bowser used to work at EA, now with this in mind, this could be a chance for Nintrndo to get close to EA. After all EA has many Franchises that sell very well, but they were not into Switch support, so I can see the thought process behind the pick, even if the leak itself is probably bogus. And with Sakurai playing Apex heavily, he at least know what capabilities of the characters and if he could implement them if Nintendo asked them too.

I'm just worried that if it actually happens, That speculation would be salty, especially if we got Costumes for Chief, Crash, and other Popular western pick along with a Hypothetical Apex character

 

[RileyXY1]

Min Min, a shill pick. Yeah, sure.

Yes. Min Min is a shill pick. She was put in to get more people interested in ARMS, especially considering that a free trial of ARMS happened around the same time that the ARMS guessing game was announced, and had Min Min not been been delayed she could potentially had come out around the same time that said free trial ended.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

Rumors that a 3rd party character, that would require negotiations for get, being canceled are among the literal most unbelievable.

In regards to Tracer specifically, Jeff Kaplan has said that Nintendo could have “any character”.

I feel as though the guy would respond differently if he were that close to getting his character in.

A YouTuber with no record reported that rumor, right? Enough said. There are some rumors that make sense to discuss, and others that do not deserve the attention because they just...don’t make sense. This one is of the latter.

 

[SNEKeater]

Yes. Min Min is a shill pick. She was put in to get more people interested in ARMS, especially considering that a free trial of ARMS happened around the same time that the ARMS guessing game was announced, and had Min Min not been been delayed she could potentially had come out around the same time that said free trial ended.

Then we can agree that Banjo and Kazooie was also a shill pick. Sakurai literally told for anyone interested in B&K to play it on Xbox One. Terry as well, with Sakurai recommending some SNK titles during Terry's presentation.

Doing a free trial is like very, very basic promotion, not to say, it's just common sense. It's not like they were extremely pushing ARMS when we knew FP7 was an ARMS rep, you know. In fact, Nintendo has barely pushed ARMS since then to the point I don't understand it. Just a free trial, which takes like, 0 effort? Specially for a game that was already 3 years old.

At this point feels like "any first party character = shill pick" and that's just absurd.

 

[RileyXY1]

Then we can agree that Banjo and Kazooie was also a shill pick. Sakurai literally told for anyone interested in B&K to play it on Xbox One. Terry as well, with Sakurai recommending some SNK titles during Terry's presentation.

Doing a free trial is like very, very basic promotion, not to say, it's just common sense. It's not like they were extremely pushing ARMS when we knew FP7 was an ARMS rep, you know. In fact, Nintendo has barely pushed ARMS since then to the point I don't understand it. Just a free trial, which takes like, 0 effort? Specially for a game that was already 3 years old.

At this point feels like "any first party character = shill pick" and that's just absurd.

It could get more people to buy a hypothetical ARMS 2 if that ever comes out.

 

[Shroob]

At this point, there's only two types of leaks I'll believe anymore.

1) Nintendo ****s it up all on their own. Brave in the data, SNK Copyright, Kirby Fighter's 2, etc

2) A reputable leaker says something before a big event/right before a presentation drops. Considering they're usually all gaming journalists, and they have press kits, then I really doubt they'd lie about who the character is like, 5 minutes before it happens.

 

[SNEKeater]

It could get more people to buy a hypothetical ARMS 2 if that ever comes out.

And is that exclusive to Min Min? That applies to all characters in the roster, like, literally.

We'll probably get an ARMS 2, yes, but that doesn't make Min Min a shill pick. Would you say she's a shill pick even if ARMS 2 comes out like, I don't know, in 2023? That makes absolutely no sense.

 

[RileyXY1]

At this point, there's only two types of leaks I'll believe anymore.

1) Nintendo ****s it up all on their own. Brave in the data, SNK Copyright, Kirby Fighter's 2, etc

2) A reputable leaker says something before a big event/right before a presentation drops. Considering they're usually all gaming journalists, and they have press kits, then I really doubt they'd lie about who the character is like, 5 minutes before it happens.

Yeah. I think all rumors are fake now unless they are very close to a reveal, or it's because Nintendo had a brain fart.

 

[7NATOR]

I'd Argue that Min-Min was more of a Shill pick than Byleth. They were using her Inclusion to Bring ARMS back to the Fore-front, especially it being a New I.P. The point of Byleth's Inclusion was that they wanted a character that people would be Playing now, So by that it might benefit Smash more than it does FE3H, but it helps both. They did reveal the DLC with Byleth though so they both were Shilling, but Min-Min more so

 

[Ramen Tengoku]

The Tracer rumors were just an excuse to once again proclaim "Byleth was underwhelming", and carve their own "what could've been" fantasy out of it.

These are a dime a dozen and not sure why this one should hold more validity than the rest, aside from being reported by a random YouTuber you can totally trust

 

[Shroob]

At this point, there's only two types of leaks I'll believe anymore.

1) Nintendo ****s it up all on their own. Brave in the data, SNK Copyright, Kirby Fighter's 2, etc

2) A reputable leaker says something before a big event/right before a presentation drops. Considering they're usually all gaming journalists, and they have press kits, then I really doubt they'd lie about who the character is like, 5 minutes before it happens.

So this puts me at odds with NateDrake then, who kiiiiinda proclaimed that Hayabusa is coming next.

I 'could' see a reveal in December, because TGAs, even if I don't expect it(And considering I don't expect the DLC to take until December of next year, this could be the last TGAs where a Smash reveal could happen)...


But this early? I can't deny that he knew about the Mario Collection, and seemingly a few other things, for quite awhile ahead of time, but the fact he seems fairly confident that Hayabusa is next is, strange, if nothing else.

It 'could' be nothing more than speculation on his end, but he's never said it as such, so we have no way of knowing if he actually believes Hayabusa is next(And has reason to do so), or if it's just speculation on his part.

 

[RileyXY1]

The Tracer rumors were just an excuse to once again proclaim Byleth was underwhelming, and carve their own "what could've been" fantasy out of it.

Yeah, and I think that the Apex Legends rumor is also a fake, unless Verge confirms that we're getting one.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Hot take (or cold, I guess)

Sub-Zero has way more potential for unique mechanics due to the ice balls freezing the foe for combo oppotrunities and the ice clones shenanigans.

I think Scorpion is the better pick because, between his chain and his teleport, he has more built in recovery options.

To me, classic characters that fit Smash would be:

1. Sora
2. Lora Croft
3. Masterchief
4. Doom Guy
5. Jill Valentine
6. Crash Bandicoot
7. Rayman
8. Dante
etc...

You are an infant child!

 

[7NATOR]

Well you know, Regardless if the Apex legends rumor is Real or Fake, I'm gonna keep the Series in mind because there might be more going on behind the scenes than it might be lead on

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I think Scorpion is the better pick because, between his chain and his teleport, he has more built in recovery options.

That's your opinion and Scorpion would also be really cool.

Mortal Kombat in general has some fun characters that could be great in Smash.

 

[Faso115]

Late to the party but i find it hilarious how there are more characters that are a 1 (highly unlike) became playable while the top row has like one character in the game (Banjo)

 

[SpectreJordan]

I love Max as much as the next guy but a small game with a smaller budget not being able to get Crash doesn't mean Smash has the same problem. Remember, PSABR failed to get Final Fantasy and Smash just got the literal biggest game on the planet in Smash.

I have doubts about Crash because of Activision like Max does, but I’m not willing to rule him out just yet. There’s a chance that Activision would do it for the marketing alone. Plus, if anyone could control Activision for a bit I bet it’d be Sakurai & Nintendo. Smash Ultimate is the game of impossibilities becoming possible.

I’m 50/50 on Crash. I don’t think he’s the most likely character like everyone else does, but I think he has a good chance. I 100% believe that Nintendo atleast tried to get him though.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Off-topic, but what is the most surprising thing about the DLC selections so far:

Byleth.

Still can't believe they did that...

I hate the term Shill Pick because every character has their merit, but I would define a Shill Pick as a character that would only get in due to a new game coming out or has recently come out and for no other reason.

i.e. Byleth.

 

[7NATOR]

If They did Try to get Crash, it was probably very Recently (around late 2018-2019). I don't think that Crash was in the Cards 5 years ago like Steve was, whether because his Franchise was still kind of dead, or Nintendo didn't feel like going for Crash at the moment

 

[Shroob]

I think Scorpion is the better pick because, between his chain and his teleport, he has more built in recovery options.

You are an infant child!

Lara
Doomguy
Crash
Rayman
Jill

Mate c'mon I know these characters get talked about a lot but most of these are mid/late 90's at earliest, meaning they're all over 20 years old at this point.

 

[Al-kīmiyā']

Nintendo was probably negotiating the characters for fighter's pass 2 around the time Overwatch had the Hong Kong scandal. I think its chances are remote.

Edit: The Hearthstone scandal might have soured all Blizzard properties for Nintendo, but Overwatch's chances are not as bad as I said above.

 

[RileyXY1]

Nintendo war probably negotiating the characters for fighter's pass 2 around the time Overwatch had the Hong Kong scandal. I think its chances are remote.

That actually involved a different game called Hearthstone.

 

[latsmash]

Tracer's fate was at best a mii costume, the Hong Kong scandal didn't involve Overwatch and didn't affect her chances

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

That actually involved a different game called Hearthstone.

And only one side of Activision-Blizzard.

What Blizzard does shouldn't reflect on how Activision would handle things and vice versa.

They have the same parent company, but aren't the same company.

So Activision reps can still be on the table even if Nintendo wanted to avoid dipping its toes into the controversy.

 

[zeldasmash]

Compared to something low-budget like PSASBR, Smash is big. Not even comparable and a bad one.

Also if anyone from Mortal Kombat is gonna get in it'll be Scorpion. "Hurr durr! Too violent!" despite ignoring

I wouldn't classify Joker as that violent, though. Metal Gear, Bayonetta and Castlevania, however, absolutely. If anyone thinks Castlevania can't get violent or explicit, look at the Netflix series. The gore can rival Mortal Kombat's in quite a few occasions and makes things like even Bayonetta look tame. Even Castlevania Bloodlines is quite the violent game. Metal Gear Solid V is quite the violent and explicit game, easily one of the more violent games represented in Smash in some way.

I wish people would stop using violence in a game to disqualify a character completely. Just because they are violent really doesn't mean anything against their inclusion. Scorpion is a popular choice and so is Doomguy and other choices like Travis Touchdown, Kratos, Lara Croft and Hayabusa, all of which are violent characters.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

I think there’s a possibility that potential for Volume 2 was around when Volume 1 was planned. As in, if Steve was truly thrown around for a few years, and if there’s some truth to prior rumors of Hayabusa, we could be looking at a relatively interesting timeline of events for DLC production.

Might throw together a conspiracy Jonespost. Or I might just play DOOM.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

You are an infant child!

OK Boomer.

 

[latsmash]

the injustice series shows that Scorpion and other MK characters can work without violence, the issue with Scorpion and MK as a whole is the fact that negotiating for a character like him in the long run isn't worth it

 

[Shroob]

I think there’s a possibility that potential for Volume 2 was around when Volume 1 was planned. As in, if Steve was truly thrown around for a few years, and if there’s some truth to prior rumors of Hayabusa, we could be looking at a relatively interesting timeline of events for DLC production.

Might throw together a conspiracy Jonespost. Or I might just play DOOM.

By all means, tinfoil hat it up.

 

[Al-kīmiyā']

I feel like I should keep track of everyone saying the violence in Mortal Kombat's source material isn't a big problem for the next time Saber is discussed.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Might throw together a conspiracy Jonespost. Or I might just play DOOM.

Now I gotta write a mental note to get some popcorn to see what comes out of this.