To be fair, I don’t know that that’s actually what’s happening.
If some folks are taking it as “first parties aren’t good enough” then that may be a misread. In my approach, at the very least, it’s not that first parties can’t be added, it’s more the question of will they?
It’s not unfounded, really. I’m a broken record. DLC picks back to Ryu reflect a focus on “new” things to Smash or Nintendo. First party picks in DLC have either been from a new game (Fire Emblem) or a game that is absent in the playable department and is given a simultaneous push (ARMS). Both of those are similar in goals, even if not exactly the same situation. Not to mention, every pick has been a protagonist from their specific game, coming with clearly differentiated content from anything else in the game. You know Byleth is Fire Emblem, but Three Houses itself differentiates itself from the other content from the same series in the game.
In terms of things being reversed on 3rd parties compared to how things “used to be”...well, consider the situation. The “Nintendo connection” sticking point folks had for quite some time isn’t really all that strong anymore. Folks were literally trying to make Nintendo connections to Cloud (in which Sakurai addressed it specifically) and Persona 5 (a literal PlayStation exclusive game). It’s not as strong as it used to be, if it’s a large part of selection processes anyway.
It should also be noted that support from a series/developer can be jumpstarted by a Smash inclusion. Hypothetically, if Nintendo were interested in getting NieR Automata on Switch, would 2B in Smash not be a great step toward that?
But look at Ultimate for what it is. We have dozens of the most iconic Nintendo characters. Ridley and K.Rool the top biggest (lol) picks of the generation are in. We also have picks like Cloud, Joker, and Banjo in the game. I don’t think it’s that surprising that, outside of the hardcore fanbase, folks want more 3rd parties to cash in with crossovers as opposed to the remaining 1st parties folks focus on.
This probably won’t have the effect it should, based on what folks probably think of my opinions. I appreciate that folks have strong opinions on their most wanted Nintendo characters. But we’re talking supporting characters of series that don’t have the same standing currently as other series.
Would Dixie Kong be a big deal to Nintendo fans? Probably. Would Crash Bandicoot? Probably. Overall? I think Crash has the larger presence in the industry and would be the “bigger” pick holistically because of the crossover power of Mario vs. Sonic vs. Crash and because it’s an inherently new series crossing over.
This doesn’t even include the fact that some folks flat out ignore the strong possibility that highly requested Nintendo characters might not even be in contention. Emphasis on might because I agree that we simply don’t know...we know upgrades can happen based on Min Min, but will it happen again? With Assist Trophies? There’s potential that it does, no doubt. But there’s also the chance that it doesn’t, and that if it does, only one time.
There’s a wider pool of third parties with a wider reach than many first parties have. It doesn’t mean they’re superior to Nintendo picks (which is probably what it seems like I’m saying) it just means that there’s potentially likelihood for the remainder to reflect what we’ve seen in Wii U and now Ultimate, which is 1st party marketing picks and 3rd party protagonists.
Overall I think it’s more of a focus on “new” and themed packs in terms of the Fighter Pass rather than 3rd parties, but I still think we’re in for mostly 3rd parties going forward. I only say that based on what we’ve seen so far.
I’m at a point where I don’t actually care too much about who ends up in the game because I have a massive backlog and have been distracted from Smash as of late. The wait isn’t as painful.
I grew up on Nintendo. I have...way too much Nintendo stuff in my house. I am anything but a Nintendo hater. I simply feel that most of what Nintendo has to offer is largely in the game already, and while other Nintendo series or characters aren’t out of the question, I can see why they would opt for adding 3rd parties over IP or characters that they either are not using actively, or may not have the marketing potential in their eyes.
Yeah, when comparing the base roster characters to all of the DLC fighters which were new to their respective Smash Bros. entries, there's clearly a pattern with how everything's structured.
To the point that, ironically, some of the most popular 1st Party requests have less of an opportunity than not-so-popular 3rd Party requests to join the battle in a
Nintendo fighting game at this point.
Base roster picks have proven to be quite flexible, presenting a clear emphasis on including popular and/or iconic Nintendo characters no matter their current status within their respective Nintendo properties. Therefore, there typically isn't as much of a focus on 3rd Party characters in general at the time.
DLC picks on the other hand have proven to be more selective, presenting a defined emphasis on including characters only if they bring something new to the table. 3rd Party characters can pull this off easily, which is probably why they're favored during this time. Granted, Sm4sh's DLC was as unorthodox as it could get, since it began by dishing out characters who were already in Smash before. However, the last few picks (Ryu, Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta) satisfied this hidden quota for DLC characters moving forward.
Therefore, I believe that we certainly won't see them pulling Bandana Dee, Waluigi, or Dixie Kong out of a hat for no particular reason at all.
Heck, I don't even think popularity has anything to do with it, at least more than satisfying this particular quota of bringing something new to Smash.
Fire Emblem is pretty lucky since it has a rotating cast with new protagonists for each entry, because this provides a perfect opportunity to pick someone fresh and new from that series for the roster during the DLC period. Min Min had the benefit of being a Nintendo IP which hadn't been properly represented in Smash before the DLC period began. Not to mention that ARMS came out before Ultimate, unlike Splatoon and Sm4sh, so everything worked in the Smash Team's favor. But most importantly, the quota was fulfilled.
The same can't easily be said for those other three characters I mentioned (or certain other 1st Party requests), unless there is something from their own respective franchises of which they themselves could promote. Which might sound easy at first until you look back at how Fire Emblem, a franchise already represented in Smash, brought even more representation into Smash through DLC:
It was fresh, it was specific, and the character had a starring role within that specific game.
Let's compare this logic to my most wanted 1st party character (and most wanted in general), Bandana Waddle Dee.
The latest core entry in the Kirby franchise thus far was Kirby Star Allies. Could he use that as a ticket into Smash? Let's see...
Is the game in question fresh? Compared to even Three Houses, not exactly.
Is the game in question specific? Yep, it wouldn't be promotion in the form of a range of games.
Does the character have a starring role? It's debatable, since Kirby was clearly shown as the main protagonist from the start of the game's first cutscene.
Additionally, there is at least one music track from the game which is currently in Ultimate, so there's already representation for the game beyond Spirits.
Therefore, this wouldn't be a good base for Bandana Dee to stand on and thus he wouldn't fulfill the quota.
The solution for characters like Bandana Dee would be to hope that a fresh, new game for their respective franchise comes along during the DLC period, of which they also star in as a main playable character. (Oh yeah, the emphasis on DLC protagonists also convinces me that there won't be any villains in any Fighter Pass, unless they're somehow main playable characters who stack up to the main protagonist, but that's another topic).
Anyway, if anyone wants to dissect any particular point(s) and have a little chat, feel free. Otherwise, I just wanted to place my thoughts on the debate between 1st and 3rd Party character.