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Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

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osby

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I think I might be alone on this, but I think Pac-Man is the only rep Namco really needs. To me at least, characters like Lloyd and Heihachi don’t really feel necessary because Pac-Man is less a representation of his series but instead a representation of classic Namco arcade games like Mappy and, well, Pac-Man. Namco’s legacy really rides on their arcade success, and judging from their constant rereleases of their arcade games in compilations or in standalones, I think they share a similar sentiment. If Namco really wanted another character, they could’ve and would’ve included them in base.
Lloyd and Heihachi have the potential to be unique and popular additions and there's no reason to reject them just because PAC-MAN does one thing better than them. Like, Joker and Bayo don't represent SEGA better than Sonic and we didn't need them but they are here and they are fun.

Also, Namco can't include whatever character they want just because they develop the game. Sakurai still calls the shots.
 
D

Deleted member

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oh my god that's ****ing terrifying and Capcom's gonna kick themselves for not thinking of it
It also paints a funny picture that this terrifying hulking mass of undead organic material in biker gear carrying a rocket launcher just... really ****ing hates typewriters.
 
D

Deleted member

Guest
Good morning everyone.

Any news for today? If none, I'll just go write that Goo Hara editorial I was working on last night. Or probably study.
 

Night Gale

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Ngl, not only all these example feel like stretches, but I fail to see the point in releasing a character near an esoteric anniversary that casual fans would not even be aware of.

It's not like Nintendo tweeted something like "One year ago, SNK Heroines was released on the Switch!" when Terry came out. In fact they say anything about that game in the time between the September Direct and the November Sakurai presentation (which it's also the reason the reason why I don't get why people think "Terry is in Smash to advertise SNK Heroines" btw)

I feel like character will come out simply when they're ready and when they don't interfere with any major Nintendo game. Maybe you can make an argument that they are always released in proximity to the next Amiibo wave (which doesn't even pinpoint the exact week of release).
Super Smash is a commemoration of video game history and it made a comprehensive list of titles and their release dates in the form of Chronicle Mode, and the entry before Ultimate revealed characters on recent game anniversaries. Sure, they aren't promoting the games or the significance of the dates so that they can surprise the general public, but I highly doubt it wasn't deliberate. Hell, I've seen others here mention that fighters 1-3 were worked on around the same time, and I believe that s***.

I'll wait for the announcement of fighter number five or six, take notes on the company they're from, and post the approximate release date that they'll drop and we'll see if it comes to pass. I mention fighter number six in the event that they release fighter number five on the same day that they're announced.
 
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D

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Can we just boycott comicbook.com? It's already a fake news outlet and an advertising space instead of being a reliable news space.

Fighter 5 is Tracer.
Source: My gut.
Yeah, she may be disconfirmed, but...
 

JustMyself13

Smash Journeyman
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Super Smash is a commemoration of video game history and it made a comprehensive list of titles and their release dates in the form of Chronicle Mode, and the entry before Ultimate revealed characters on recent game anniversaries. Sure, they aren't promoting the games or the significance of the dates so that they can surprise the general public, but I highly doubt it wasn't deliberate. Hell, I've seen others here mention that fighters 1-3 were worked on around the same time, and I believe that s***.

I'll wait for the announcement of fighter number five or six, take notes on the company they're from, and post the approximate release date that they'll drop and we'll see if it comes to pass. I mention fighter number six in the event that they release fighter number five on the same day that they're announced.
If it was deliberate, why haven’t they mentioned it like they did with 4, though? It seems like the perfect tidbit to mention in a Sakurai showcase that goes over the character’s and series’ history, yet to my knowledge it hasn’t happened with any DLC character yet. I don’t believe they are planning out reveals based on history or recent games, as Hero would’ve made more sense in Banjo’s spot as it would’ve been closer to DQ11’s rerelease. Same can be said for Joker and Royal.
 
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GKMLTTSB

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I think I might be alone on this, but I think Pac-Man is the only rep Namco really needs. To me at least, characters like Lloyd and Heihachi don’t really feel necessary because Pac-Man is less a representation of his series but instead a representation of classic Namco arcade games like Mappy and, well, Pac-Man. Namco’s legacy really rides on their arcade success, and judging from their constant rereleases of their arcade games in compilations or in standalones, I think they share a similar sentiment. If Namco really wanted another character, they could’ve and would’ve included them in base.
I'm down for representing segments of gaming, but I'd say that's something you'd have to look at independently of repping specific companies.
If we just go by what each company's biggest, most notable contribution is, then we'd pretty much be stuck with one character per each, and it'd just be Ryu, Pac-Man, Warrior of Light (or Hero), a Pachislot rep (not even being facetious), Master Chief or another XBL rep, and a playable NEO-GEO MVS cabinet. >_>
Sega would still get Sonic most likely since 'the rivalry' is what they're most associated with. :-/

No existing company really needs another rep if we're just covering bases for the history of gaming.
 

JustMyself13

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I'm down for representing segments of gaming, but I'd say that's something you'd have to look at independently of repping specific companies.
If we just go by what each company's biggest, most notable contribution is, then we'd pretty much be stuck with one character per each, and it'd just be Ryu, Pac-Man, Warrior of Light (or Hero), a Pachislot rep (not even being facetious), Master Chief or another XBL rep, and a playable NEO-GEO MVS cabinet. >_>
Sega would still get Sonic most likely since 'the rivalry' is what they're most associated with. :-/

No existing company really needs another rep if we're just covering bases for the history of gaming.
Maybe it’s just me then, but I think Pac-Man is really meant to be THE Namco rep, as in an encapsulation of Namco as a whole. Namco is really the only third party company out of all we have so far who has a defining/unchanging mascot after all these years, and I think the ideology behind Pac-Man was to use him as a vessel for the entirety of Namco. Think about it, why is Pac-Man the only third party to have a taunt that references nearly EIGHTEEN distinct Namco/Namco-Bandai franchises with some added from the jump to Ultimate? I feel that this is the reason why Pac-Man has such an odd moveset to begin with, he’s not Pac-Man World/Pac-Mania/even Pac-Land Pac-Man, he’s Namco Crossover Mascot Pac-Man.
 
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Selenite

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Maybe it’s just me then, but I think Pac-Man is really meant to be THE Namco rep, as in an encapsulation of Namco as a whole. Namco is really the only third party company out of all we have so far who has a defining/unchanging mascot after all these years, and I think the ideology behind Pac-Man was to use him as a vessel for the entirety of Namco. Think about it, why is Pac-Man the only third party to have a taunt that references nearly EIGHTEEN distinct Namco/Namco-Bandai franchises with some added from the jump to Ultimate? I feel that this is the reason why Pac-Man has such an odd moveset to begin with, he’s not Pac-Man World/Pac-Mania/even Pac-Land Pac-Man, he’s Namco Crossover Mascot Pac-Man.
Yes, it's a creative design decision with Pac-Man as stated by Sakurai. I believe it was a new addition for Super Smash Bros Ultimate since Heihachi didn't appear as part of Pac-Man's taunt for Super Smash Bros For Wii U/3DS. Similar to the creative design decision of the Fatal Fury series track listing contains songs from all across SNK's history (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, The King of Fighters, Alpha Mission, Ikari Warriors, Athena, Psycho Soldier, Art of Fighting, Samurai Shodown, Metal Slug)

https://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/06/26/800/

Sakurai: The employees from Namco were surprised and overjoyed when they were notified of Pac-man’s inclusion. “I can’t believe you made Pac-man look this good!” they said.

Interviewer: Wait, so you didn’t include him just because of the Namco connection?

Sakurai: Pac-man’s design was updated in a 2013 CGI cartoon titled, “Pac-man and the Ghostly Adventures.” This new design has been used in a variety of products. But in the end I felt that his old-school design was better, and used that in the design plan. If that was rejected, I thought about dropping Pac-man altogether.

Interviewer: I really like how even his movement is full of references.

Sakurai: You might call him a hybrid, but he’s not just Pac-man– I think he ended up also representing all of the great parts of Namco as well.

Interviewer: Between Bandai and Namco, were there any other strong candidates for inclusion as a fighter?

Sakurai: There were none. We basically thought of all the characters at the start of development. We decided on characters we knew we could make. However, there were a few in consideration, such as Heihachi from “Tekken.”

Interviewer: Heihachi!

Sakurai: That’s right. However, implementing Heihachi’s movement in Smash would be difficult…

 

Guybrush20X6

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Who deconfirmed her and when?
I never heard an answer to this.
Yeah, I don't remember hearing anything about that in particular.
I think the means Jeff Kaplan's answer in an interview seemed to say that Nintendo hadn't contacted them about a character yet but it could be lies to protect NDAs.
 

DarthEnderX

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My perception of the series is that it's incredibly niche. Not sure if that's the reality but from what I've seen it seems to be the case.

Portal, on the other hand, is something most people will recognize.
Well, your perception is insanity.

Portal is Half-Life's spinoff, and not anymore popular than the original. They're both massive franchises. I'm not sure what happened in your life that Half-Life seemed like a niche to you, but it just isn't.

Half-Life is such a big deal that Steam, the largest video game storefront in the world, owes it's entire existence to it.
 
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Ben Holt

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Yeah, I don't remember hearing anything about that in particular.
I think the means Jeff Kaplan's answer in an interview seemed to say that Nintendo hadn't contacted them about a character yet but it could be lies to protect NDAs.
Banjo kinda shows that lying outright doesn't break NDA.
 

KillerCage

Smash Master
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I will not buy Heihachi!

Wait. I have already bought the Fighters' Pass. And if he is FP5...


I &$#*@& UP!
 

Al-kīmiyā'

Smash the State
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I don't think Tracer is getting in, but a random "source" on Sabi's discord isn't good evidence.
 

Pinguino21v

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-Geno rules supreme once again, baby. That interview with Sakurai back in 2016, where he admitted that he wanted to make Geno playable in Smash prior, is pretty much what brought the character back into the limelight, after being on the decline for most of Smash 4’s duration.

-Right under him is Isaac, who, despite being hard deconfirmed as an assist trophy at around 742 pages, still has had quite a bit of discussion since then, almost nearing 1000 pages.
One thing I want to mention about Smash 4's cycle is that Waluigi and Ashley were one of the first assist trophies shown, which is why discussion for them is dead and low compared to everyone else. This seems very obvious to point out, but if a character is disconfirmed then discussion for them grinds to a halt
It's also just a reality that a lot of the support for first parties has collapsed during the Ultimate speculation cycle.
If you want to be totally fair, Isaac was the Ultimate thread with the most pages until he got deconfirmed, even way ahead of Geno. Like Waluigi and others, he lost a lot of momentum with the AT.

Geno still got traction despite being even more deconfirmed only because he is technically third-party.

People speaking of the "most requested long term characters" by including Krool, Ridley, Banjo and Geno tend to forget Isaac. He is there, even slightly, since Brawl, and have been in the top 5 of nearly every Ultimate fan polls before his deconfirmation. Geno being still talked about meanwhile Isaac being totally forgotten is so weird.
 

Ben Holt

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The reason I guess Tracer is because she fits all the categories I think Fighter 5 would have:
1. Female. No females in the DLC yet.
2. Orange. Color Theory.
3. Gunner. I called this "Variety Theory" a while back, but it's basically a long way of saying that we got a Brawler and Swordfighter, but no Gunner.

I... fail to see how. It seems cut and dry to the point to me
I mean the language of the one sharing it.
 
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kirbsmash

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Portal is Half-Life's spinoff, and not anymore popular than the original. They're both massive franchises. I'm not sure what happened in your life that Half-Life seemed like a niche to you, but it just isn't.
I love this. so ***ing much.
 

Abade

Smash Apprentice
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On the potential inclusion of Tracer, I feel that if Tracer is a Western character then she would be lower priority due to Smash is a Japanese made series so they are more biased to there home country games. Like 98 percent of the roster are Japanese. I would not expect Tracer so soon. Sakurai has stated that Japan is the primary focus:

Sakurai: At the same time, I’d like to make one thing very clear: sales aren’t everything! I think it’s perfectly sensible to select your target audience and create a game that will drive them wild. If nothing else, that particular group will love it.
However, if you’re going to make a game, it’s also only natural to want to have as many people play it as possible.
There’s no inherent divide, though. It doesn’t matter whether we’re in Japan or anywhere else in the world. Our goal as developers is the same: we want players to enjoy our games.
It all depends on the next project I undertake, but I’ve already proven Japanese games can resonate with the rest of the world, and I’d like to continue doing so in whatever way I can.
Thankfully, Smash was a game that ended up supporting a lot of other games</b>. It’s been proven that including a character as a fighter generates publicity for said character and their respective series. I’m very pleased that Smash can positively promote other titles.

https://www.sourcegaming.info/2016/12/16/the-substantial-barrier-of-aaa-games-sakurai-col-514/


The reason I guess Tracer is because she fits all the categories I think Fighter 5 would have:
1. Female. No females in the DLC yet.
2. Orange. Color Theory.
3. Gunner. I called this "Variety Theory" a while back, but it's basically a long way of saying that we got a Brawler and Swordfighter, but no Gunner.


I mean the language of the one sharing it.
Joker isn't good enough for you?
:4pacman:
 

Sysreq

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Well, your perception is insanity.

Portal is Half-Life's spinoff, and not anymore popular than the original. They're both massive franchises. I'm not sure what happened in your life that Half-Life seemed like a niche to you, but it just isn't.

Half-Life is such a big deal that Steam, the largest video game storefront in the world, owes it's entire existence to it.
I honestly don't think it's that crazy. Half-Life hasn't had a game in literally 15 years. If someone is like, 20, it's not unreasonable for them to not have heard of Half-Life, especially if they were a console-only gamer. I myself only know about Half-Life because my friends have played it and I'm not totally ignorant of the gaming world. But I've just never been a PC gamer. And I don't think it's unreasonable at all for a casual console gamer to not know Half-Life.
 

Al-kīmiyā'

Smash the State
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I... fail to see how. It seems cut and dry to the point to me
View attachment 242783
So This Happened In Sabi's discord... Thoughts?
I mean, it's not like all the future DLC ever is totally set in stone with Sakurai's comments of "wanting to continue on this record as long as possible", and if NoA would be 100% in on the know like Japan is?
If they're not sure why he said it, why wouldn't they just ask?
 
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GKMLTTSB

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I don't buy that 'colour theory' tells us anything useful. At best, it indicates that the panel behind whoever is added will be a different colour than the others. It does not indicate anything about the actual character, and seems to be contorted to fit whatever character is being advocated.
"It's got to be orange and 'X' character will get in because they are orange."
"No, it will be 'Y' because they appeared on an orange background at some point."
"I say 'Z' though they are an entirely different colour, because that colour would look rather fetching on an orange background, no?"

But even just looking at female gunners, you've got a lot of great options.
Also a bunch of lame and boring options that are more likely what we'd actually get, but there will be time to focus on that mediocre reality when it actually comes to pass. >_>
 
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Droodle

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If you want to be totally fair, Isaac was the Ultimate thread with the most pages until he got deconfirmed, even way ahead of Geno. Like Waluigi and others, he lost a lot of momentum with the AT.

Geno still got traction despite being even more deconfirmed only because he is technically third-party.

People speaking of the "most requested long term characters" by including Krool, Ridley, Banjo and Geno tend to forget Isaac. He is there, even slightly, since Brawl, and have been in the top 5 of nearly every Ultimate fan polls before his deconfirmation. Geno being still talked about meanwhile Isaac being totally forgotten is so weird.
This is Golden Sun erasure and I will not tolerate it.

But Nintendo on the other hand seems keen on never giving Golden Sun any meaningful content... Seriously, stop creating new trademarks/copyrights on the series if you have 0 intention on bringing Golden Sun back.
 
D

Deleted member

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Y'all make fun of people for not knowing games and characters all the time so as far as I'm concerned nobody here is allowed to call ****ing Half-Life "niche"
 

-crump-

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I’m not confident enough to say I’m expecting it, but if #5 gets revealed at the Game Awards I would put my money on Leon S. Kennedy. Would be a good tie-in to the event, as both Smash and RE2 are in the running for GoTY, and Leon is very recognizable to the western audience while also being popular in Japan, like Joker but to a greater extent. Bold prediction, I know! How original of me!

Honestly I’m still not convinced we’re getting anyone at TGA... but if we’re going by gut feeling, that’s mine.
 
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PSIGuy

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I wish Sakurai would talk about what other content (ie non-fighters) the Smash ballot affected. I feel like Isaac’s ballot performance must’ve been why he went from absent in 4 to revamped and expanded into a Mii Costume. I imagine Nintendo of Japan was probably at a loss as to why he did so well in the first place.
 

Scoliosis Jones

Kept you waiting, huh?
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Color theory is arguably, to me, a “nothing burger”. It’s only something looked at as plausible after the fact.

Like sure, maybe the last character will be given a different color. But the problem with it comes down to a few different points:

1) It’s based on the website colors, which are only really connected to the amiibo packaging, not the game

2) Multiple characters can be tied to different colors. For example, in Smash Wii U Roy got a green background. There may be something I’m missing, but I wouldn’t have associated green with him, but somebody else. Likewise, there really isn’t any precise way to say, “They haven’t used green for the Fighter Pass, and green means X, Y, and Z!”

Color theory isn’t going to give us a better idea of pick 5.
 
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