Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Ivander]

If it's true

Final Fantasy 16

Could be time. Imagine

Feel the anger blazing
Feel the haters raging
Hear the fanbase roaring
Follow their fateful calling

 

[Jave]

I feel it HAS to be Smash 6. If it’s not, imagine how long we’ll have to wait until Smash 6 actually comes out.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Also, it's entirely possible--at least I think so--that Nintendo could see how huge Ultimate was and have asked Sakurai and co to make a Smash for the second year of the Switch 2 as well. Show it off next year within the launch window of the Switch 2, get a huge playerbase hyped, release it in 2026, and try to get another top 3 seller to hopefully make the Switch 2 a success, similar to how I feel like they've probably been working on a new Mario Kart to release pretty early on, probably alongside the Booster Course Pass stuff, just because MK8Deluxe sold absolute gangbusters lol

 

[Guynamednelson]

If the next Smash is being actively developed and has been for the past 3 years, why release a recent patch that fixes how GSP is calculated? That's the kind of thing you should be saving for your currently-developing sequel.

 

[Dukefire]

Waiting period for every smash bros game.
Smash 64 to Melee- 2 years. 1999-2001 Nintendo 64 to Gamecube
Melee to Brawl- 7 years. 2001-2008 Gamecube to Wii
Brawl to Smash 4 3DS and Wii U- 6 years. 2008-2014 Wii to 3DS and Wii U
Smash 4 to Ultimate- 4 years. 2014-2018 3DS and Wii U to Switch. DLC ended with Bayonetta, Dec 2015
Ultimate to ???- __ years. 2018-??? Switch to "Switch 2?". DLC ended with Sora, Oct 2021

 

[Noipoi]

If the next Smash is being actively developed and has been for the past 3 years, why release a recent patch that fixes how GSP is calculated? That's the kind of thing you should be saving for your currently-developing sequel.

They got a little silly

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

If the next Smash is being actively developed and has been for the past 3 years, why release a recent patch that fixes how GSP is calculated? That's the kind of thing you should be saving for your currently-developing sequel.

Being fair, Nintendo games are weird like that sometimes.

Super Mario Party got its online play update less than 2 months before Superstars was announced, for example.

 

[Shinuto]

It's been about 3 years since Sora reveal/debut, and almost 6 since Ultimate's release and over 6 closer to 7 years since it's initial reveal I think it's time for a new entry.

 

[Slime Scholar]

If the next Smash is being actively developed and has been for the past 3 years, why release a recent patch that fixes how GSP is calculated? That's the kind of thing you should be saving for your currently-developing sequel.

The final patch for Smash 4 came out in July 2017, well into Ultimate’s development.

You might be able to argue Ultimate getting fixes this late is evidence that they are working on the next Smash because they evidently have people on hand that could push out small patches like that as needed.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Being fair, Nintendo games are weird like that sometimes.

Super Mario Party got its online play update less than 2 months before Superstars was announced, for example.

Not to mention the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe coming out like 5 years after the game did, since it was a launch title lmao

 

[Dukefire]

It's been about 3 years since Sora reveal/debut, and almost 5 since Ultimate's release and over 5 since it's initial reveal I think it's time for a new entry.

You mean almost 6 years for Ultimate's initial release since it released on December, 7 2018. Literally after the VGA 2018 a day later.

 

[Shinuto]

You mean almost 6 years for Ultimate's initial release since it released on December, 7 2018. Literally after the VGA 2018 a day later.

Yeah I realized and fixed my post.

 

[Kirby Dragons]

I'm not going all in on it being Smash. It could easily be something else. A new Kid Icarus game, a sequel for another old Nintendo game, or just a new game entirely.

 

[Idon]

People should keep an eye on Ceruledge in particular. It's kind of the perfect storm of being popular, being heavily marketed, being heavily featured in the Horizons anime as the signature Pokémon of a major character, and being the exact character archetype Sakurai is a noted fan of (his favorite KoF character is Iori, his favorite FE character is Navarre, and he made Meta Knight and Dark Pit lol).

FINALLY, SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS THE VISION.

The signs are all there people, we are not beholden to obligatory starter this time !!!

 

[Noipoi]

I could see things going down like this.

Sometime in the next few months the next console is announced with a trailer. Later on they have a press conference where they go into detail in the system and some upcoming games. And as part of that they tease that the next Smash Bros is in development. No footage, no character reveal, but we know it’s coming.

Then silence on the game until 2026.

 

[Guynamednelson]

The final patch for Smash 4 came out in July 2017, well into Ultimate’s development.

You might be able to argue Ultimate getting fixes this late is evidence that they are working on the next Smash because they evidently have people on hand that could push out small patches like that as needed.

Yeah but

I feel like making sure people can use the toys meant to be used with Smash 4 is more crucial than this GSP fix.

 

[Shinuto]

I could see things going down like this.

Sometime in the next few months the next console is announced with a trailer. Later on they have a press conference where they go into detail in the system and some upcoming games. And as part of that they tease that the next Smash Bros is in development. No footage, no character reveal, but we know it’s coming.

Then silence on the game until 2026.

Silence for ALL of 2025?! You're delusional.

 

[Idon]

Look, I'm completely down with this being taken as soft confirmation as the next Smash game announcement...





so we can open the character support threads again.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Silence for ALL of 2025?! You're delusional.

Smash 4 had silence for the latter half of 2011, all of 2012 and half of 2013. It's not unprecedented.

But it's not how Nintendo markets games anymore. Radio silence for a year is not how they roll anymore.

 

[Gengar84]

FINALLY, SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS THE VISION.

The signs are all there people, we are not beholden to obligatory starter this time !!!

Hey, I’ve been advocating for Pokémon outside of just starters for a while now. I’ve even brought up Ceruledge as one of my favorites from Gen 9 multiple times. I’m hurt.


jk

 

[Noipoi]

Silence for ALL of 2025?! You're delusional.

In a year where we’ll likely be seeing some combination of a

-new 3D Mario
-new Mario Kart
-Metroid Prime 4
-Legends ZA
-Some other gimmicky launch title we don’t even know about
-And not to mention the release of the new system itself?

Yeah, I could see them holding off on Smash for a little.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

In a year where we’ll likely be seeing some combination of a

-new 3D Mario
-new Mario Kart
-Metroid Prime 4
-Legends ZA
-Some other gimmicky launch title we don’t even know about
-And not to mention the release of the new system itself?

Yeah, I could see them holding off on Smash for a little.

I think it's more the idea of them casually saying Smash will happen in early 2025 then not saying a single word until 2026. THAT part is crazy and also very unlike how Nintendo currently markets games.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Silence for ALL of 2025?! You're delusional.

I mean I don't think they're gonna pull a Smash 4 and announce it's happening and then just say nothing for like 2 and a half years, but I think if the next Smash comes out in 2026, they'll probably release a teaser that same year like they did with the Inkling teaser for Ultimate. It depends on how they wanna do the marketing cycle, since Ultimate was very different in that they showed 64 characters in the first trailer, 65 in the same presentation because of Ridley when they OFFICIALLY showed it off in June 2018.

So I don't think they're gonna do the radio silence route, but we may just not hear about it until the year it comes out.

 

[Ivander]

People should keep an eye on Ceruledge in particular. It's kind of the perfect storm of being popular, being heavily marketed, being heavily featured in the Horizons anime as the signature Pokémon of a major character, and being the exact character archetype Sakurai is a noted fan of (his favorite KoF character is Iori, his favorite FE character is Navarre, and he made Meta Knight and Dark Pit lol).

I mean, you're not wrong, but Sakurai has definitely chosen characters over what he likes. And even then, there's certainly more than just that character archetype he likes. Always best to wait for whoever to be revealed compared to putting all your bets on one.
Though I'd be on board with any of these Pokemon getting in.

 

[Kirby Dragons]

I like Ceruledge, and I'd like to have a playable Ghost-type in Smash, but it's hard for me to imagine it grabbing opponents and ledges.

 

[Perkilator]

As I’ve said before, my top 3 Gen 9 Pokémon are Meowscarada, Tinkaton and Gholdengo

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I like Ceruledge, and I'd like to have a playable Ghost-type in Smash, but it's hard for me to imagine it grabbing opponents and ledges.

You're welcome

 

[Gengar84]

It would be cool to get another Pokémon with a unique, non-humanoid body type just for variety. Something like Great Tusk would be really interesting. I don’t know if any of you have seen the Close Combat fan game but the creators really bring out the expression of the Pokemon with their animations.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

m.youtube.com

 

[Wunderwaft]

You know who else is benefitting from this timing? A certain series that got a game a couple of months before the project plan deadline AND got another game two years after.

 

[BritishGuy54]

In a year where we’ll likely be seeing some combination of a

-new 3D Mario
-new Mario Kart
-Metroid Prime 4
-Legends ZA
-Some other gimmicky launch title we don’t even know about
-And not to mention the release of the new system itself?

Yeah, I could see them holding off on Smash for a little.

I’ll suggest throwing in Animal Crossing into that list too. New Horizons sold a ton, and I can see that being a priority.

If you’re talking about the fiscal year (extending out to March 2026), I’ll throw in Mario Maker due to Mario’s 40th Anniversary coming up.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

I hadn't considered that Ceruledge is like THE perfect Sakurai character. If it was one of the Pokemon showcased to Sakurai, he probably would pick that.

How would it use items without hands though?

Probably just have items "stick" to the tip of one blade while the blade itself retracts.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

You know who else is benefitting from this timing? A certain series that got a game a couple of months before the project plan deadline AND got another game two years after.

You're right. It's time for Gamer Mom!

 

[cashregister9]

On the topic of Gen 9 and specifically Ceruledge

While this isn't super solid evidence, Ceruledge did make it into Pokemon Unite before a lot of other Gen 9 pokemon, even technically before Armarouge

It went, Meowscarada, Miraidon, Ceruledge, Armarouge

 

[Noipoi]

View attachment 395465

You're welcome

I can’t wait to stab Mr. Saturn

 

[Dukefire]

You know who else is benefitting from this timing? A certain series that got a game a couple of months before the project plan deadline AND got another game two years after.



View attachment 395466

Make sense as Ashley is the most popular Warioware character. I even remember her getting numerous badges in the Nintendo Badge Arcade. It's almost like she is slowly creeping up to being potentially playable.

 

[Diddy Kong]

So I read wrong? A new Smash hasn't been in development since 2022? What was the video about then?

 

[Perkilator]

So I read wrong? A new Smash hasn't been in development since 2022? What was the video about then?

The general process of Sakurai making his videos. In that video, he mentioned a new game project was in development, but he didn’t specify that it was Smash.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

So I read wrong? A new Smash hasn't been in development since 2022? What was the video about then?

It was about the entire channel itself. How the videos were made, how everything was planned out, even the cost of it all.

The whole "new project thing" was like, 10 seconds from a 45 minute talk and people here have absolutely CLUNG to those 10 seconds.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

So I read wrong? A new Smash hasn't been in development since 2022? What was the video about then?

Well it's a possible explanation for the brief mention of a game he's been working on, but it's vague enough that we can't really know for sure either way lol

I kinda lean towards it being about Smash (I don't really know what else Sakurai ever gets requested to make otherwise, plus the Spirit events from this January to March, the GSP glitch patch, and the Gamecube controller stuff lately feels pretty safe to say SOMEONE is doing SOMETHING on that team), but I'm hesitant about talking about it in absolutes lol

 

[Dukefire]

It was about the entire channel itself. How the videos were made, how everything was planned out, even the cost of it all.

The whole "new project thing" was like, 10 seconds from a 45 minute talk and people here have absolutely CLUNG to those 10 seconds.

Sakurai was the man that got everyone going from his announcements. Of course, Super Smash Bros is the main dish everyone wants with Kid Icarus being second. We will see once another Nintendo News drop is announced.