I don’t really want to see an Ultimate port.
I think it’s more likely that a new game is built somewhat off from Ultimate, albeit with a bunch of cuts and a bunch of newcomers.
I don’t think Ultimate Deluxe would even sell as well as Ultimate did anyway.
Nintendo has had its shareholders meeting these days, and there have been sales updates for various games. Something that has particularly caught my attention is this graph where they point out the clear growth of some franchises:
Interestingly, all four franchises have clearly possible characters that we've been talking about here; Bandana Dee, Oatchi, Raven Beak and Noah/Mio/Elma.
It's becoming increasingly clear to me that in the next generation these four franchises will have clear support from Nintendo in many aspects and Smash will not be left behind. And I would also include Splatoon, which is already a monster in terms of popularity and sales.
I think this graph is pretty interesting.
Kirby is one of those franchises that feels ripe for a new addition in a new game. Metroid I could see getting delayed to DLC if timing’s an issue. Pikmin could do with growing beyond one character, and Xenoblade has a versatile lineup of obvious newcomers and less obvious clones.
Couple that with the obvious series doing well with the Switch, namely the series that joined post-64, bring Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, and Splatoon, we might be in for a roster shakeup and changing priorities of who would represent Nintendo best in 2024 and beyond.
I have a feeling that a ‘nostalgia shift’ is coming, or is already in effect. We’re past the NES, SNES, and even N64 now. It looks like the GC, DS, and Wii are or will be big draws for people looking back at the years gone by.