Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[RileyXY1]

Yeah, that’s basically my logic as well about Gen 9. However, if the project plan actually started in 2021 with full development in 2022, I don’t see any chance for a Gen 10 base game character. That would be way too far out for another Greninja situation. As for Smash 6’s release date, I feel like there’s a decent chance we’ll see Smash before 2027 but we’ll see. Smash has historically released within the first two years of a console’s life so I feel like 2026 is more likely. I don’t think it’s completely impossible that it could be this year’s holiday title though it is a bit of a long shot.

I don't even see Smash coming this year unless they do Everyone is Here again due to how short the prerelease period would be. They would basically have to do a prerelease period like Ultimate.

 

[Wonder Smash]

Except that Sonic is still wildly popular. Possibly moreso than ever. And constantly gets new games.

Crush is lucky to get a new game every 10 years at this point.

I'm more talking about in relation to why people want Crash in Smash. The rivalry he had with Mario, despite now in the past, plays a huge part in why fans want him in the game.

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I guarantee you no one is still going around saying he is
1. The mascot of PlayStation
2. A "rival" to Mario and Sonic

Not if we're talking about the present day but there's no way anybody can argue that during the PS1 days, when both of those things were true.

 

[Perkilator]

Basically, Crash is a character that should get in purely because of his legacy. And no corporate mismanagement is going to sway my support of him.

(Still wish he was in Ultimate, though)

 

[mynameisBlade]

I'm more talking about in relation to why people want Crash in Smash. The rivalry he had with Mario, despite now in the past, plays a huge part in why fans want him in the game.



Not if we're talking about the present day but there's no way anybody can argue that during the PS1 days, when both of those things were true.

Basically, Crash is a character that should get in purely because of his legacy. And no corporate mismanagement is going to sway my support of him.

(Still wish he was in Ultimate, though)

I agree. And that's the point. Legacy is what matters most for fans imo. Crash Bandicoots legacy started and is remembered together with Sony regardless of where the character ended up. All you knew when you were a kid is hearing that beautiful sound and right afterward you'd hear the start of the N. Sanity Beach theme! Those were the days! Those 2 themes have always been inseparable for those of us that grew up with it.

 

[Garteam]

Lol, and Alex Kidd was Sega's answer to Mario in the 8-bit era.

Just because a company wants their mascot to be a legitimate rival to their competition's mascot, doesn't mean they are.

Crash was never any real rival to Mario outside of the commercials Sony made.

Each Crash game sold millions of copies. Sega mentions in emails from 1996 that Sonic Xtreme is going against Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot. Set designers for Friends have the characters play CTR in some of the later seasons because Crash was prominent enough on the PSX to be people’s idea of what a generic video game looked like.

I don’t really know what “real rival” is supposed to mean because that’s an arbitrary judgment that you could indefinitely move goalposts on, but Crash was massive and was seen by the general public as the primary competitor with Mario in the market for 3D Platformers.

 

[Wonder Smash]

Lol, and Alex Kidd was Sega's answer to Mario in the 8-bit era.

Just because a company wants their mascot to be a legitimate rival to their competition's mascot, doesn't mean they are.

Crash was never any real rival to Mario outside of the commercials Sony made.

Alex Kidd actually was SEGA's answer to Mario, though. Before Sonic spun in, Alex was SEGA's mascot to compete with Nintendo's Mario. Of course Alex didn't match up to Mario like Sonic would but that was the intention behind the character.

In the case of Crash, he was a legit rival to Mario. Each of his games were among the best on the PS1 and despite being created in the West, he actually gain a fanbase in Japan where the famous dance came from. He just had a much shorter run than Mario and Sonic's. However, despite this, his legacy as a console mascot is still remembered to this day.

 

[The Prankster 16]

Each Crash game sold millions of copies. Sega mentions in emails from 1996 that Sonic Xtreme is going against Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot. Set designers for Friends have the characters play CTR in some of the later seasons because Crash was prominent enough on the PSX to be people’s idea of what a generic video game looked like.

I don’t really know what “real rival” is supposed to mean because that’s an arbitrary judgment that you could indefinitely move goalposts on, but Crash was massive and was seen by the general public as the primary competitor with Mario in the market for 3D Platformers.

Yeah, even though the Crash series is in a bit of a lull right now, there's no denying that it's an Iconic platforming franchise and Crash is a recognizable face. He certainly is more than Rayman, who some people on here seem to think is more likely to get into smash (Not hating on you guys, just saying that he's not as important).

 

[Noipoi]

Crash should be in Smash because he’s funny

 

[Gengar84]

It’s interesting to see where we might find the sweet spot between overall cultural influence in gaming at large and historical connection to Nintendo when discussing Smash characters. Sticking with Microsoft, I’ll use examples of games from opposite ends of the spectrum: WarCraft and Killer Instinct.

WarCraft is one of the most influential franchises in gaming history, popularizing MMORPGs and directly leading to the creation of the MOBA genre. It’s often dismissed in Smash discussions because it lacks any real connection to Nintendo despite its legendary status.

On the other end is Killer Instinct, which comparatively a much smaller series but had very strong ties with Nintendo. Killer Instinct and KI Gold were console exclusives for the SNES and N64 respectively and Nintendo actually owned 49% of RARE at the time. Killer Instinct is similarly dismissed in Smash discussion but for an opposite reason. Despite its strong history with Nintendo, it hasn’t had as strong a legacy as other games due to being dormant for so long.

Crash is kind of the happy medium between these two. His series doesn’t have the cultural impact of WarCraft nor as strong a Nintendo connection as Killer Instinct but it does pretty well at both. His series was fairly successful and has had games on Nintendo consoles as well as being positioned as Mario’s rival on the PS1 so he does have some connection. It seems like most people favor the middle ground here over either of the extremes.

 

[Dukefire]

I don't even see Smash coming this year unless they do Everyone is Here again due to how short the prerelease period would be. They would basically have to do a prerelease period like Ultimate.

At least let Switch 2 settle for a year before the bigger releases are announced. It needs time to gain traction.

Crash should be in Smash because he’s funny

If he does join....Wumpa Island fits well. Also, off-screen bonuses sakurai like to do since people tend to use a tool to look beyond the fight. For one of them....

 

[Þe 1 → Way]

Haven't actually played a Crash game, but if he was added it'd make my pipedream of Spyro appearing as an assist or DLC actually possible. Finally, a Skylanders rep

 

[The Prankster 16]

Plot twist: TPC skips the Johto games and goes straight to Let's Go Plusle and Minun, and we finally get pra_mai in Smash 6.

Edit: I mean, they skipped Legends Kyurem to go to Z-A

 

[Dukefire]

I know that possible character trailer ideas is meant for Character discussion threads (When another Smash Bros is announced to begin again), but I'll take a shot for a bit. If Shadow the Hedgehog become the next fighter, how would you think his trailer could play out? I can add that The ARK can be the stage for shadow.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

I don't even see Smash coming this year

I don’t think that many people even think that’s going to happen and especially since Mario will probably be the focus for 2025 because of the anniversary.

Maybe 2026-7? Next year could also be Gen X for Pokémon but the fact that Let’s Go released in the same year as Ultimate means that it wouldn’t be that much of a conflict.

 

[Wonder Smash]

There's actually a thread for character trailer ideas.

 

[BrawlX10]

That is a good question. I feel like there’s a possibility of another Greninja situation where they have Sakurai dome advanced knowledge so he could work on the character. If not, we could potentially see another older character like Elma or Nia. He would likely have no knowledge of the Xenoblade X remake at the time but Elma was always a pretty popular character.

I just checked and Xenoblade 3 was anounced in February 2022 (3 years ago), so technically Sakurai at least knew of Noah (and Mio) for 2 months before the plan, asuming the plan is smash of course, so i think the greninja situation you said it's possible as well, Xenoblade 3 was probably very, very far into development in April 2022, if not nearly done, so i think it would be possible to make a complete moveset of Noah (or Mio) by then.

If the roster was drafted in 2021, I think it's highly unlikely for us to see Noah or Mio, as sad as that is.

There's always DLC though.

EDIT: I don't think we'll see Elma ever unless Xenoblade Chronicles X takes off as a series and she's still relevant in it; The remake itself isn't going to get her in.

Wait, i though it was drafted in April 2022, did i misunderstood something?

I know that possible character trailer ideas is meant for Character discussion threads (When another Smash Bros is announced to begin again), but I'll take a shot for a bit. If Shadow the Hedgehog become the next fighter, how would you think his trailer could play out? I can add that The ARK can be the stage for shadow.

Speaking of Shadow, kind of a shame that's probably too late for having Shadow Generations moves for Shadow.
As for his trailer? Something Black Doom related, i think he could make a cool AT or Boss for the base game, but the chances are very slim as this game might have been drafted pre-Shadow Gens.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Each Crash game sold millions of copies.

And Mario 64 sold twice that. On a much less popular system.

Crash was Mario's rival the way the the Washington Generals are the Harlem Globetrotters' rival.

I don’t really know what “real rival” is supposed to mean

Real rivalries are two-sided.

 

[The Prankster 16]

Wait, i though it was drafted in April 2022, did i misunderstood something?

Just rewatched his video, he said that he "received a request to write a game proposal" when he was putting together the Kazuya presentation, which released at the end of June 2021, and was finishing up Sora. The "Game proposal" didn't have the full development team assembled until the April 2022 start date. This is, again, assuming that this game proposal is another Smash game.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Wait, i though it was drafted in April 2022, did i misunderstood something?

IIRC the project plan was formed in 2021, and development started in 2022.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

Just rewatched his video, he said that he "received a request to write a game proposal" when he was putting together the Kazuya presentation, which released at the end of June 2021, and was finishing up Sora. The "Game proposal" didn't have the full development team assembled until the April 2022 start date. This is, again, assuming that this game proposal is another Smash game.

Judging by the fact that he "received a request" it seems likely that it's another Smash game. I mean, of all the companies that are most likely to directly ask Sakurai to write a game proposal Nintendo is the only likely one. If it was any other project it seems like Sakurai would be the one pitching the ideas for the game instead of being asked directly to write the pitch.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

And Mario 64 sold twice that. On a much less popular system.

Crash was Mario's rival the way the the Washington Generals are the Harlem Globetrotters' rival.

Real rivalries are two-sided.

Non of the Crash games are even in the top 5 for the original PlayStation in terms of sales.

Gran Turismo (10.8 M), FF7 (10 M), Gran Turismo 2 (9.3 M), FF8 (8.6 M), Tekken 3 (8 M).

 

[Wonder Smash]

And Mario 64 sold twice that. On a much less popular system.

But to be fair, it was also bundled with the N64.

Non of the Crash games are even in the top 5 for the original PlayStation in terms of sales.

Gran Turismo (10.8 M), FF7 (10 M), Gran Turismo 2 (9.3 M), FF8 (8.6 M), Tekken 3 (8 M).

Why did you only mention top 5 and not top 10?

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Whatever you say regarding Pokemon goes. I've seen your work at hand.

So, which Gen 9 Pokemon has your favor ?

The ones I favor would be like Baxcalibur and Anihilape, but they don't come off as strong candidates that I'd expect Sakurai to want to go with unless he reaaaaally wants to make a Showa Godzilla expy with the former.

The three that I picture in the Smash style the most that I think Sakurai would find appeal in are Ceruledge, Quaquaval, and Iron Valiant. Though I find using any Paradox is a hard sell outside of Scream Tail if reusing Jigglypuff assets so I don't feel as strongly about the last one.
But I can see a case made for Tinkaton, Armarouge, (ugh) Meowscarada, and to a lesser extent the cover dragons and Gholdengo (who is HARD carried by the "Pokémon #1000" title in discussion).

 

[Dukefire]

Judging by the fact that he "received a request" it seems likely that it's another Smash game. I mean, of all the companies that are most likely to directly ask Sakurai to write a game proposal Nintendo is the only likely one. If it was any other project it seems like Sakurai would be the one pitching the ideas for the game instead of being asked directly to write the pitch.

Super Smash Bros is the Biggest Advertisment and Hall of Fame to all game series. Who could say no to getting their character(s) into the game? Unfortunately, it is up to Sakurai to decide who is a fighter based on the character's material and home series.
Still surprised that No More Heroes 3 did their own Smash Bros homage. Even though Suda didn't see Travis Touchdown as a fighter, but a Mii Costume.

 

[Perkilator]

So, which Gen 9 Pokemon has your favor ?

For me:

• Meowscarada
• Tinkaton
• Gholdengo

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

I truly believe attachment rate has a big deal to play on how iconic a character is. For instance, for N64 gamers Banjo-Kazooie is a house-hold name. For PlayStation players, Cloud is a house-hold name. Believe it or not, based on the ratio of games sold to system owners, B-K and FFVII hold the same attachment rate. And Crash is not that far behind either, especially since all 3 OG Crash games sold like 7,000,000 units or something each.

Edit: To put it more simply:
PlayStation sold 102M Consoles to 10M FFVII Game Sales. ~10% of all PlayStation owners had FFVII
N64 Sold 32M Consoles to 3.6M B-K Game Sales. ~10% of all N64 owners had B-K
All 3 Crash Bandicoot games sold ~7M for EACH GAME. Meaning 7% of all PS owners owned ALL 3 Crash games.
Now that's not Mario 64 or Mario Kart holding a ~30% attachment rate but you also can't just brush off how integral Crash was to so many people.