Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Guynamednelson]

I don’t know where you are getting the info that the original game sold 30 million copies, but based on official sources that I could find the series sales goes like this.
The Last of Us (PS3) 8.4 million
The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) 11.79 million
The Last of us Part II 10 million

And those sales could potentially include copies bundled with consoles.

For a while, it was nearly impossible to get a PS4 that wasn't bundled with Horizon: Zero Dawn. That's where a LOT of its 24.3 million sales came from, rather that people buying a PS4 and then buying Horizon.

 

[MrMcNuts]

Also, he was spared from Activision Blizzard's wake by going indie. So, his series is clear from a major roadblock. Rayman's fate on the other hand......

Needs to be studied how some Crash for Smash fans cannot for the life of them bring him up without making it a Rayman VS Crash thing.

Also Rayman is already coming back lol

x.com

x.com

 

[Dukefire]

Don't make me write a post defending Crash's merits like I did for Sora.

At this point I suspect it's partial trolling.

People really will argue anything.

For the invitation to join smash bros..
Friendly and/or trolling conversations can turn sour due to instability.

And the next game isn't even announced yet....are we really ready to start this again?

 

[Kirbeh]

For the invitation to join smash bros..
Friendly and/or trolling conversations can turn sour due to instability.

And the next game isn't even announced yet....are we really ready to start this again?

What do you mean start? Speculation has been going on for years now? Arguments naturally come as part of that, tiresome as they may be.

 

[Mamp]

Who is the most likely character that isn’t discussed much?

easily an assassin’s creed character. i think it’s lowkey one of the more likely third party franchises given how huge it is and ubisoft’s very good relationship with nintendo atm

A bit late to the talk about Sakurai's Super Special Secret Project, but I think the best argument in favor of "Not Smash" I've seen is that Bandai-Namco has been developing Smash for over a decade now, and just recently solidified a dedicated team for working with Nintendo. Sakurai said whatever he's working on needed him to put a whole new team together, which seems rather illogical when you've already got a perfectly good team that's worked on Smash before. I'm on team "Not Smash" because of that

the smash team at bamco switched to development on tekken 8 immediately after sora released iirc

 

[RodNutTakin]

Tetris Block (seriously)

Genuinely why. Arle makes way more sense for a slew of reasons.
This is as bad as suggesting the player turret from Space Invaders as a STG rep or the ASCII character representing the player character from Rogue as a dungeon-crawler rep.
ROB and Plant were one thing, but I actively cross the line at a literal inanimate object without a face or limbs. Why do you think Sakurai rejected Pac-Man initially on the basis of thinking it'd have to always be the player sprite version of him?

Also if the new project really isn't Smash and the next game started dev like...last year, I really want them to take their sweet time with it. I can only imagine how painful it's going to be if they decided to bumrush SSB6's production.

 

[BrawlX10]

All it needs is a proper spark and speculation will fly. Sakurai and/or a reveal intro.

Though, I wonder how the reveal trailer will be for the next Smash Bros? Should it change or stay?

I hope it's more like Smash 4's reveal at E3 2013....Ultimate reveal gave us the iconic inkling eye meme, but honestly, it was kind of a boring reveal just a "Super Smash Bros" logo reveal, not even the Ultimate subtitle was revealed.

 

[Diddy Kong]

A bit late to the talk about Sakurai's Super Special Secret Project, but I think the best argument in favor of "Not Smash" I've seen is that Bandai-Namco has been developing Smash for over a decade now, and just recently solidified a dedicated team for working with Nintendo. Sakurai said whatever he's working on needed him to put a whole new team together, which seems rather illogical when you've already got a perfectly good team that's worked on Smash before. I'm on team "Not Smash" because of that

Could still just be Smash. Ultimate already had a great base. Yeah Namco been involved but they don't exactly always have to.

Am 99,999% convinced this is Smash.

 

[Dukefire]

I hope it's more like Smash 4's reveal at E3 2013....Ultimate reveal gave us the iconic inkling eye meme, but honestly, it was kind of a boring reveal just a "Super Smash Bros" logo reveal, not even the Ultimate subtitle was revealed.

Back then, it was the hype since no one knew the name. It did pay off after Everyone is Here showed up for E3 Nintendo Direct.

Still gives me hype seeing it.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

easily an assassin’s creed character. i think it’s lowkey one of the more likely third party franchises given how huge it is and ubisoft’s very good relationship with nintendo atm


the smash team at bamco switched to development on tekken 8 immediately after sora released iirc

Yeah i think people underestimate Etzio.

I didnt play every Assassins creed game but with the usual gameplay style i can easily see a Smash moveset coming along.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I've seen people arguing that Halo theme isn't iconic.

I remember hearing a snippet of it once, and then instantly recognizing it months later. I have a pretty amazing memory when it comes to music, but that's still impressive memorability.

If a song like that is in a game so many people played and isn't iconic, it's impossible to make a song iconic.

 

[BrawlX10]

Yeah i think people underestimate Etzio.

I didnt play every Assassins creed game but with the usual gameplay style i can easily see a Smash moveset coming along.

Now that you mention it, it's interesting Ezio isn't mentioned much with how popular AC series is. Peraphs there isn't much crossover between smash fans who post on forums and AC fans? Idk lol.

Could still just be Smash. Ultimate already had a great base. Yeah Namco been involved but they don't exactly always have to.

Am 99,999% convinced this is Smash.

I'm more like 55% convinced myself, there's still some stuff that makes me question if it's really smash, but i lean sighly more than is smash.

 

[GoldenYuiitusin]

Now that you mention it, it's interesting Ezio isn't mentioned much with how popular AC series is. Peraphs there isn't much crossover between smash fans who post on forums and AC fans? Idk lol.

I think it's that whenever Ubisoft characters come up, it either devolves into how terrible the company is or immediately gets drowned out by Rayman like he's the only thing that matters.

 

[Lionfranky]

I think it's that whenever Ubisoft characters come up, it either devolves into how terrible the company is or immediately gets drowned out by Rayman like he's the only thing that matters.

Not to mention Ubisoft is in deep trouble right now.... Ezio is in my most wanted list btw....

 

[Ivander]

I think it's that whenever Ubisoft characters come up, it either devolves into how terrible the company is or immediately gets drowned out by Rayman like he's the only thing that matters.

And that first argument certainly didn't end with Ubisoft. This argument has happened in regards to Konami, Riot Games/Tencent and especially Activision Blizzard. And SNK and MiHoYo have sometimes gotten it. SNK because of them being purchased by the one Saudi Arabian company and MiHoYo in regards to stuff with the CCP in general(which is a general issue all companies based in China have to deal with).

 

[DarthEnderX]

Not to mention Ubisoft is in deep trouble right now.... Ezio is in my most wanted list btw....

After Lost Crown, Prince of Persia surpassed Ezio.

His moveset was made for Smash.

 

[SharkLord]

Could still just be Smash. Ultimate already had a great base. Yeah Namco been involved but they don't exactly always have to.

Am 99,999% convinced this is Smash.

Yeah, but... they're already there. Why go through the trouble of assembling a whole new team when you've got a perfectly good one already? Especially after Bamco codified a dedicated Nintendo support team; that makes it clear Bandai-Namco's still in Nintendo's good graces and willing to help out. It just doesn't make sense.

 

[Þe 1 → Way]

I'm honestly just assuming Bamco returns to develop the next game. It seemed like a very intentional move to switch the series to them during Smash 4, and sticking with them throughout Ultimate has received extremely successful results. Given who makes up the dev team would likely be up to Sakurai, it seems he's made himself comfortable heading some of the projects there, at least for the not too distant future.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I'm honestly just assuming Bamco returns to develop the next game. It seemed like a very intentional move to switch the series to them during Smash 4, and sticking with them throughout Ultimate has received extremely successful results. Given who makes up the dev team would likely be up to Sakurai, it seems he's made himself comfortable heading some of the projects there, at least for the not too distant future.

I mean given Studio 2 and Studio S exist specifically for Namco to work with Nintendo, I'd imagine that's a safe bet that Namco will keep coming back lol

 

[Þe 1 → Way]

I mean given Studio 2 and Studio S exist specifically for Namco to work with Nintendo, I'd imagine that's a safe bet that Namco will keep coming back lol

Yeah, I struggle to think of a reason why a change like that would even happen in the first place given how much of Ultimate's team seemingly still works at Bandai.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Yeah, I struggle to think of a reason why a change like that would even happen in the first place given how much of Ultimate's team seemingly still works at Ultimate.

Not to mention I can't imagine Namco being like "no, we don't want to make money developing a huge franchise like Smash! just pay us for pac-man and kazuya instead!" lol

 

[Stratos]

Any thoughts or ideas on Reiji Arisu? You know, the protagonist from Namco × Capcom who was also in both games in the Project X Zone series. In Project X Zone 1 there were characters from Namco Bandai, Capcom, and Sega, just like in Project X Zone 2, with the only difference being that there were a few Nintendo characters there too, and of course I'm talking and writing about Fiora from Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and Chrom and Lucina. I think Reiji Arisu would be a perfect choice to come as a newcomer to the Super Smash Bros. series to represent the collaboration of these companies.

 

[BritishGuy54]

I don't see why they'd have more or less negotiating power than other dev tbh. It depends more on what both parties are looking to get out of it. Nintendo may want "x", MS could say that they have to represent them in "y" fashion, etc. I could see MS maybe pushing for something in particular but if Nintendo isn't interested or doesn't match Sakurai's vision, they'd ultimately just say no.

If MS were to be particularly difficult about something (and I don't see why they would be) I think it's more likely that Sak/Nin just back out of negotiations to work with a company that's more cooperative. Again though, outside of the normal back and forth regarding a franchise's handling or possible suggestions, I don't see what MS would do with "more negotiating power." I think you'd have to be a bit more specific about the context you're using for that.

Outside of standard negotiations/promotional content or something, anything else would potentially be overstepping their boundaries and be seen as trying to meddle with the project too much.

I can see this happening with the third parties, both in Smash, and looking to get into Smash.

With Ultimate’s success, third parties would be eyeing up Smash as a way of promotion.

But Nintendo also has their own series to promote. I imagine Nintendo would love to promote their own IPs that have grown in the Switch era in a Smash 6. Right now, it would be a good move to let their own IPs bloom rather than leaving them out to dry because of more and more third parties.

Is it possible third parties would be the ones approaching Sakurai now rather than the other way round? It might seem to Nintendo them overstepping their boundaries.

 

[Thegameandwatch]

Is it possible third parties would be the ones approaching Sakurai now rather than the other way round? It might seem to Nintendo them overstepping their boundaries.

I could see that being the reason why Snake wasn’t added in Smash 4 since it’s possible that it could be as simple as Nintendo not approaching them.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Yeah, Sakurai needing a whole new team is the biggest giveaway that this project he's working on isn't Smash to me.

Anyone who believes it is Smash is either clinging on to hope which I can respect, or they're just assuming it's Smash because every time Sakurai breathes, it has to be about Smash which I don't respect because it undervalues Sakurai's abilities as a game director.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Yeah, Sakurai needing a whole new team is the biggest giveaway that this project he's working on isn't Smash to me.

Anyone who believes it is Smash is either clinging on to hope which I can respect, or they're just assuming it's Smash because every time Sakurai breathes, it has to be about Smash which I don't respect because it undervalues Sakurai's abilities as a game director.

I also think if that project plan was for Smash and Sakurai was working with Namco again which is likely due to the Nintendo adjacent studios, why would they need to suddenly go on a hiring spree for both Namco studios for like 6 months a year and a half into development (from December 2023 to June last year)?

Like mid-project hires are nothing new, but like openly announcing "hey we're hiring!" for six months I would think would be more something you'd do during a downtime period unless retention is really bad somehow lol

 

[RodNutTakin]

Yeah, Sakurai needing a whole new team is the biggest giveaway that this project he's working on isn't Smash to me.

Anyone who believes it is Smash is either clinging on to hope which I can respect, or they're just assuming it's Smash because every time Sakurai breathes, it has to be about Smash which I don't respect because it undervalues Sakurai's abilities as a game director.

I also think if that project plan was for Smash and Sakurai was working with Namco again which is likely due to the Nintendo adjacent studios, why would they need to suddenly go on a hiring spree for both Namco studios for like 6 months a year and a half into development (from December 2023 to June last year)?

Alright, I'm just going to assume the game is going to be shoved out the door for 2026 and be only as big as Melee content-wise.
edit: why are you liking this. i'm not happy at the prospect of SSB6 only having 2 years of development

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

I also think if that project plan was for Smash and Sakurai was working with Namco again which is likely due to the Nintendo adjacent studios, why would they need to suddenly go on a hiring spree for both Namco studios for like 6 months a year and a half into development (from December 2023 to June last year)?

Like mid-project hires are nothing new, but like openly announcing "hey we're hiring!" for six months I would think would be more something you'd do during a downtime period unless retention is really bad somehow lol

Yeah. It could still involve Namco but if it does, it's not related to Nintendo because he could've used the same team.

It could also still involve Nintendo but if it does, it doesn't require Namco's assistance.

But it cannot require the involvement of both because then he could've just used the same team he had for a decade.

 

[RodNutTakin]

You know what, they should make the next Smash a launch title just so it can be as minimalist as possible. They should waste 5 years on overpriced veteran DLC that we'll all lose again next generation and set things even further back. They should make me wait 25 more years when my golden years are behind me and my slow descent into being in a retirement home is underway for another possible chance for my single solitary most wanted to get added again, only for Sakurai's nephew to pick the Persona 9 protagonist instead and the next game after that only has 10 fighters at launch. I want to slowly realize the only series I like a lot that's going to ever be in Smash is Kirby because everything else I love is going to be denied or taken away from me because they'll never dip their toes in an installment with a longer development time or a longer DLC cycle. I want to be greeted by only the most predictable and safe additions complemented with Plant-tier "surprise" misfires I would never ask for in a million years. I want all of this to be done in some unobtainable goal of "replacing Melee" that will never happen because competitive figureheads will complain about anything that isn't Melee. I want modding to not even be a safe haven because of the double header of Nintendo continuously cracking down on mods and mod creators not wanting to make coherent mod choices and instead opting for random Pokemon, meme filler and Dragon Ball character #73. Maybe Nintendo should ensure that everything I like that they don't own dies forgotten and unloved while absolute flavorless bullcrap makes every other option in the game industry unsalvageable. Perhaps I should accept that I will never be as happy with games like I was when I was 12.

I'm so tired.

 

[NintenRob]

I hope it's more like Smash 4's reveal at E3 2013....Ultimate reveal gave us the iconic inkling eye meme, but honestly, it was kind of a boring reveal just a "Super Smash Bros" logo reveal, not even the Ultimate subtitle was revealed.

This posts triggers me.

First of all, ain't boring. It was masterfully directed. It was ATMOSPHERE. it was CINEMA. It was perfectly crafted to create a sense of mystery and build up hype with silhouettes of characters. It obviously wasn't action packed, it wasn't meant to be.

It also wasn't really the reveal. Everyone is here was the reveal. This was just the teaser telling us the game existed.

The hype for me was out of this world, one of the few reveals in life I remember exactly when and where I was when it happened. I was on my lunch break at work and was watching the direct. I kinda needed to get back but i wanted to finish the direct, but then the Smash Bros logo appeared in the Inklings eyes and I nearly fell out of my chair. I rarely have big reactions but this one absolutely blew me away.

 

[Gengar84]

Who is the most likely character that isn’t discussed much?

Of my most wanted characters, I think Zero, Jinx, and Alphen/Shionne are the most likely and none of them are really discussed much at all.

Zero is pretty surprising to me that he isn’t brought up more. He’s been in multiple crossover games and has both an Assist Trophy and Mii outfit in Smash already along with his theme from Mega Man X. He just seems like a natural fit that is boosted by already having quite a lot of Smash presence. I’ve always loved the character and Mega Man X as a series and he has a long legacy in gaming going back to the SNES.

Jinx is a character I’ve talked about a few times here already so I’ll be brief. League of Legends was already a popular game but Arcane catapulted the franchise into the mainstream well beyond the game’s fanbase. Arcane just won 7 Annie awards, making it the third most award winning animated series behind d the Simpsons and Mickey Mouse. League already has spinoff titles on the Switch and Jinx and Vi are in Fortnite, showing that they’re open to collaboration with other series.

Alphen/Shionne make sense as they are often overlooked in favor of Lloyd, who is a long time fan favorite. I think Slohen/Shionne have a reasonable chance because Arise was very successful, I believe it is the best selling Tales game ever. It also released around the time of Sakurai’s new game’s project plan, making the timing pretty perfect. Shionne is one of the most compelling characters in gaming for me and I loved her character growth in the game. She and Alphen have natural synergy as a team, both in lore and mechanically.

 

[NotGenerico]

DLC is usually handled by a skeleton crew that is much smaller than what a full game requires. Sakurai would need to assemble a team once again to start production on a big project like Smash.

 

[Gengar84]

One thing I haven’t mentioned about League of Legends/Arcane is the music. I think this would both be a huge draw while at the same time pretty difficult to work out the licensing. Riot and Fortiche are famous for making big music videos to promote their games and tournaments and often bring in established artists to create original songs based on their property. The artists can range anywhere from Hiroyuki Sawano to Linkin Park to in house artists. Since the songs were all created specifically for the shows and game videos, I’m not sure how the licensing really works out but there’s quite a few awesome songs to choose from. If anyone here has seen this year’s Game Awards, they had a mini concert of a compilation of three songs from season 2 of Arcane.

 

[AreJay25]

Zero is pretty surprising to me that he isn’t brought up more. He’s been in multiple crossover games and has both an Assist Trophy and Mii outfit in Smash already along with his theme from Mega Man X. He just seems like a natural fit that is boosted by already having quite a lot of Smash presence. I’ve always loved the character and Mega Man X as a series and he has a long legacy in gaming going back to the SNES.

Honestly, I do think Zero gets brought up a fair amount.

I think the problem is that he comes from Capcom, where there's just so many options to pick that it's easy for him to get lost in the shuffle. Like, yeah, it makes all the sense in the world for him to get a spot, but he's also competing with characters like Chun-Li, Dante and Monster Hunter, who are usually going to be the main ones people gravitate towards.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

I think it's that whenever Ubisoft characters come up, it either devolves into how terrible the company is or immediately gets drowned out by Rayman like he's the only thing that matters.

I honestly think an Assassins creed character is more likely than Rayman tbh.

I know that equates to blasphemy in the smash fandom but that series got a Mii costume while all Rayman got was a spirit. lol

Any thoughts or ideas on Reiji Arisu? You know, the protagonist from Namco × Capcom who was also in both games in the Project X Zone series. In Project X Zone 1 there were characters from Namco Bandai, Capcom, and Sega, just like in Project X Zone 2, with the only difference being that there were a few Nintendo characters there too, and of course I'm talking and writing about Fiora from Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and Chrom and Lucina. I think Reiji Arisu would be a perfect choice to come as a newcomer to the Super Smash Bros. series to represent the collaboration of these companies.

The only way i can see him happening is if they make a new game, which hasn't happened in almost a decade.

I do want a rep from Bandai Namco's crossover RPG's though, it would be really cool.

 

[Wunderwaft]

Ya know, it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo went in hard and revealed Smash 6 this year while releasing it at the end of this year or in the middle of next year. We're approaching the seventh year since Ultimate released, the game by all accounts has gotten old. They could do the "second year of the console dedicated for smash" strategy again like they did with Ultimate and the Switch, but honestly I wouldn't discount the idea that they'd tease it even earlier than we might think.

 

[Gengar84]

Ya know, it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo went in hard and revealed Smash 6 this year while releasing it at the end of this year or in the middle of next year. We're approaching the seventh year since Ultimate released, the game by all accounts has gotten old. They could do the "second year of the console dedicated for smash" strategy again like they did with Ultimate and the Switch, but honestly I wouldn't discount the idea that they'd tease it even earlier than we might think.

Yeah, I still think 2026 is probably more likely but I’m not completely writing off the possibility of holiday 2025. I think that’s still a good amount of development time if the project plan was made in 2021.

 

[BrawlX10]

Honestly, i think Sora is more likely to return in the base game than some people think, not only he's the balloot winner, but KH4 and Smash 6 have a good chance to release in a similar timeframe or like very few months aparts, so it could work out as a cross-promotion for Disney if the timing is right, as well.

 

[NotGenerico]

Ya know, it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo went in hard and revealed Smash 6 this year while releasing it at the end of this year or in the middle of next year. We're approaching the seventh year since Ultimate released, the game by all accounts has gotten old. They could do the "second year of the console dedicated for smash" strategy again like they did with Ultimate and the Switch, but honestly I wouldn't discount the idea that they'd tease it even earlier than we might think.

I think we'll see Sakurai in some way at April's Nintendo Direct. I wouldn't be surprised if the Direct ends with the one last thing they show off being Sakurai's game.

 

[Dukefire]

I think we'll see Sakurai in some way at April's Nintendo Direct. I wouldn't be surprised if the Direct ends with the one last thing they show off being Sakurai's game.

Nintendo always seem to have ONE MORE THING before ending the announcement. Though, I doubt Sakurai's project might be towards Smash Bros. We will see in 2 months.