Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Gengar84]

No. I'd have a problem with pretty much any game getting multiple characters at the same time.

If Pyra and Mythra weren't clones of each other, I'd be super pissed about them both being in Smash, because XB2 doesn't deserve to be taking up 2 character slots. And I'd feel the same way if XB3 got 2 characters in the next game.

That makes sense though we don’t really need transform characters for that. We did get Lucina and Robin together. In Smash 64, we had Mario and Luigi as well as Pikachu and Jigglypuff. Melee had Peach and Bowser and Brawl had Metaknight and Dedede. Transformations do make that much more likely so I can understand not liking them if that’s your main issue. It is more exciting to have more franchises represented than having multiple characters from a single one.

 

[SPEN18]

In terms of veterans, i said the best option is take the same approach to how Ultimate was in E3 2018 where all chosen veterans are all revealed in one sizzling reveal trailer and any character past that point are all new characters to the smash series entirely.

Actually I liked the slow drip of vet reveals in 4, and missed having that in Ult's speculation cycle. It kept the speculation between newcomer reveals more consistently interesting.

 

[Nabbitfan730]

Actually I liked the slow drip of vet reveals in 4, and missed having that in Ult's speculation cycle. It kept the speculation between newcomer reveals more consistently interesting.

Eh, idk about that. I feel like wasting spotlight on character we have seen already and the inevitable disappointment of fans and speculators of those cut isn't worth all that time. Just get it done over and swiftly and focus on the new faces

 

[SPEN18]

Eh, idk about that. I feel like wasting spotlight on character we have seen already and the inevitable disappointment of fans and speculators of those cut isn't worth all that time. Just get it done over and swiftly and focus on the new faces

They don't have to take the spotlight; a lot of them can just be low-key website updates. But I think people were also cool with them sharing the spotlight somewhat; think like C. Falcon being in the Robin/Lucina cinematic.

I understand not wanting to have to wait it out the entire cycle only to find out at the very end that a character is cut, but also: would they really want to say straight out that a character is cut months before release? If anything that is only inviting an angry campaign from a small group of vocal hardcores clamoring that there is still time to put them in. Plus lots of cuts aren't even finalized until later in development; we've seen vets be planned out of the gate but not make it due to time and resource constraints. Again, I understand not wanting to feel strung along or held in suspense, but delaying the announcement of the final cutlist is actually to the fans' advantage, as it gives the team more time to discern if they can actually finish some of their lower-priority items.
And generally, it is to their advantage not to highlight any potentially disappointing news, and their marketing campaign is going to focus on highlighting that "X piece of content is in the game" rather than "Y piece of content is not in the game."

 

[CapitaineCrash]

To be fair Smash 4 had way more time between announcement and release than Ultimate (a year and a half for Smash, while Ultimate it was 9 months, but if you count the first trailer more like a teaser you could argue it was like 6 months), so announcing veterans slowly make sense for Smash 4. And to be honest I think it was exciting to have the veterans slowly drip. I remember waking up in the morning early to go to school and looking at the pic of the day, sometimes we had new items, stages, and veterans announcement. I think Ultimate showed way too much at e3 2018 (not only every veterans but most stages were already there and most new items too).

 

[Guynamednelson]

Am i crazy for not wanting an ultimate port?

I feeling the Smash Community are missing the ball when it comes to the idea of the next installment.

The next game doesn't need to "Top Ultimate", it just needs to stand on it's own well enough to warrant its existence.

Many gaming franchises don't follow a "bigger is better" approach.

I've been avoiding posting in this thread because I didn't want to bother arguing over and over on why I think an Ultimate port with everyone and everything back, plus a decent amount of non-Echo newcomers in the base game, is impossible.

 

[Gengar84]

I've been avoiding posting in this thread because I didn't want to bother arguing over and over on why I think an Ultimate port with everyone and everything back, plus a decent amount of non-Echo newcomers in the base game, is impossible.

Yeah. I wouldn't go so far to say as it's impossible but I do agree that it might take more effort than they are willing to do. I would personally love to see Ultimate's roster continue to be built on but at some point that is going to be too much to ask. Sakurai even stated that this was likely the last time that we would ever see the whole roster in one game again. Personally, if we are going to go down this path, as it seems likely we will, I think the next game needs some kind of big hook to set it apart and mitigate the disappointment from losing so many characters. There are a few possibilities like turning Smash into a Nintendo Vs. series or even opening up the potential for non game characters. I feel like whatever we get should feel different than had it just been another fighter's pass in some way, whether that's a new perspective on roster selection or a very ambitious game mode.

Even though I'm expecting a smaller roster in the next game, I don't really like to think or talk about cuts. I personally much prefer speculating on potential new characters that could be added. My biggest fear is that was a scaled back roster, there will be a much stricter criteria for what third party characters are added and there won't be a ton of room for fun but less mainstream choices.

 

[Luke Starkiller]

It's a bit late, but here are my suggestions for the next ten stages of future Smash titles just for fun.

1: Planet Zebes. (Metroid)
2: Pictochat. (Pictochat)
3: Pac Maze. (Pac Man)
4: Deep Sea Metro. (Splatoon)
5: Transient Temple. (Ring Fit Adventure)
6: Nibelheim. (Final Fantasy)
7: Jungle Island (Super Monkey Ball)
8: Angel Island. (Sonic the Hedgehog)
9: Throat of the World. (Elder Scrolls)
10 USG Ishimura. (Dead Space)

 

[DarthEnderX]

That makes sense though we don’t really need transform characters for that. We did get Lucina and Robin together.

Yeah, but Lucina was just an echo. She didn't take up a dev slot.

In Smash 64, we had Mario and Luigi as well as Pikachu and Jigglypuff. Melee had Peach and Bowser and Brawl had Metaknight and Dedede.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I just don't like it when it does.

Like, right now, people are talking about both Noah and Mio being in the next Smash, and I am not down with that at all.

I've been avoiding posting in this thread because I didn't want to bother arguing over and over on why I think an Ultimate port with everyone and everything back, plus a decent amount of non-Echo newcomers in the base game, is impossible.

Fine by me. I'm okay with all of Ultimate Deluxe's newcomers being DLC. That what MK8D did, and that worked great.

 

[Soy_Man]

Yeah, but Lucina was just an echo. She didn't take up a dev slot.

What exactly is a "dev slot"?

 

[Swamp Sensei]

What exactly is a "dev slot"?

A slot determined from the beginning.

Like for Ultimate, all veterans, Inkling, Ridley, Simon, King K. Rool, Isabelle and a Pokemon slot that eventually became Incineroar were all chosen at the start of development.

 

[DarthEnderX]

What exactly is a "dev slot"?

The development time and budget required to add one unique Fighter to the game.

 

[fogbadge]

The development time and budget required to add one unique Fighter to the game.

trouble with that is that there is no set time for such things. from what we know some characters are built on pre existing ones like ridley with charizard and other are pulled from their home game like min min. the former taking more time than the latter

 

[Megadoomer]

Am i crazy for not wanting an ultimate port?

I feeling the Smash Community are missing the ball when it comes to the idea of the next installment.

The next game doesn't need to "Top Ultimate", it just needs to stand on it's own well enough to warrant its existence.

Many gaming franchises don't follow a "bigger is better" approach.

I get why people would want something new rather than a port of the game that they likely already bought (I haven't bought Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for that reason; I already have Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U), though it raises the question of "what are they going to do to give people a reason to buy it over Ultimate?" (as far as first impressions go, it seems difficult to top "Everyone Is Here", since that not only confirmed a massive roster but made it so nobody had to worry about their favourite characters from older titles being cut)

From what I've seen, the main suggestions that people seem to have for how to do that are wildly changing the gameplay (taking away from the simplicity that made it more appealing for many people over traditional fighters) or gutting the roster and focusing primarily on the competitive scene. (which has rarely if ever worked well - look at the initial reaction to Street Fighter V)

 

[Quillion]

From what I've seen, the main suggestions that people seem to have for how to do that are wildly changing the gameplay (taking away from the simplicity that made it more appealing for many people over traditional fighters) or gutting the roster and focusing primarily on the competitive scene. (which has rarely if ever worked well - look at the initial reaction to Street Fighter V)

Why does changing the gameplay have to take away the simplicity, though?

Kirby c. Star Allies, New Super Mario Bros., and Pokémon were all meant to be simple too, yet it wasn't hard to find people wanting those series' gameplay to be changed while still keeping the core mostly intact.

Personally, I think properly expanding the Final Smash meter to a whole Super Meter with Y as the Super Special button would fit right into the core without upending everything.

 

[PeridotGX]

It's been five years since Ultimate was revealed. half a decade. God, time flies.

That has me wondering - when do we think we'll hear about the next Smash? My guess is that we get the Switch 2 or whatever in early-mid 2024, Smash 6 will be revealed in 2025, and release in 2026 - but this is simply a guess, I could very easily be wrong on all fronts. What do you think?

 

[Dan Quixote]

It's been five years since Ultimate was revealed. half a decade. God, time flies.

That has me wondering - when do we think we'll hear about the next Smash? My guess is that we get the Switch 2 or whatever in early-mid 2024, Smash 6 will be revealed in 2025, and release in 2026 - but this is simply a guess, I could very easily be wrong on all fronts. What do you think?

The Switch has made things so unpredictable lol, I have no idea how long this thing will last or if Nintendo would bite the bullet and just release another Smash on the same console. And don't forget Mario Kart 8! Who's to say a third wave of DLC is out of the question in a couple of years? We're currently in the least predictable era of Smash speculation since before Brawl. It could come out in 2025 and it could come out in 2030 and neither would truly surprise me.

 

[osby]

It's been five years since Ultimate was revealed. half a decade. God, time flies.

That has me wondering - when do we think we'll hear about the next Smash? My guess is that we get the Switch 2 or whatever in early-mid 2024, Smash 6 will be revealed in 2025, and release in 2026 - but this is simply a guess, I could very easily be wrong on all fronts. What do you think?

Smash DLC ended relatively recently so it feels a bit early for Nintendo to start working on a new Smash.

We'll almost certainly see a successor to Ultimate in the next Nintendo console but it's hard to say whether it will be an expansion of Ultimate in some manner or a brand new title later into its lifespan than usual.

 

[Sucumbio]

Super Smash Bros. It's about that smash.
Super Smash Bros. Melee

It's been five years since Ultimate was revealed. half a decade. God, time flies.

That has me wondering - when do we think we'll hear about the next Smash? My guess is that we get the Switch 2 or whatever in early-mid 2024, Smash 6 will be revealed in 2025, and release in 2026 - but this is simply a guess, I could very easily be wrong on all fronts. What do you think?

I'm mostly in agreement. I'm thinking Q4 2024 for the next console so as to align with the holiday season, and announced during the February 2024 direct. For Smash tho I don't know maybe 2025 or 2026.

 

[Soy_Man]

It's been five years since Ultimate was revealed. half a decade. God, time flies.

That has me wondering - when do we think we'll hear about the next Smash? My guess is that we get the Switch 2 or whatever in early-mid 2024, Smash 6 will be revealed in 2025, and release in 2026 - but this is simply a guess, I could very easily be wrong on all fronts. What do you think?

Given what Sakurai has said about the future of the series, I feel that the wait between ultimate and the next game might be significantly longer than what we're used to.

 

[Wonder Smash]

Smash DLC ended relatively recently so it feels a bit early for Nintendo to start working on a new Smash.

I used to think the same thing but then Ultimate was revealed just two years after the last DLC for Smash 4 was released.

 

[Soy_Man]

I used to think the same thing but then Ultimate was revealed just two years after the last DLC for Smash 4 was released.

I remember hearing somewhere that Ultimate began development sometime immediately after they finished Bayonetta, hence the incredibly short wait between games.

 

[fogbadge]

I remember hearing somewhere that Ultimate began development sometime immediately after they finished Bayonetta, hence the incredibly short wait between games.

they were already planning the game by the time they were done. the last couple dlc characters were probably licensed for two games

 

[Garteam]

I'm going to be optimistic in terms of when we'll see the next Nintendo console and Smash game.

I think we'll see the Switch's successor in the first half of 2024. Nintendo has stated multiple times that they believe the Switch can no longer carry the sales momentum from previous years, which is a good sign that the board of directors is looking to other things long-term. Plus, the Switch's first-party line is paralleling a lot of Nintendo consoles in their twilight years. We're getting a bunch of remakes, which is how Nintendo wound the 3DS down, and a 3-D mainline Zelda, which has been the final major first-party offering in Nintendo's consoles as far as the N64. There's also the issue of Three Houses being referred to Iron17 and Engage being referred to Iron19 in their code, which would make sense if Nintendo is intentionally holding a Fire Emblem back to release as a first-party release on the Switch's successor. The Call of Duty deal also makes a lot more sense if Nintendo is releasing more powerful hardware in 2024, which gets around the issue of how a game like Modern Warfare 2 would run on the Switch's lower-end hardware.

It's also worth noting that Nintendo has never been beholden to the holiday season for releasing handhelds. The 3DS came out in February and the Switch was released in March. If Nintendo really doesn't have any more major releases throughout 2023 beyond Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4, and the Scarlet/Violet DLC, they would presumably want to get the Switch's successor out early to that lost time. An early 2024 release also saves Nintendo from having to compete with the potential mid-generation upgrades to the PS5 and Xbox Series, which would almost certainly release in the holiday season.

In terms of Smash, I'm going to predict that a new Smash or a port of Ultimate will be Nintendo's big holiday 2024 title. With the exception of the 3DS, Nintendo always seems to be proactive in making sure all of their hardware has a Smash game before or within its second year on the market. Likewise, if Nintendo began work on another Smash game right as Ultimate's development concluded, that would allow them to launch Smash in October 2024 (assuming that game had a three-year like previous Smash entries). Furukawa has been clear about his belief that Nintendo's first-party software is what makes them successful, so it makes sense that'd he want an A-tier title to release in the Switch Successor's first-year holiday on market. Smash would certainly fill that role well, as Nintendo has no problem with Ultimate being their holiday title in 2018 holy **** I feel old.

 

[Nabbitfan730]

Expecting Smash Bros for Holiday 2024 barely 3 years after of over-nonstop development time from Smash 4 to Ultimate is just wishful thinking unless Sakurai immediately jumped into the next game which he didn't.

Bandai Namco disbanded to work on new projects like Tekken 8 and Sakurai is now semi retired. If Sakurai truly is done for good then finding a successor will take time. It wouldn't be stretch to say that Smash 6 hasn't even started development yet.

Also Nintendo doesn't directly with other console holders like that (Nintendo themselves don't even do consoles anymore) and even if they did, they have a lot of big hitters that can sustain themselves. ToK port, Metroid Prime 4, Mario, Animal Crossing, Pokemon etc. Smash isn't the only A-lister Nintendo's got.

A smash doesn't immediately need to drop just because a new system comes. A 2026 release would be more reasonable

 

[DynamicSmasher]

I'm going to be optimistic in terms of when we'll see the next Nintendo console and Smash game.

I think we'll see the Switch's successor in the first half of 2024. [...]There's also the issue of Three Houses being referred to Iron17 and Engage being referred to Iron19 in their code, which would make sense if Nintendo is intentionally holding a Fire Emblem back to release as a first-party release on the Switch's successor. The Call of Duty deal also makes a lot more sense if Nintendo is releasing more powerful hardware in 2024, which gets around the issue of how a game like Modern Warfare 2 would run on the Switch's lower-end hardware.

In terms of Smash, I'm going to predict that a new Smash or a port of Ultimate will be Nintendo's big holiday 2024 title. With the exception of the 3DS, Nintendo always seems to be proactive in making sure all of their hardware has a Smash game before or within its second year on the market. Likewise, if Nintendo began work on another Smash game right as Ultimate's development concluded, that would allow them to launch Smash in October 2024 (assuming that game had a three-year like previous Smash entries). Furukawa has been clear about his belief that Nintendo's first-party software is what makes them successful, so it makes sense that'd he want an A-tier title to release in the Switch Successor's first-year holiday on market. Smash would certainly fill that role well, as Nintendo has no problem with Ultimate being their holiday title in 2018 holy **** I feel old.

To add to the first point, the first leaks for engage also mentioned another FE game, a remake of FE4 which could, depending on marketing, attract back a lot of the 3H audience, since the 2 games are pretty similar tone-wise.

I'm less sure about Smash releasing so relatively early though, like Nabbit said, the Smash team isn't really together anymore, so a new Smash would be pretty difficult. They might be able to rush a port, but I don't think that would really be a game that has the 'oomph' to be the big holiday release. It's not like a Wii U game where no-one played it in the first place, after all, it sold like 30m.

 

[Nabbitfan730]

Especially if the next system is mostly likely backwards compatible with the Switch making the need for a port even more redundant

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

I'm still leaning towards a successor release in the latter half of 2024. Switch is definitely winding down but I can imagine there's still just enough lower cost and low key releases to essentially get it to roughly fall 2024 before the big next console around that time. Stuff like ports of Xenoblade X, Wind Waker/Twilight Princess HD, a potential Mario Sluggers sequel, Mystery Dungeon remake/sequel, etc I can see making up the last year or so of the Switch's existence with the understanding that these are the final set of semi-notable games for the console.

My overall prediction is actually this; Switch successor releases in late fall 2024 with both a new 3D Mario and Mario Kart 9... with Metroid Prime 4 getting dual releases on both it and the current Switch, making it the proverbial BoTW for that generation shift.

(I'd like to believe another DKC game could fit into all this, but I've given up trying to predict that).

 

[Aaayei]

I'm betting the Switch successor to be around mid to late '24, with Smash not happening til '26/'27 (not out of possibility to see it revealed during '25), but nothing real later than that.

 

[SPEN18]

I'd love for the Switch to hold on long enough to surpass the PS2 on the all-time sales list.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

Assuming that Nintendo have a next geno console planned for next years, they must, at the very least, think about the next Smash bros. They know it's one of their system seller. That being said, I really don't think we'll see a Smash near the launch of said consoles. My guess is that a new Mario 3d, new Pokémon, new Splatoon and new Mario kart will be the big "must have exclusives" for the first year or 2 (The Mario 3d team did nothing since Bowser's fury so I'm speculating that they're next game is going to be huge and it should be fairly near completion).

The big question for Smash is: who's even going to develop it? A new game by Namco would be very cool because Namco is huge and they have lots of experiences with fighting games. That being said, Namco is a third party and they're working on Tekken 8 (which is planned for 2024, but will most likely have post launch content) and also the new DBZ tenkaichi, so they might not have a team left to work on Smash. Maybe Hal laboratory could develop a new Smash? I'm really not sure if that's still possible to be honest. And looking at the other Nintendo team I really don't see who could even work on Smash. So my guess is that, assuming that Namco is not available, it will be made in-house by a Nintendo EPD team (and I think the best choice would be either EPD 5 which is Animal crossing and Splatoon teams or EPD 9 which is Mario kart and Arms team). But giving Smash to those teams would either mean breaking the team in half (which would mean slower development time for both project) or waiting that their first games is finished before moving on to Smash (so waiting afiter Splatoon 4 or Mario kart 9).

Tl;dr: Smash 6 is not coming soon.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Honestly, I think the Switch is going to last until around 2025 or so.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Nintendo might be in a position to have some good sellers on the successor console for some time before Smash. Even assuming a wait on 3D Zelda and Splatoon 4, you get a 3D Mario, new Pokemon generation, Mario Party Sequel, Luigi's Mansion 4, Ring Fit 2, Mario Kart 9, new Animal Crossing in the first couple of years?

Smash could reasonably hold off until 2026 maybe even 2027 if need be.

 

[chocolatejr9]

Who's up for a late night Smash Bros conspiracy theory?

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will receive 5 additional characters after Birdo.

That's exciting! pic.twitter.com/DqtafxMGKn

— Stealth (@Stealth40k) March 9, 2023

MK8D is gonna get 5 more DLC characters after Birdo. What Mario characters would be popular enough to be added here AND have a decent shot at Smash?

Hey, I said this was a LATE NIGHT Smash Bros conspiracy theory. I'm tired, and my brain is already halfway off...

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Bring back Diddy. I'd really like Dixie, to finally show up on mainline MK but Diddy should have have never been removed from the series to begin with.

And throw Kamek a bone already; guy's never been in a console Mario Kart game even after being planned for MK64.

 

[MasterCheef]

I get why people would want something new rather than a port of the game that they likely already bought (I haven't bought Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for that reason; I already have Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U), though it raises the question of "what are they going to do to give people a reason to buy it over Ultimate?" (as far as first impressions go, it seems difficult to top "Everyone Is Here", since that not only confirmed a massive roster but made it so nobody had to worry about their favourite characters from older titles being cut)

From what I've seen, the main suggestions that people seem to have for how to do that are wildly changing the gameplay (taking away from the simplicity that made it more appealing for many people over traditional fighters) or gutting the roster and focusing primarily on the competitive scene. (which has rarely if ever worked well - look at the initial reaction to Street Fighter V)

I would argue actually making it easier for new players to get into the game is truly the best route

having some easier modes which are less punishing for making one big mistake. = infinte up specials
not worrying initially about using your midair jump at the wrong time

even MORE IMPORTANT would be MINI-GAMES Everyone can enjoy.

1st and most importantly would be ; PACHINKO with a TROPHY MODE
PACHINKO by the way is a Billion US dollar Industry in Japan


2 Volleyball
3 pool the game
4 Move the payload
5 Capture the flag
6 King of the Hill

would also be quite easy to implement.

honestly about 25% of the roster is quite boring at least in miy opinion

 

[CannonStreak]

I would argue actually making it easier for new players to get into the game is truly the best route

having some easier modes which are less punishing for making one big mistake. = infinte up specials
not worrying initially about using your midair jump at the wrong time

even MORE IMPORTANT would be MINI-GAMES Everyone can enjoy.

1st and most importantly would be ; PACHINKO with a TROPHY MODE
PACHINKO by the way is a Billion US dollar Industry in Japan


2 Volleyball
3 pool the game
4 Move the payload
5 Capture the flag
6 King of the Hill

would also be quite easy to implement.

honestly about 25% of the roster is quite boring at least in miy opinion

I love your ideas for the minigames, especially the last two! I can imagine one where the characters battle for the top of a mountain. They have to be at the top before time runs out, but everyone is fighting for it and they keep knocking you off. You'd have to constantly fight to get back to the top.

 

[MasterCheef]

I love your ideas for the minigames, especially the last two! I can imagine one where the characters battle for the top of a mountain. They have to be at the top before time runs out, but everyone is fighting for it and they keep knocking you off. You'd have to constantly fight to get back to the top.

I would more expect it to move around some for KOTH to make it more exciting.

 

[CannonStreak]

I would more expect it to move around some for KOTH to make it more exciting.

Makes sense, but what exactly would you expect to move around?

 

[MasterCheef]

Makes sense, but what exactly would you expect to move around?

The Hill. Have you ever played KOTH on Halo 2 / 3 / Reach ? Same idea.