Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Perkilator]

If Smash had MvC-style assist attacks, which special moves would be each character’s assist attack?

Bump

 

[fogbadge]

Bump

i imagine

Villager: lloyd rocket
Inkling: splatbomb
Pit: rush arm
B&K: grenade egg
Squirtle: withdraw
Charizard: flamethrower
Zelda: nayru's love
Kirby: hammer
Pikachu: thunder
WFT: ball

 

[SneakyLink]

Microsoft deal with Activision is closed.

Activision Blizzard reps are now MS reps

 

[Gengar84]

Microsoft deal with Activision is closed.

Activision Blizzard reps are now MS reps

Normally, I agree that I don’t like big companies like Microsoft buying up so many developers and forming monopolies but in this case I think it can only help. Hopefully Microsoft can turn the company around and remove any employees and management responsible for the abuse.

If they can manage that, what characters would everyone like to see for Smash from Activision/Blizzard? I feel like Crash is far and away the most popular choice within the Smash fanbase but I’m personally more interested in the Blizzard side. I’d love to see characters from WarCraft, StarCraft, and Diablo in Smash at some point. Beyond Smash, I think it could also be a lot of fun to see any of these characters in a potential future Killer Instinct game as guests like Rash, the Arbiter, and Raam in the last game.

 

[SneakyLink]

Normally, I agree that I don’t like big companies like Microsoft buying up so many developers and forming monopolies but in this case I think it can only help. Hopefully Microsoft can turn the company around and remove any employees and management responsible for the abuse.

It was announced that current CEO Bobby Kotock will remain until the end of the year. On January 1, 2024, he will leave the company.

So that’s one person gone.

 

[FazDude]

Normally, I agree that I don’t like big companies like Microsoft buying up so many developers and forming monopolies but in this case I think it can only help. Hopefully Microsoft can turn the company around and remove any employees and management responsible for the abuse.

If they can manage that, what characters would everyone like to see for Smash from Activision/Blizzard? I feel like Crash is far and away the most popular choice within the Smash fanbase but I’m personally more interested in the Blizzard side. I’d love to see characters from WarCraft, StarCraft, and Diablo in Smash at some point. Beyond Smash, I think it could also be a lot of fun to see any of these characters in a potential future Killer Instinct game as guests like Rash, the Arbiter, and Raam in the last game.

Aside from Crash, a Skylanders rep would be cool. I’m not a Diablo fan, but I saw a great video detailing how he could work and now I kinda want him as well.

 

[Gengar84]

Aside from Crash, a Skylanders rep would be cool. I’m not a Diablo fan, but I saw a great video detailing how he could work and now I kinda want him as well.

Does Skylanders have any standout characters that are more likely than others. I know of a couple characters but I was never really sure who was important or popular. Some of the designs are pretty cool so I’d be down for a Skylanders character. It would be kind of amusing to see a Skylanders character as an Amiibo if they do that again for the next Smash.

 

[Speed Weed]

Sakurai's Youtube collab was announced. It is, indeed, with Game Center CX. Sakurai's gonna be playing games with Arino. This rules

They're playing through a timeline of old arcade games that Sakurai curated himself, this is awesome

 

[FazDude]

Does Skylanders have any standout characters that are more likely than others. I know of a couple characters but I was never really sure who was important or popular. Some of the designs are pretty cool so I’d be down for a Skylanders character. It would be kind of amusing to see a Skylanders character as an Amiibo if they do that again for the next Smash.

A lot of people cite a tag-team, Trigger Happy, Gill Grunt, or the main antagonist Kaos as picks, but personally I’d go with my main man Pop Fizz.

 

[Gengar84]

A lot of people cite a tag-team, Trigger Happy, Gill Grunt, or the main antagonist Kaos as picks, but personally I’d go with my main man Pop Fizz.

I think all but Kaos are pretty cool. Out of those, I might agree with Pop Fizz. It and Trigger Happy are giving me slight Gengar vibes visually.

 

[chocolatejr9]

Does Skylanders have any standout characters that are more likely than others. I know of a couple characters but I was never really sure who was important or popular. Some of the designs are pretty cool so I’d be down for a Skylanders character. It would be kind of amusing to see a Skylanders character as an Amiibo if they do that again for the next Smash.

The thing with Skylanders is that, due to the nature of its gimmick, ALL of the Skylanders are technically just as important as the others. That being said, things like commercials and especially the Skylanders Academy TV show do shine a light on a few standouts: obviously, you've got the OG starter trio (Spyro, Gill Grunt, and Trigger Happy), but there's also Stealth Elf (easily the main female Skylander), Eruptor, Pop Fizz, Cynder, and likely more that I'm not thinking of off the top of my head (still a bit early in the morning for me, sorry). Heck, thanks Skylanders Imaginators, you could even justify adding series villain Kaos to the mix, due to him being a Skylander in that game (well, kinda: according to his backstory, he's actually a clone of the original Kaos made to try and take out the Skylanders together, only to betray the original because he didn't want to share the spotlight with him).

 

[Megadoomer]

Normally, I agree that I don’t like big companies like Microsoft buying up so many developers and forming monopolies but in this case I think it can only help. Hopefully Microsoft can turn the company around and remove any employees and management responsible for the abuse.

If they can manage that, what characters would everyone like to see for Smash from Activision/Blizzard? I feel like Crash is far and away the most popular choice within the Smash fanbase but I’m personally more interested in the Blizzard side. I’d love to see characters from WarCraft, StarCraft, and Diablo in Smash at some point. Beyond Smash, I think it could also be a lot of fun to see any of these characters in a potential future Killer Instinct game as guests like Rash, the Arbiter, and Raam in the last game.

Crash is my main one (Spyro would be all right, but I've only played the first game), though on the Blizzard side, I'd be interested to see how Kerrigan, Diablo, and Tracer would work. (other Overwatch characters would also work well in Smash, but Tracer's the face of the franchise, and I could see her having some entertaining gameplay)

I have little to no familiarity with Warcraft, so I'm not sure who would be a good fit from that. (I don't have interest in paying a subscription for an MMO, and Warcraft III: Reforged seems to be the only RTS game available - I doubt it's a good idea to start at the third game of a series, and from what I've heard, the changes made to Reforged were generally considered to be for the worse)

 

[Gengar84]

Crash is my main one (Spyro would be all right, but I've only played the first game), though on the Blizzard side, I'd be interested to see how Kerrigan, Diablo, and Tracer would work. (other Overwatch characters would also work well in Smash, but Tracer's the face of the franchise, and I could see her having some entertaining gameplay)

I have little to no familiarity with Warcraft, so I'm not sure who would be a good fit from that. (I don't have interest in paying a subscription for an MMO, and Warcraft III: Reforged seems to be the only RTS game available - I doubt it's a good idea to start at the third game of a series, and from what I've heard, the changes made to Reforged were generally considered to be for the worse)

I can speak from experience that there isn’t much an issue with jumping in at WarCraft 3. The original WarCraft 3 and its expansion, the Frozen Throne are the only WarCraft games I’ve ever played and I had a ton of fun with them. I was never particularly great but I remember staying up all night in High School playing the fan made modes like Hero Arenas. I’m with you about the monthly subscription, which is why I’ve never played World of WarCraft but I have watched most of the story trailers.

Beyond the RTS and MMORPG games, there is also Hearthstone, which is a really fun digital card game that I played for a couple months before I started to fall behind and lose every match. It’s still fun to play the single player modes like Dungeon Run on occasion though. WarCraft’s biggest obstacle is that it’s the only major Blizzard IP that has never had a game on a Nintendo console. Time will tell how big a factor that will still be going forward.

 

[Perkilator]

If they can manage that, what characters would everyone like to see for Smash from Activision/Blizzard?

I’ve been a Cash Banooca supporter since 2017 and I still stand proudly for him.

 

[Gengar84]

I want to say the most likely WarCraft character is probably Arthas followed by Thrall but my personal favorite has always been Illidan. Luckily WarCraft is one of those games where I like almost every character and their designs are so cool and unique that I’d be happy with pretty much anyone. The same goes for StarCraft for me though my preference would be Kerrigan.

 

[Geno Boost]

Looking at the most recent Sakurai video I get the feeling that Space Invaders is likely to appear in the next smash game in some form they did mention how that game was important to the creation of video game industry as a whole in that video so if smash continues to become celebration of video game I expect taito part of square-Enix to show up in smash at some point in the future
We got squaresoft and Enix part of the company represented in smash however taito is the only one missing currently

Report: Disney execs keen to acquire a publisher like EA

NBCUniversal and Amazon have reportedly wanted to buy EA in the past, and now Disney executives are allegedly wanting to add the publisher to its portfolio.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Well, I brought this up for the purpose of Smash discussion. Disney is planning to by Electronic Arts, or EA for short. As bad as EA has been, any good that might come out of this is questionable. Still, this is Disney, and with that, Disney has had a video game character already in Smash Bros. (which is Sora from Kingdom Hearts) While there might not be anything much good; if anything at all; I am thinking this might get characters from EA into a future Smash Bros. game easier, like Faith (if that is her name) from Mirror's Edge.

So with that, any characters from EA would you all want to see in a future Smash Bros. game if they are brought out by Disney?

If not, know that I was just curious to ask.

Gem from bejeweled and peashooter from plants vs zombies

 

[Gengar84]

Looking at the most recent Sakurai video I get the feeling that Space Invaders is likely to appear in the next smash game in some form they did mention how that game was important to the creation of video game industry as a whole in that video so if smash continues to become celebration of video game I expect taito part of square-Enix to show up in smash at some point in the future
We got squaresoft and Enix part of the company represented in smash however taito is the only one missing currently

Gem from bejeweled and peashooter from plants vs zombies

Space Invaders would be a really interesting choice. Not sure how they’d go about it for a character but a stage or assist trophy would make a lot of sense. Not opposed to a character either if they can make it work. That was one of my first games as a kid. I had a handheld Space Invaders machine made in ‘83 when I was young.

 

[Megadoomer]

I can speak from experience that there isn’t much an issue with jumping in at WarCraft 3. The original WarCraft 3 and its expansion, the Frozen Throne are the only WarCraft games I’ve ever played and I had a ton of fun with them. I was never particularly great but I remember staying up all night in High School playing the fan made modes like Hero Arenas. I’m with you about the monthly subscription, which is why I’ve never played World of WarCraft but I have watched most of the story trailers.

Beyond the RTS and MMORPG games, there is also Hearthstone, which is a really fun digital card game that I played for a couple months before I started to fall behind and lose every match. It’s still fun to play the single player modes like Dungeon Run on occasion though. WarCraft’s biggest obstacle is that it’s the only major Blizzard IP that has never had a game on a Nintendo console. Time will tell how big a factor that will still be going forward.

Thanks; I'll likely give Warcraft 3 a shot at some point to see what it's like.

---

Seeing as it's October, are there any horror game characters/series that people would like to see in Smash? I'm not sure how likely an Eternal Darkness fighter would be, but I'd love to see a stage, at least. (especially if they could incorporate the Nintendo-patented sanity effects)

Resident Evil would definitely make sense, even if I'd prefer to see Devil May Cry as far as Capcom series go. If I had to guess, they'd likely go with one of the first batch of Resident Evil characters from Dead By Daylight:

Not sure who, though; Nemesis made it into Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, so I figure he'd be all right with the ESRB/CERO/whatever other ratings board for Smash Bros.

 

[Gengar84]

Thanks; I'll likely give Warcraft 3 a shot at some point to see what it's like.

---

Seeing as it's October, are there any horror game characters/series that people would like to see in Smash? I'm not sure how likely an Eternal Darkness fighter would be, but I'd love to see a stage, at least. (especially if they could incorporate the Nintendo-patented sanity effects)

Resident Evil would definitely make sense, even if I'd prefer to see Devil May Cry as far as Capcom series go. If I had to guess, they'd likely go with one of the first batch of Resident Evil characters from Dead By Daylight:

Not sure who, though; Nemesis made it into Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, so I figure he'd be all right with the ESRB/CERO/whatever other ratings board for Smash Bros.

I don’t think it’s a particularly popular choice but I’d love to see Nemesis from Resident Evil in Smash. I personally think he’d be a more interesting character to play as than any of the protagonists.

While the game she’s from isn’t exactly a horror game, I think Hisako from Killer Instinct would be awesome in Smash. There’s just something about her creepiness in that game that’s so cool. Plus that would give Smash its first dedicated polearm user.

 

[Speed Weed]

Thanks; I'll likely give Warcraft 3 a shot at some point to see what it's like.

---

Seeing as it's October, are there any horror game characters/series that people would like to see in Smash? I'm not sure how likely an Eternal Darkness fighter would be, but I'd love to see a stage, at least. (especially if they could incorporate the Nintendo-patented sanity effects)

Resident Evil would definitely make sense, even if I'd prefer to see Devil May Cry as far as Capcom series go. If I had to guess, they'd likely go with one of the first batch of Resident Evil characters from Dead By Daylight:

Not sure who, though; Nemesis made it into Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, so I figure he'd be all right with the ESRB/CERO/whatever other ratings board for Smash Bros.

It's his time to shine

 

[Laniv]

We interrupt Resident Evil discussion to bring you this news flash: White smoke is pouring from the chimney at Peach's Castle. Habemus plumbarium.

Kevin Afghani is confirmed to be voicing Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me into the Flower Kingdom!

— Kevin Afghani (@KevinAfghani) October 13, 2023

 

[HyperSomari64]

Thanks; I'll likely give Warcraft 3 a shot at some point to see what it's like.

---

Seeing as it's October, are there any horror game characters/series that people would like to see in Smash? I'm not sure how likely an Eternal Darkness fighter would be, but I'd love to see a stage, at least. (especially if they could incorporate the Nintendo-patented sanity effects)

Resident Evil would definitely make sense, even if I'd prefer to see Devil May Cry as far as Capcom series go. If I had to guess, they'd likely go with one of the first batch of Resident Evil characters from Dead By Daylight:

Not sure who, though; Nemesis made it into Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, so I figure he'd be all right with the ESRB/CERO/whatever other ratings board for Smash Bros.

The Trapper would be fun IMO.

 

[CommanderZaktan]

Looking at the most recent Sakurai video I get the feeling that Space Invaders is likely to appear in the next smash game in some form they did mention how that game was important to the creation of video game industry as a whole in that video so if smash continues to become celebration of video game I expect taito part of square-Enix to show up in smash at some point in the future
We got squaresoft and Enix part of the company represented in smash however taito is the only one missing currently

Gem from bejeweled and peashooter from plants vs zombies

Maybe as an assist trophy or a moveset for a Taito rep.

 

[Stratos]

From Taito the Bubble Dragons Bub and Bob from Bubble Bobble series are more likely to come as newcomers they're like Ice Climbers in the future games of Super Smash Bros. series.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

Looking at the most recent Sakurai video I get the feeling that Space Invaders is likely to appear in the next smash game in some form they did mention how that game was important to the creation of video game industry as a whole in that video so if smash continues to become celebration of video game I expect taito part of square-Enix to show up in smash at some point in the future
We got squaresoft and Enix part of the company represented in smash however taito is the only one missing currently

Gem from bejeweled and peashooter from plants vs zombies

Weve once again returned to the "Sakurai likes this game, its confirmed for the next smash" line of thinking lol

 

[Ivander]

Weve once again returned to the "Sakurai likes this game, its confirmed for the next smash" line of thinking lol

Combined with 3rd Party shenanigans. If Sakurai could easily get games in Smash, especially 3rd Party games, because he liked them, we'd have plenty of Shoot-em-up representation in Smash Bros, as well as 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.

Just because he likes them doesn't mean they're destined for Smash Bros.

 

[Speed Weed]

I just want a Taito character in Smash for the possibility of some of that sweet ZUNTATA music

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Honestly given how incredibly important Space Invaders was to video games in the East and West (to the point where the Atari VCS didn't really start doing big numbers until it had a Space Invaders port), its long overdue for some sort of presence in Smash.

 

[Sucumbio]

Wow!

They have a lot of characters from games I've never played lol but I like Pocky now

 

[Ivander]

Wow!

They have a lot of characters from games I've never played lol but I like Pocky now

View attachment 379199

Aka, the inspiration for Touhou's Reimu Hakurei.

 

[HyperSomari64]

Wow!

They have a lot of characters from games I've never played lol but I like Pocky now

View attachment 379199

Her name is Sayo-chan, but who cares about old translations?

 

[Jave]

Looks like we have the person who will most likely voice Mario & Luigi in the next Smash, Kevin Afghani.

Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me into the Flower Kingdom!

— Kevin Afghani (@KevinAfghani) October 13, 2023

EDIT: Sorry, didn't notice it was posted above. Embedded tweets tend to get lost in the shuffle.

 

[SPEN18]

The other bit of news that we haven't really covered in here afaik is these new Animal Crossing LEGOs. Yet another big boost in merch for a series that is already swimming in it. And yet another affirmation that AC is very very likely getting another character next time, with Tom Nook the frontrunner.

 

[Hadokeyblade]

The other bit of news that we haven't really covered in here afaik is these new Animal Crossing LEGOs. Yet another big boost in merch for a series that is already swimming in it. And yet another affirmation that AC is very very likely getting another character next time, with Tom Nook the frontrunner.

It will be his time

 

[dream1ng]

I think getting supporting SE content is easier said than done. I'm sure Sakurai would love to include Taito stuff, especially Space Invaders, but also Bubble Bobble and Arkanoid. It's right up his alley of old and influential.

But it seems pretty tough to wring much out of Square that isn't tied to a character or a promotion, and isn't DLC. At an amount Nintendo seems willing to pay. Were Taito owned by any of the others, like Sega or Namco or even Konami, I'm sure you'd have seen at least something.

And I say supporting SE content because I don't see playability for any Taito property. Space Invaders certainly has the merit, I just think the question of feasibility will continue to get them passed over.

The other bit of news that we haven't really covered in here afaik is these new Animal Crossing LEGOs. Yet another big boost in merch for a series that is already swimming in it. And yet another affirmation that AC is very very likely getting another character next time, with Tom Nook the frontrunner.

It's possible but I think merit and chance aren't always commensurate if the stable of characters poses potential setbacks. AC obv could claim several additional spots based on its size and success, but if the workability isn't there, the count might stagnate.

Not that I think you couldn't make Tom Nook unique (I thought you could make Isabelle unique), but I do notice how Sakurai seemed to waver adding one AC character, then made the second a semi-clone. If he doesn't envision something more, I question him adding another Villager derivative.

So personally I see another AC character simply as possible rather than adjacent to inevitable. Though not for a lack of status.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Part of me would like to see a customizable Villager for the next Smash. Basically a cross between them and a Mii that would allow you more overall control over their appearance.

 

[Perkilator]

Sakurai lets you choose ONE new dlc character! But there's a catch.. You must swap out a pre-existing DLC Fighter for the character you choose!
Who would you remove and replace them with?? pic.twitter.com/MBdnWO1sZz

— Furo (@RealFuro_) October 13, 2023

Okay so I’m going to play my own game: I’m going to replace Piranha Plant with Bandana Waddle Dee BUT I’m going to put the latter in the base game. I’m also going to give Vol. 1 six slots to work with to even out with Vol. 2. As for the characters in each volume:

Vol. 1

• Joker
• Hero
• Crash Bandicoot
• Pyra / Mythra
• Terry
• Banjo & Kazooie

Vol. 2

• Chun-Li
• Dr. Eggman
• Sephiroth
• Min Min
• Kazuya
• Sora

 

[Stratos]

Recent rumors have it that Japan intends to sell Nintendo, and many see Microsoft as the top customer. But I know that Nintendo will not accept to be bought by anyone. And who among us Nintendo fans wants our beloved video game company to be acquired by any other company in general? None of us want that.

 

[dream1ng]

Recent rumors have it that Japan intends to sell Nintendo, and many see Microsoft as the top customer. But I know that Nintendo will not accept to be bought by anyone. And who among us Nintendo fans wants our beloved video game company to be acquired by any other company in general? None of us want that.

None of that makes any sense at all.

Principally, Japan doesn't own Nintendo. Nintendo is not in the public sector. Secondly, Japan has laws in place that make foreign buyouts more difficult, because they're generally averse to it. Next, like you said, Nintendo isn't going to even be open to a buyout. Especially now, that they're currently killing it. But probably ever, Should it ever comes to pass, it'd probably be a hostile takeover.

Third, Microsoft just spent 70 billion dollars acquiring ABK. They're not going to now turn around and do it all over again for a company that would be even harder to acquire. A huge part of their argument against the regulatory boards' calls of monopoly was that Nintendo was a distinct competitor. With how hard it was for them to get ABK, it's going to be impossible the regulatory boards don't prohibit this kind of acquisition.

This sounds like it was based on that internal email where Spencer talks about wanting to eventually buy Nintendo. First, that was pre-ABK, and second, it showed no actual intent, just desire. And third, it was ridiculous.

 

[Geno Boost]

Space Invaders would be a really interesting choice. Not sure how they’d go about it for a character but a stage or assist trophy would make a lot of sense. Not opposed to a character either if they can make it work. That was one of my first games as a kid. I had a handheld Space Invaders machine made in ‘83 when I was young.

pretty sure if space invaders become playable he would be unlike anything any fighting game character has had yet just like steve basically the effort has to be put in the aspect you are playing as a space invasion itself like taking on the whole stage
i can imagine playing as ufo while aliens are following it like pikmin does and it would have a wave summon system as a gimmick like wave 1 then 2 then 3 where you can place aliens and they shoot down each having different effect another thing also being able to summon a bunker that takes multiple hit until it gets destroyed i had research alot of space invaders games and i noticed the amount of moveset potential as it would have it definitely would be a summoner type of fighter which we only have so far

I think getting supporting SE content is easier said than done. I'm sure Sakurai would love to include Taito stuff, especially Space Invaders, but also Bubble Bobble and Arkanoid. It's right up his alley of old and influential.

But it seems pretty tough to wring much out of Square that isn't tied to a character or a promotion, and isn't DLC. At an amount Nintendo seems willing to pay. Were Taito owned by any of the others, like Sega or Namco or even Konami, I'm sure you'd have seen at least something.

And I say supporting SE content because I don't see playability for any Taito property. Space Invaders certainly has the merit, I just think the question of feasibility will continue to get them passed over.


It's possible but I think merit and chance aren't always commensurate if the stable of characters poses potential setbacks. AC obv could claim several additional spots based on its size and success, but if the workability isn't there, the count might stagnate.

Not that I think you couldn't make Tom Nook unique (I thought you could make Isabelle unique), but I do notice how Sakurai seemed to waver adding one AC character, then made the second a semi-clone. If he doesn't envision something more, I question him adding another Villager derivative.

So personally I see another AC character simply as possible rather than adjacent to inevitable. Though not for a lack of status.

the thing that makes taito different from squaresoft and enix is that they are actually more open to collaboration not hard to get access to their content even within taito games there is so much crossovers i do think if taito gets a playable character it can get the SNK treatment and not be stuck to 1 franchise for their content
but as far as smash ultimate i dont think there was a discussion about taito content inclusion or else we would have heard a taito rep being part of the 7 square leak and not even 2b despite her director wanting her in but i think this could change by the next smash game as long as square-enix would still be part of it