Thanks for the credit!
I generally agree with you.
I know it has been a month of conversation that I missed, but as far as I'm concerned, we have definitive proof of the DX version of Smash, given Sakurai was working with Harada to implement Rollback Netcode. That cannot be added to a game that is already out.
Regardless, I think Sakurai is going to have a lot of tweaks he wants to make to improve this game.It is quite possible he truly isn't even considering what is next, at least not from his perspective, because he is fully focusing on the present. That's just the speech in habit of a successful man. Mindset is key.
He will go on his vacation, consider the offers from a dozen third parties that request their characters, and think of how much joy he can bring to Smash fans.
Listen- Sora was an incredible end of this game. But by no means does that diminish how huge other characters being added would be.
Base game- many Nintendo favorites, including the given of ones like a Ring Fit character (I stand by Dragaux), a couple other impactful third party characters (Bomberman or Frogger are the top thoughts in my eyes, followed by Crash or Rayman).
Then we have huge characters from still unexplored territories- Angry Birds for the mobile gaming, Agumon for virtual pets, the face of MMORPGs in Warcraft... we have many more Western icons that havnt been hit- Lara Croft, Master Chief, keep it coming.
This is putting aside the big fact that Sakurai's legacy is Smash Bros, which- again- is for a lover of the medium to create or ANY character in the medium, a chance that has never existed to this scale. Like any artist, Sakurai is going to continue to think of things that would make this game better. He very well could want to throw in some characters he never had the chance to in prior consideration (Balloon Fighter, Excite Biker, Takamaru, Ayumi, Sukapon, Rayman, Chorus Kids, Dixie Kong...)
As much as a third fighters pass would have been great, there was unlikely going to be a shot at having DLC packs cost more than the base game. Not to mention the economic diminishing of returns by keeping the same game alive for too long.
The new game will fix old issues, rehype the community, serve as greater business partnerships for Nintendo, and promote the new system. It is going to happen. I cannot fathom contracts not having been made for the DX cut within the creation of Ultimate, just as Sm4sh DLC absolutely had to have included the contracting for Smash Ultimate.
The only fallacy in this logic is that Nintendo is Nintendo, which could in theory, mean none of this matters at all, and the new system is going to be a full on remake of the Famicom.
As a side note, I'm waiting for Mario to be added to the WB Multiversus.
No problem for the credit, and this discussion couldn't happen at a better time, cuz folks are ALREADY talking about this interview Sakurai had with IGN.
https://nintendoeverything.com/saku...to-assume-therell-always-be-a-new-smash-bros/
People like
Nabbitfan730
who for some reason think Smash is better off with less stuff (or just want to be right) and quoting this as the be-all-end-all for the future of Smash and that the cuts are happening without realizing a number of things.
First and foremost, Sakurai uses language like this all the time and he has to...because he is the main face of Smash. Do you think he can just say "Oh yeah, I'm working on the next Smash right now...but don't tell Nintendo I told you that!" and everything would be fine? No, he can't say what he's working on in this case, he can only give off negatives (false or true) and be vague or leave things uncertain. Facts are he could EASILY be working on the next Smash RIGHT NOW and still be saying this...because he's already done it before.
Yeah, you guys remember Smash 4 and how Sakurai was already on Ultimate when he had that famous interview, right? As it turns out, companies and the people within them lie about **** all the time, and the reason is to keep their secrets hidden until they are ready to announce them. Remember when there was no new version of the Switch when we heard about one? Nintendo lied about the OLED. Remember when there was no other versions of the Switch coming out? Furukawa said they are planning the announcement and release of the next gen console, which we know is likely just a better Switch...so they lied about that.
Remember when Grant acted like Banjo had no chance for Smash? Remember when we heard multiple times from Nomura and other Square staff that Sora wasn't coming? What about Koei when they had no plans for Ninja Gaiden only to drop a collection mere months later? What about people from Mojang acting like Steve could never get in?
Never forget that companies and the people within them do in fact lie, and it's not just lies like Battlefield 2042 or Anthem or Sword & Shield or Fallout 76 or No Man's Sky (wow, let's of bad games and false advertising) that leave us with a negative impact when we find out the truth, but little white lies that leave us hyped up when we find out the truth. Some companies are like Blizzard and hiding that they are doing shady ****, and some are like Nintendo who hide the crazy cool stuff they are working on. It's the difference between hiding that you are cheating on your SO with lies, and hiding that you are taking your SO on a massive vacation with lies.
The second part that is important is that he's considering what the fans what, as always, and I think he already knows that answer. Now, show of hands here: Who
ACTUALLY wants cuts to the roster? No, I don't mean your least favorite character or dropping an Echo or two, I'm talking who here legitimately
WANTS Smash to have characters cut after we just celebrated getting some of them back and many big names for the first time?
If you follow this up with a yes, you are in fact a very small minority, because the majority of players want to keep what they have and get even more. People don't like to make sacrifices, and the power that Smash has is proven when you look at the power of any single character who was removed making their return. 'Everyone Is Here!' hit as hard as it did for a reason, and basically no one wants to rip that apart right after we got it. No one wants to cut any of the characters we JUST got back, and no one wants Ridley or K Rool to be removed, and casually most of the DLC was a jammer so nobody wants to see Joker peace out, Banjo drop out, and need I even bring up Sora getting left out?
If he thought that the community wanted 'Everyone Is Here!' then Sakurai already knows the community wants 'Everyone Is Still Here!' and honestly, doing it just once more would be enough. Think about it: even here, we have so many people who think it's impossible. We already have people setting themselves up for disappointment just like they did when Ultimate was first revealed in March. 'Not everyone will come back, some character will get cut' happened then, and it's already happening now, but it will only have a big impact one more time before it becomes something people expect or even demand like they are entitled to it.
So, we have a couple years before we will likely see Smash again, and anything Sakurai says now really doesn't matter all that much since his career IS Smash.
