Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[chocolatejr9]

This is just a rumor but Jeff Grubb has hint that big acquisitions is coming. He hint that "It takes two to Tango", but that's it's not Take-two or HAzelight studios. Some people have speculate that it could be Capcom because Residewnt evil 5 have an achievement name "It takes two to tango".

Now this is just speculation and nothing could happen, but if Sony bought Capcom it would hurt a lot Smash (no Mega man, Ryu and Ken, Monster hunter, Phoenix Wright etc.)

Edit: Source

My main concern with Sony buying a Japanese company is... didn't they shut down their Japan Studio? The one that was considered one of, if not THE most creative studio they had?

 

[Sucumbio]

I hope Sony doesn't block current smash characters from coming back if they do buy out CAPCOM. Plus I still want an RE rep!

 

[Gengar84]

If this did end up happening and we lose Capcom in Smash, that’s one more thing drawing me to the idea of a Nintendo vs. Microsoft theme in the next game. Sephiroth is one of my favorite characters ever and I’d really miss others like Joker and Sonic but I’d accept it just for the spectacle of a console war game (at least for one Smash).

On a related note, I just had a weird thought. Microsoft could theoretically make their own Smash game and Sakurai could still direct it. He’s not officially a part of Nintendo anymore so I don’t think anything is stopping him. Namco could still do most of the work so they could keep the whole Ultimate team even if it wasn’t a Nintendo game. That would be really interesting to see but I don’t expect it at all.

 

[Sucumbio]

It's definitely becoming more interesting these days. There was a time when the thought of an eastern company buying out a western company and visa versa was unimaginable and yet here we are lol.

Still I feel some companies are just going to stick to their guns and remain non exclusive developers... Capcom has been making huge profit and after pairing back their outsourcing to handle only remasters and sequels their main 3 dev teams have been largely successful. Plus they have stakes in their own arcades, multimedia, and other ventures which help their portfolio stay solid.

Meanwhile, Sega announced it's leaving the arcade business entirely (they'd already sold 85 percent of their stock but now the remaining 15 is sold). After bowing out from consoles and now arcades this leaves only software. The parent holding company also boasts casino machines, resorts, multimedia etc so it's not as if Sega is dead, but their gaming division is looking more ripe for the picking.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

My main concern with Sony buying a Japanese company is... didn't they shut down their Japan Studio? The one that was considered one of, if not THE most creative studio they had?

They didn't really shut it down, they just reorganized the studios and it was merged with Team Asobi.

But yeah Capcom with Sony would be a bit... concerining I guess. To be fair they have a good relationship with Sony, like Street fighter V being ps4 exclusive and Pragmata coming for ps5, and RE village being heavily featured in State of play, but a big part of Capcom is also Nintendo games like Monster hunter rise, some Resident evil, Ace attorney and Mega man.

 

[Stratos]

Sony to buy Capcom or Square Enix? I do not want to believe it and I hope it does not happen.

 

[Diddy Kong]

I genuinely cannot agree with big corporation acquisitions being a good thing for employees in the long run. Sure, if a ****ty company gets bought, they might have to sort out their problems. But what if big companies also treat workers badly? Who's gonna keep them responsible?

Monopolizing the industry is only going to make it easier for higher-ups to abuse people who work for them. Corporates are not your friends and they are not purchasing each other for the well-being of the employees.

This is capitalism for you, when the market shrinks and the most wealthy people can't find a market to dominate anymore, they'll buyout and monopolize everything there is, just because they can.

In general, wether it's government or big business, they all start to act like this sooner or later if they're that dominant with either power or control. That makes more people reliant on them, and not the other way around as it's supposed to be.

I was glad and sort of proud to learn that Nintendo is their own namesake, they aren't owned by shareholders that are only in it for the money. The fact that Nintendo seems to stand against such gigantic names in media as Sony and Microsoft is quite telling.

I'm feeling that if they keep up with the type of fan service that the Switch delivers they will be a company that can set example to the world of business in how it's supposed to be, give and take, knowing that without your actual most loyal fans you're nothing.

 

[Dinoman96]

Like I said before...the upcoming industry consolidation may very well be the real reason "Everyone is Here" never happens again.

Sometimes it kinda feels like the era of the major third party publisher is coming to an end. And all Nintendo will have left are just their own IPs and smaller indie devs.

 

[Gengar84]

Like I said before...the upcoming industry consolidation may very well be the real reason "Everyone is Here" never happens again.

Sometimes it kinda feels like the era of the major third party publisher is coming to an end. And all Nintendo will have left are just their own IPs and smaller indie devs.

I could be wrong but I’m under the impression that Microsoft wouldn’t mind sharing their games with Nintendo since they seem to be on good terms. It’s Sony that doesn’t want to share with others. That’s why, despite being an almost exclusively Nintendo and Sony gamer my whole life, I’m actually hoping Sony doesn’t get anything I care about.

 

[Diddy Kong]

On a related note, I just had a weird thought. Microsoft could theoretically make their own Smash game and Sakurai could still direct it. He’s not officially a part of Nintendo anymore so I don’t think anything is stopping him. Namco could still do most of the work so they could keep the whole Ultimate team even if it wasn’t a Nintendo game. That would be really interesting to see but I don’t expect it at all.

This is more or less what I do expect to happen. The more big namesakes Sony owns, the more a potential crossover as Smash but with their own characters would sell. The fact Sakurai has plenty of experience with Smash makes him a prime candidate, nobody else could rival Smash but him.

So yeah, all the focus on third party characters in Ultimate is fun and nice to most, but I always saw this as a major problem for the future. Sony and Microsoft have a lot of resources, it's not impossible for them to copy the whole concept of Smash, replace core Nintendo characters with their own, and honestly ... I could see Nintendo loan out a few characters down the road if offered enough.

In a way, maybe this overextension of third parties in Smash is the beginning of Smash digging its own grave.

 

[DarthEnderX]

Even then, having Sonic or Castlevania or Rayman be exclusive to either PlayStation or Xbox? Just feels weird man. I don’t like it.

It's why, given the choice, I'll always prefer Microsoft buys someone. Because then at least it'll also be on PC.

 

[Stratos]

Microsoft as we all know in 2001 tried to acquire Nintendo. Nintendo to be bought out by someone? Never, never, never, never, 1000000 times never!

 

[chocolatejr9]

Microsoft as we all know in 2001 tried to acquire Nintendo. Nintendo to be bought out by someone? Never, never, never, never, 1000000 times never!

Tell that to the people saying Sony's gonna buy them...

 

[Stratos]

If Nintendo was acquired by others it might have lost its publicity and this is something that we Nintendo fans do not want to happen.

 

[Sucumbio]

Tell that to the people saying Sony's gonna buy them...

I would say these people have no clue what they're talking about...

To start off with, they couldn't afford it lol.

Sony Interactive Entertainment
Operating income: US$25 billion (FY 2020)

Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Total Assets: US$21.334 billion (FY 2021)

Unless they plan on leaving only 16% of their operations in the green which ... is dumb.

Now they could borrow 20 billion with the promise to investors that they'd not flush Nintendo's IPs down the toilet and continue to make legendary titles like BoTW, etc. But let's be real no one at Nintendo would ever give up their beloved Franchises like that. The whole idea is frankly nonsense.

 

[GilTheGreat19]

Inb4 a company that got reps in Ultimate is acquired by Sony e.g Square Enix
thats one way to get Sony reps LOL

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

From what my understanding is, mergers/acquisitions of other companies is a lot trickier to do in Japan, exponentially so if you're a non-native company trying to buy a Japanese one.

The tricky element with Sony buying Capcom is that a decent portion of the latter company's value would come from Japanese sales, and the former is struggling to make any headway against Nintendo in that market. Getting Western developers/publishers is one thing, given that Sony is still pretty strong in the US/Europe and can take immediate advantage via AAA series that would now become big exclusive sellers even if they didn't make that much of a dent back home.

As far as Konami? What has to be understood is that the meme about them abandoning video game games to chase Pachinko isn't really true anymore (and arguably wasn't that much to begin with). They've been remarkably profitable in the last five years and are making a decent amount of games. It's just that they've more or less given AAA projects in favor of more modest mid-level series like Momotaro Dentetsu, Bomberman R, & licensed releases like Yu-Gi-Oh. Heck Master Duel was a multi-platform title that's done huge numbers and likely with much less overhead than another big Silent Hill or Metal Gear title would. They've got beloved IP's certainly, but even if Sony could get past the difficulty in purchasing them, it would take years to really capitalize on the older franchises given that Konami's current development infrastructure is about as far away from the AAA gaming scene (that Sony is focused on) that a company could be.

 

[Chuderz]

I mean it's not impossible (I hope) for Nintendo to build a bridge with Sony in regards to Smash. I don't see why not? I guess it depends on what Sony thinks is best for them. Should they take all the IP they potentially gobble up and try to make their own Smash that they'd previously failed at establishing but give it even more dedicated resources OR sacrifice a sizable portion of those unguaranteed profits in favor of guaranteed profits by letting Nintendo do all that for them and potentially be able to leverage Nintendo into using their platform to advertise Sony's games to Nintendo's audience by introducing characters such as Kratos and Aloy? I think the latter is not only path of least resistance and investment but just wiser business strategy. Sony doesn't need to compete in the platform fighter market. Not only have they previously failed at it but also the entry-level into the market looks nearly insurmountable in the face of Smash at least as far as video game characters are concerned. I feel like it'd make so much more sense to want to cross Nintendo's bridge into the market rather than try to build your own.

That’s one of my biggest problems with Nintendo. I was really into the modding scene in Brawl and had a ton of fun with the modding community and making a ton of mods of my own. I fell off after Brawl because of Nintendo’s stance against modding and fear of getting my console banned. I was never very tech savvy and leaned a lot more on the artistic side so I’m not confident I would do everything correctly to avoid getting banned. I bought the game and all the DLC so I really wish Nintendo wasn’t so hostile towards the modding community. As long as you aren’t pirating the game, I don’t see why it’s such a problem. I would love to get back into modding if Nintendo ever changes their stance.

From my perspective being pro-mods and pro-emulation is synonymous with being pro-video-games as an artistic medium. To be against it is not only a disservice to the creativity of the modding community but also the interests and imagination of the consumers and the development of future talent. I'm a fan of all reappropriating methodologies whether it's film re-edits, remixes, memes, mashups, covers, and abridging as well. I think creative culture depends on this principle to hell with antiquated business models that feel entitled to special legal protection. This attitude drags the arts down as a whole and needs to be more directly challenged by various fandoms collectively standing together in solidarity against these restrictive practices.

 

[Simnm]

I know the "infinite" is hyperbole but 2 of the smaller ones I mentioned are in it deep with Nintendo already.

I don't understand why the idea of this being a myth has anything to do with what I said. Nintendo is kind of slow productively in general is what I'm saying. Their in-house division just isn't really enough. That's subjective of course but I've been a Switch owner since 2017. No year has topped the release year and that's just bad. Since then if you didn't like the major in-house Nintendo release of that year you were basically **** out of luck or had to settle for a smaller offering from them. While 2022 is finally looking to top 2017 that's just waaaaaaay too slow for a company that wants you to buy their hardware to play their games.

Additionally I don't really buy into the idea that studios wouldn't be eager to want to work on Nintendo's stuff. The IP is beloved, basically is guaranteed to not only sell but rarely go on sale which retains its value longer.

I'm also not attesting to whether it's a great thing for gamers or the industry or cultural space. I'm saying that I think it'd be good for Nintendo to have a larger productive capacity for the series like F-Zero and Golden Sun. Golden Sun for example can't be done because Camelot is too preoccupied with Mario Sports titles. Maybe SEGA could take on some of that burden to free them up for one last-ditch effort for the franchise? Or at the very least give Camelot of a chance at doing something else entirely whether that's a new IP or a pre-established one. SEGA certainly have experience doing Mario sports with the Olympic-themed games they did with Mario and Sonic crew and on top of that experience SEGA did the last F-Zero game on home consoles as well.

I think it'd be a great fit but I'd back up those modded Sonic games though. That modding community is an absolute treasure and I would be saddened to know Nintendo would most definitely be much more hostile to them. To address those issues though some legislation protecting the rights of emulation and modding needs to pass someday around the world. We shouldn't be looking at the issue in such a way that we just submit to the IP owner because it's not who buys who it's that's the problem it's how we view intellectual property itself as being belonging solely to the rights holder and not making equal space for the consumers to share in it that's the problem. It shouldn't be up to Nintendo or any IP owner. If you can't keep up with the community putting in the work for free then that's a condemnation of your business model and practices not the morality of the modders. They aren't thieves they're artists.

I dont see anything wrong with being against modding i mean especially if your game system isnt meant to be modded and that modding can be used to cheat online

 

[Perkilator]

I’ve got Project X Zone on the mind; I’ve been thinking Reiji & Xiaomu should be in Smash. How would you guys feel if they were CP1 instead of Joker?

 

[DarthEnderX]

God, I just want a Nintendo Capcom merger SO much...

 

[chocolatejr9]

God, I just want a Nintendo Capcom merger SO much...

For what it's worth, I think that's more likely than Sony buying them.

 

[Guynamednelson]

I dont see anything wrong with being against modding i mean especially if your game system isnt meant to be modded and that modding can be used to cheat online

For one thing, modding can help people get into game development, and several popular games and genres were derived from mods. Valve is a good example of this, with CSGO, TF2, and Dota 2 all being sequels of mods.

 

[Megadoomer]

This is more or less what I do expect to happen. The more big namesakes Sony owns, the more a potential crossover as Smash but with their own characters would sell. The fact Sakurai has plenty of experience with Smash makes him a prime candidate, nobody else could rival Smash but him.

So yeah, all the focus on third party characters in Ultimate is fun and nice to most, but I always saw this as a major problem for the future. Sony and Microsoft have a lot of resources, it's not impossible for them to copy the whole concept of Smash, replace core Nintendo characters with their own, and honestly ... I could see Nintendo loan out a few characters down the road if offered enough.

In a way, maybe this overextension of third parties in Smash is the beginning of Smash digging its own grave.

This seems like an over-the-top version of the idea that Smash needs to remove all third party characters and go back to being purely Nintendo. Including more third party characters in Smash is "the beginning of Smash digging its own grave"?

Not helping matters is how some people seem to be reading way too deeply into something Jeff Grubb said on a podcast. (at least, from the little context that I've gotten for it) "It takes two to tango" is a common phrase - it seems unlikely that it was specifically a reference to an achievement in Resident Evil 5 from well over a decade ago (2009), and therefore an elaborate hint that Sony is going to buy out Capcom. The doom and gloom surrounding that concept is like "the chairs in a Nintendo Direct are a reference to the Skull Kid's fairies, so the Skull Kid from Majora's Mask is going to be playable in Smash Ultimate" levels of reaching.

The only big franchise that Sony got out of this deal is Destiny - somehow, I doubt that the inclusion of Destiny content would tip the balance towards a hypothetical Playstation All Stars 2 being good.

 

[Chuderz]

I dont see anything wrong with being against modding i mean especially if your game system isnt meant to be modded and that modding can be used to cheat online

I think "meant" is a loaded word in this instance because it relies on the default perspective being the one most favorable to the current status quo of prioritizing corporate interests above consumer interests. Secondly a mod used to cheat in competitive play is far away from the entire scope of modding as a practice and I think you know that as well I do and even then there could simply be an unranked playlist for modded competitive play as an easy workaround solution. These could even be used as a potential platform to advocate for buffs in a serious way by demonstrating their application as either a necessity and/or fair.

I see it as wrong to support limiting peoples' creativity fullstop. It's an attitude that's a detriment to the medium because this will be severely limiting the potential of the technology by restricting its application. It's nonsense that only egregiously bends the entire gaming community to serve fewer parties rather than serving the community as a whole.

 

[SPEN18]

This is more or less what I do expect to happen. The more big namesakes Sony owns, the more a potential crossover as Smash but with their own characters would sell. The fact Sakurai has plenty of experience with Smash makes him a prime candidate, nobody else could rival Smash but him.

So yeah, all the focus on third party characters in Ultimate is fun and nice to most, but I always saw this as a major problem for the future. Sony and Microsoft have a lot of resources, it's not impossible for them to copy the whole concept of Smash, replace core Nintendo characters with their own, and honestly ... I could see Nintendo loan out a few characters down the road if offered enough.

In a way, maybe this overextension of third parties in Smash is the beginning of Smash digging its own grave.

As much as I agree that third parties are "overextended" in Smash, as you say, I don't see how that relates to the potential for Sony and/or Microsoft making a Smash-type game. Couldn't they do that even if Smash stayed fully first party? The problem is that such a game would evidently require some truly novel and successful gameplay innovations along with extremely high quality of design in order to avoid looking like a heartless cash grab or a Smash knockoff.

--

And with all the reported burnout Sakurai has had over the years working on Smash, I don't see him jumping on with another company to do a similarly intensive project any sooner than he would agree to make another Smash. Sakurai, official affiliation or no, also has working relationships with the Nintendo high-ups, and I don't think that him working on a Smash-type game for another big-time company would go over well with them.

 

[PeridotGX]

Considering Sony is shooting themselves in the foot in the long term by porting some of their Game to PC, Sony might be OK with a character of theirs being in Smash. It's advertising and damn good PR at the same time. Nintendo might be the holdout - they might not want to blatantly promote the PlayStation ecosystem. Then again, we have Joker already doing that so who knows.

 

[Simnm]

I think "meant" is a loaded word in this instance because it relies on the default perspective being the one most favorable to the current status quo of prioritizing corporate interests above consumer interests. Secondly a mod used to cheat in competitive play is far away from the entire scope of modding as a practice and I think you know that as well I do and even then there could simply be an unranked playlist for modded competitive play as an easy workaround solution. These could even be used as a potential platform to advocate for buffs in a serious way by demonstrating their application as either a necessity and/or fair.

I see it as wrong to support limiting peoples' creativity fullstop. It's an attitude that's a detriment to the medium because this will be severely limiting the potential of the technology by restricting its application. It's nonsense that only egregiously bends the entire gaming community to serve fewer parties rather than serving the community as a whole.

Why would there be an unranked competitive mode if no one would use such a mode other than modders which companies do not want because modded consoles are harder to regulate as it can be used to pirate games and such

I think you are overestimating how much the consumer base cares for mods
most consumers dont know how to mod

 

[Ivander]

God, I just want a Nintendo Capcom merger SO much...

For what it's worth, I think that's more likely than Sony buying them.

While I don't necessarily want a merger or buy, since I want Capcom to remain independent, if I had to choose which company Capcom would be a part of, Nintendo would be the preferred choice.

That said, hopefully Capcom is safe from the pickings right now. Capcom is a big name across all three consoles and their fans, Capcom has a good relationship with all of their makers and I feel Capcom is best being independent rather than sticking to one console.

 

[Chuderz]

Why would there be an unranked competitive mode if no one would use such a mode other than modders which companies do not want because modded consoles are harder to regulate as it can be used to pirate games and such

Combatting piracy and being pro-mod are completely separate issues here. To combat piracy you need to offer a substantial streaming service and design anti-piracy measures into your game. I'm not pro-piracy but I am in favor utilizing better technology that delivers games just as conveniently as it does. At the end of the day I don't care what the company themselves want because I know they'll compete in the space for the money regardless of how easy or difficult it is made for them.

Maybe people could potentially share their mods in the same way they share a Mii-costume in Smash right now? IDK but what I do know is that whatever form it takes is a valid and necessary expression of the tech. Giving creatives space to work is what pushes the medium forward, not protecting IP owners' profit margins. They're not entitled to profits and they shouldn't be accustomed to receiving for purposefully minimal innovative practices such as the Pokemon franchise for a glaring example of this.

There is no better competition than the community. If you can't or refuse to keep pace with them you should get left behind by their superior application of your game.

I think you are overestimating how much the consumer base cares for mods
most consumers dont know how to mod

I think you're conflating separate issues to argue your side. Mods aren't given the mainstream attention official releases are. Secondly it's becoming easier and easier to mod as time goes and their accessibility is also on the rise. Finally I consider game-mods to be a part of a greater reappropriating creative tradition and those other disciplines are very well received and some are even mainstream such as remixes and covers. Can you imagine where music would be without that? Pitiful and needless narrow in scope. The reason they're permitted is that it was easier to monetize those reappropriation disciplines for the rights holder. The same could be said for game-mods but companies are either too greedy, too narrow-minded or both to understand how to do that.

 

[osby]

Sakurai pretty much went and said, "go buy an Xbox to play his game" when presenting Banjo and we have so many PS-focused characters in Smash that it became a meme.

I think some people are grossly overstating how much the nonexistent console wars affect Smash.

 

[Al-kīmiyā']

I dont see anything wrong with being against modding i mean especially if your game system isnt meant to be modded and that modding can be used to cheat online

It might be in some companies' self-interest to fight some modding, but why should consumers care so much about a few percent in a company's bottom line?

 

[Simnm]

Combatting piracy and being pro-mod are completely separate issues here. To combat piracy you need to offer a substantial streaming service and design anti-piracy measures into your game. I'm not pro-piracy but I am in favor utilizing better technology that delivers games just as conveniently as it does. At the end of the day I don't care what the company themselves want because I know they'll compete in the space for the money regardless of how easy or difficult it is made for them.

Maybe people could potentially share their mods in the same way they share a Mii-costume in Smash right now? IDK but what I do know is that whatever form it takes is a valid and necessary expression of the tech. Giving creatives space to work is what pushes the medium forward, not protecting IP owners' profit margins. They're not entitled to profits and they shouldn't be accustomed to receiving for purposefully minimal innovative practices such as the Pokemon franchise for a glaring example of this.

There is no better competition than the community. If you can't or refuse to keep pace with them you should get left behind by their superior application of your game.


I think you're conflating separate issues to argue your side. Mods aren't given the mainstream attention official releases are. Secondly it's becoming easier and easier to mod as time goes and their accessibility is also on the rise. Finally I consider game-mods to be a part of a greater reappropriating creative tradition and those other disciplines are very well received and some are even mainstream such as remixes and covers. Can you imagine where music would be without that? Pitiful and needless narrow in scope. The reason they're permitted is that it was easier to monetize those reappropriation disciplines for the rights holder. The same could be said for game-mods but companies are either too greedy, too narrow-minded or both to understand how to do that.

Mods are still extremely hard to use as they quite an extensive knowledge on coding
Thats why not alot of companies make it their main priority to embrace mods

The issue is that modding consoles makes it much more easier to pirate games

Another issue is that theres nothing to prevent a person from modding to give them a advantage in ranked competitive play

 

[dream1ng]

If Nintendo is intent on getting a third-party back next time that Microsoft acquires, I think they'd be able to do it. Unless MS somehow does a complete heel turn.

If Nintendo is intent on getting a third-party back next time that Sony acquires... well there's always Ultimate.

 

[Simnm]

If Nintendo is intent on getting a third-party back next time that Microsoft acquires, I think they'd be able to do it. Unless MS somehow does a complete heel turn.

If Nintendo is intent on getting a third-party back next time that Sony acquires... well there's always Ultimate.

I actually do think that if sony bought a third party present in ultimate i still do think that they can still get that third party back in the next game since sony like microsoft wouldnt want to make everything interfere with the companies relation to any other company

 

[GilTheGreat19]

I actually do think that if sony bought a third party present in ultimate i still do think that they can still get that third party back in the next game since sony like microsoft wouldnt want to make everything interfere with the companies relation to any other company

I'm learning towards agreeing with this, I really don't see how Sony could be stingy about this if it happens.

 

[Chuderz]

Mods are still extremely hard to use as they quite an extensive knowledge on coding
Thats why not alot of companies make it their main priority to embrace mods

I think that these hurdles might become less burdensome as time marches on as they've already have. I'm just presuming the future of mod accessibility on a precedent that they've already become easier to use than they were in decades past. I think it's an unfair summary when considering that the modding community have been routinely antagonized making their so-called inaccessibility a byproduct of their lack of access to mainstream avenues of implementation.

The issue is that modding consoles makes it much more easier to pirate games

But the easiest platform to pirate games is the PC you and I both using right now and yet Steam still exists along with a host of other services similar to it. Steam and Epic themselves official platforms and assists the creation of mods. PC gaming is on the rise. This will increase accessibility.

Another issue is that theres nothing to prevent a person from modding to give them a advantage in ranked competitive play

Other than getting banned I guess. We deal with that already though so supporting antagonistic behavior from corporate companies like Nintendo does nothing in this regard so why would it be a reason to not support modding communities? It's really not a good reason and seems more like a flimsy justification.

 

[Gengar84]

I fully support modding in video games as long as it’s free. The one aspect that I have an issue with is that some people are charging money for their mods these days, often up to $500 per mod. That’s a line that I don’t think should be crossed. It’s my belief that you shouldn’t be able to profit off of someone else’s work but it seems like I’m in the minority with that opinion from who I’ve spoken to.

 

[RileyXY1]

I do think that with all these acquisitions the next Smash might be forced to go the Nintendo vs. XBOX route as a lot of the major third party publishers would be acquired by Sony and Microsoft, leaving only the console manufacturers and smaller indie devs.

 

[Gengar84]

I do think that with all these acquisitions the next Smash might be forced to go the Nintendo vs. XBOX route as a lot of the major third party publishers would be acquired by Sony and Microsoft, leaving only the console manufacturers and smaller indie devs.

I think that would be a really interesting game. I’d really miss a lot of current third party characters but if it means I could get Illidan, Kerrigan, the Battletoads, and Fulgore all in one Smash game, I’d be willing to make that trade. I don’t have the highest hopes that my favorite third party characters will stay anyway so if I’m losing them regardless, this would be a fun alternative. If they did end up going this route, they could even release the game on both the new Nintendo console and X-Box. That would be really cool to see.