I thought I saw that Wild Rift was coming on console after the mobile version was fully released. Still pretty odd scenario though I do agree.
It is strange, yes, but I can kinda see why. The mobile versions are presumably easier to dev for. That said, they are currently alpha testing the mobile versions in Brazil and Phillipines. From the streams, it looks reasonably close to a full-fledged LoL for being an alpha test.
OwO what's this
Chance: 1%
I'd give a higher score if it was actually confirmed that Wild Rift is coming to Switch, but until we know for sure, I can easily see them snubbing it, as if one console gets the short end of the stick it's the Switch.
The biggest clue IMHO is
Riot's job listings. This was October 2019, Sakurai did say that FP2 had been decided by the Byleth presentation (Jaunary 2020) so there is a grace period here:
After a look at the job section of the Riot Games website, we found multiple positions referencing Nintendo's beloved handheld system. There are two for senior software engineers (specifically for the new game Wild Rift) and various other jobs that mention the Nintendo Switch. The senior software engineer positions both desire:
Experience shipping cross platform console games (XBox, PS, Switch)
The software architect job at Riot's Platform group requires the following:
Experience and understanding with two or more of the following platforms: Microsoft Windows OS (desktop), iOS or Android OS (mobile), XB1, PS4, Nintendo Switch (console).
And other positions such as the quality assurance lead for the Riot Platform Group ask for similar qualifications:
Experience with one or more of the following platforms: Microsoft Windows OS. (desktop), iOS or Android OS (mobile), XB1, PS4, Nintendo Switch (console)
Currently they're looking for a senior software engineer for the backend tech.
As for the rating itself:
Ahri:
Chance: 25 %
High score, yes. While I'm not fully confident on a LoL character in Smash yet (This requires Nintendo and Tencent / Riot to agree to this) the possibility is there. Tencent being Nintendo's partner in China is one piece of the puzzle making this possible, yes. Nintendo has tried to break into China since the early 2000s (with the handheld N64 iQue) but never really got a strong official foothold. Consoles were banned there until 2014, and Nintendo's attempts to circumvent this accidentally made iQue (and its successors) seem like pirate stuff. The highest the iQue got was the GBA at
500K. Not much.
The Switch marked something of a turning point though - Nintendo noticed an uptick of interest in the Switch contra previous consoles (with Nintendo's estimates being
3 million Switches - most imported from JP etc. - by Jaunary this year). Nintendo thus decided to change tacts and partner with a Chinese company to release the Switch officially there (The Chinese government requires that because the regime's onerous). And Tencent were also looking to learn about the console business - their own reasons is a long story on its own. But suffice to say, both Nintendo and Tencent saw the partnership as a win / win. Tencent's only fully owned major IP is LoL -
if Nintendo and Tencent agreed on a character, it's... yeah.
Riot's piece of the puzzle is simpler - they've been looking to expand beyond just LoL. Something which became evident with Valorant, but Wild Rift and their other projects also play a part here. Riot also made a
Project M mod (that takes
dedication). So they would of course be open to the invitation if Nintendo asked.
Sakurai's the real question mark, but I have no doubts that he at least has heard of LoL given its huge presence for the last decade. And if Nintendo suggested a LoL character, I don't doubt that he'd be able to familiarize himself with the character and come up with a moveset.
LoL itself has managed to establish a major presence in a lot of regions. Not just China (with Hong Kong / Taiwan / Macau being traditionally a separate region): it along with South Korea, NA and EU are the game's traditional four hotbeds. More "minor" regions like Japan still get a slot in the annual World Championship, and evidently LoL has a presence in Japan (even if not huge). Yes, LoL is huge in China and it would be a major reason why I'd imagine, but China's not the only factor at play here. South Korea's also relatively close to Japan, another region where Nintendo has seen an uptick with the Switch, and arguably LoL's biggest hotbed. Considering the # of pros coming from South Korea.
While the Chinese player stats is (evidently, could be off here) kept to a third party app, Ahri's one of the more talked about champions there. The usual suspects within the NA / EU LoL fans are also - generally - popular there.
Ahri's prominence within LoL is not just through promotional material, her being popular within the fandom or her being one of the characters in both Wild Rift and the LoL fighting game project. She's also associated with several professional players - including the best, Faker. As such, she is a front runner if a LoL character was chosen for Smash.
Want: 70 %
My want score is partly tied to my years playing Dota 2 (LoL's "elder" sibling / rival.), so LoL's a "Gateway rep" for me. But I fully support a LoL character because of several reasons. Not just because it would be a megaton announcement (and thus increasing the number of people who grow up enjoying Nintendo stuff, just like we do). But also since I find Ahri and many other LoL champions genuienly interesting. The characters themselves are a genuine reason why, but I've also been interested in how they translate to Smash.
As far as Ahri herself goes, I've imagined her as an agressive Rosalina / Palutena mixture due to her Orb serving as a Luma-esque familiar of sorts and her general playstyle being aggresive a la Palu. I'm personally someone who prefers aggresive characters, so I'm favoring her.
Noms: Tidus x5
Preds: Auroros, Jyk and Poppant as ATs: 0.05%