I know third-parties constantly defy expectation, but if Master Chief is the least out-there choice, this isn't a paradigm I'd imagine encountering any time soon.
He's literally the only gaming icon left not in Smash that has a huge gaming history that has no Nintendo appearances. It fits the criteria you mentioned, after all. Nobody else can apply otherwise.
Of course it's not a matter of, "well you're on the platform, have a character in Smash". I don't think anyone would argue that. But in this case I just don't see the volition coming from Nintendo if the game isn't going to arrive on the platform. Overwatch is super popular and all, but it's not like any character has reached legendary status or the requests are impossible to ignore. I know what the requirements are, but just because I suppose it could happen doesn't mean I believe it will by any stretch. I wouldn't even consider it likely if Overwatch did come to the platform. Though I do think it'd be likelier.
It wouldn't matter any if it got a Nintendo port. All that matters, if it's not a ballot pick specifically, is that they're a gaming icon. Which is not the case here. FYI, Dragonborn would be more likely than Master Chief, but he no longer fits the criteria of "no Nintendo appearances", which was a fairly strict point you were making, as you wanted an example. And only one could be a legit one, since there's only one gaming icon with zero Nintendo appearances coming up at all, or had one.
For that matter, of course suddenly getting a game on Nintendo is irrelevant. It didn't change Steve?'s chances either. His chances were pretty high, but the only real factor was the Microsoft being a competitor. And that's... it.
And I think Shovel Knight stands a much greater chance at inclusion, but the Overwatch cast, at least those constantly in the spotlight like Tracer, are much more well-known, recognizable characters overall. Overwatch is huge, while Shovel Knight is huge for an indie. However, Shovel Knight has a lot more relevance to Nintendo and resulting Smash demand... so yeah. In a Smash context, he's more relevent.
His relevance to Nintendo has nothing to do with it. If it did, he'd have been thrown in as DLC, despite no Japanese appearances. What matters is how big of an Indie he is and how huge he's gotten very quickly. It's not a fad either, which is a key point for 3rd party icons.
I never said anything to the contrary. Though I suspect a relevance to Nintendo is still going to be a boon for a character's chances.
Cloud isn't relevant to Nintendo, though. Having a tiny role in a game doesn't make one relevant. None of his Nintendo appearances are important. He's just there.
Maybe I didn't make it clear enough; Having a Nintendo appearance isn't a rule, guideline, or requirement. It's a bonus that can potentially help, but only because it falls better under the "people would want to use the character" factor better than a non-Nintendo character potentially could.
The fact they all had Nintendo appearances isn't a big deal. Some had real Nintendo history. One other had a few cameos.
Not entirely true. We don't know the extent of what Final Fantasy content could have been in Smash Bros since DLC characters were limited in content. Had
made the vanilla roster we would have seen a whole lot more content in terms of trophies, music, and AT from their series. If they return they will definitely have all the above content I mentioned.
Also Chocobo was a Mii Costume and he's from Final Fantasy in general.
To be fair, it's as close to an animal mascot of the series itself. Also, the hat is based upon the Chocobos from the spin-off. My bad on what they were meant to represent. That said, the rest of the FF content is pure VII. Plus, Square-Enix's only costumes are from non-FF games. Chocobo Series is a spin-off, but not a FF game specifically. Geno is a Mario character. The only straight FF content is VII. I'm aware it has the symbol, but that's a series origin thing. Same reason for Geno being a Mario content. You get what I mean, though.
