Official Smash Ultimate Discussion

[Opossum]

>Oh uh, Sakurai says about newcomers reveal being slown down that means that we're getting 2 more newcomers/box theory was correct!

Guys, Sakurai's recent comments DO not mean anything that makes box theory as look more correct, It's more of like slowing down newcomer reveals and less confirming counting of remaining newcomers. Remember Smash Direct back in August? We got 5 newcomers from that, and should we expect next smash direct, we would get like, few than 5 newcomers but more than 2 newcomers. And everytime that everyone thought they got Sakurai's pattern in right way, He would throw unexpecting news at us in the return. So it's nothing better than bowing to overlord that is Box Theory.

He outright said the newcomer blowout may have been too much too early, and they're changing that now. The game releases in about 70 days. There likely won't be a general Nintendo Direct until late December or early January. There's room for maybe one more reveal set, and Sakurai is outright saying not to expect much.

Expecting more than two, maybe three new characters for the base roster, including echoes, is asking for disappointment.

 

[P.Kat]

As do I.

Could the Blog Posts be more? Absolutely, but they're fine considering we get huge info dumps.

Count me in, I like the blog posts too.

 

[Diddy Kong]

This game comes out in 2 months.
We aren't having 3 more directs. 1 is very likely, and possibly another 50 fact extravaganza type thing since that went down very well last time.
Honestly if you aren't lowering expectations by now you should be. Don't get upset if everything sakurai said comes true just because some people tried to twist it in another way.

Okay, true. But that one Direct can still have more than 2 new characters in it. Especially considering Echoes. It's indeed best to lower expectations, but right now everything is a little TOO bleak.

 

[pupNapoleon]

I'd cut Corrin in an instant for Geno

We have four versions of Marth, and you would cut Corrin? What the hell?

 

[Darkurai]

SourceGaming has their own translation of the statement that clarifies it a bit.

https://twitter.com/AllSourceGaming/status/1044970268450385920

Sakurai states,“...That said, if you were thinking that we’d just be dropping a bunch of newcomer trailers all the way up until release, you’d be sorely mistaken. We may have gone a little bit overboard up until now, so we’re going to slow our pace for a bit.”

 

[Opossum]

SourceGaming has their own translation of the statement that clarifies it a bit.

https://twitter.com/AllSourceGaming/status/1044970268450385920

"Up until now" gave me Brawl flashbacks for a second.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

SourceGaming has their own translation of the statement that clarifies it a bit.

https://twitter.com/AllSourceGaming/status/1044970268450385920

I'm most interested in the part concerning Isabelle (and I'd like to find out whether or not she was selected from the ballot).

 

[Captain Fun]

It's probably not a good idea to pick apart the exact wording of a translation.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

"While Isabelle was indeed based on Villager, they decided not to make her an echo fighter as they have a lot of differences in body type, and personality. Their motions are very different so they couldn’t be based on each other. "

 

[pupNapoleon]

This isn't PR speak., its an admittance of a mistake.

Admittance of mistake is classic PR speak...
even if you want to take it at face value, with which I can agree to do, this entire conversation with the public is de facto 'PR speak.'
There is nothing less substantial about debating it as there is the box theory. Just less objectivity.

 

[NintenZ]

Considering how little time there is between now and release, in addition to Sakurai saying how character reveals specifically will slow down, I truly think we're only getting Ken and either Incineroar or the SE character for the base game, with the other being an early DLC character.

I think he was more referring to how relatively frequent reveals were happening from August to September, and likely wants things to be more spread out as a result for the last few months.

Again, I just feel like people are looking a bit too broad at this statement which, for the most part, is relatively ambiguous in it's intent.

 

[Pakky]

SourceGaming has their own translation of the statement that clarifies it a bit.

https://twitter.com/AllSourceGaming/status/1044970268450385920

So that means they'll just slow up on the content it doesn't confirm anything.

 

[pupNapoleon]

I think he was more referring to how relatively frequent reveals were happening from August to September, and likely wants things to be more spread out as a result for the last few months.

Again, I just feel like people are looking a bit too broad at this statement which, for the most part, is relatively ambiguous in it's intent.

Spread out..... we have two months left. The only way they could be less spread out is to have two and not one.
We have only gotten one direct with reveals each month... and while it is possible we only have one left instead of two, it really isnt a huge difference, and doesnt make too much sense regarding marketing.

I don't personally feel this was a 'mistake,' or an oversight, I believe it was all planned out. It's literally mapped out by numbers.
I think Sakurai is aware there are absurd leaks that have something of 17 characters in it. He is a man who uses understatement to his advantage to build hype. We see this in possibly every chance he speaks. He understates himself and frames the work as the star. I dont see this statement as anything but what we have already seen of him. 'Don't get too hyped until I tell you.'


EDIT:
I am not going to claim to be an expert in marketing, but I do work alongside some of the biggest names in LGTBQ branding. We dont seem to have many people on these forums who approach what is stated and given from that marketing and advertising perspective, but when I take my own desires out of the equation (which has been much easier since Sm4sh), I tend to think I do.

There is little to be gained by frontloading content. Smash bros tends to keep a steady trail of content, as per the last two releases anyway, and I think that we have such in store, with a final blowout consisting in part of characters, but mostly gameplay and features.
We arent getting less than we have gotten. There is no monetarily feasible way that is possible.
Just dont expect it to quadruple.

 

[Pakky]

Spread out..... we have two months left. The only way they could be less spread out is to have two and not one.
We have only gotten one direct with reveals each month... and while it is possible we only have one left instead of two, it really isnt a huge difference, and doesnt make too much sense regarding marketing.

I don't personally feel this was a 'mistake,' or an oversight, I believe it was all planned out. It's literally mapped out by numbers.
I think Sakurai is aware there are absurd leaks that have something of 17 characters in it. He is a man who uses understatement to his advantage to build hype. We see this in possibly every chance he speaks. He understates himself and frames the work as the star. I dont see this statement as anything but what we have already seen of him. 'Don't get too hyped until I tell you.'

Nicely put I agree.

 

[Opossum]

"While Isabelle was indeed based on Villager, they decided not to make her an echo fighter as they have a lot of differences in body type, and personality. Their motions are very different so they couldn’t be based on each other. "

I'd been saying she wouldn't work well as an echo ever since the reveal of echoes for pretty much this exact reason lol.

It's also why I get kind of miffed when people shoehorn certain characters as echoes when they'd play nothing alike. Looking at you, Robin/Celica.

 

[pupNapoleon]

Nicely put I agree.

Again, the most logical arguments I have ever heard for Smash, are the ones which frame it from the perspective that it is a business- Nintendo wants to make money, and specifically for Smash, it is a launching point for their other features (such as Amiibo or Online services).
If a logical argument does not take this into account, I dont consider it logical.

 

[Deleted member]

Honestly, I think Sakurai saying they're "slowing down the pace a bit" is because they want to focus on actually getting the game finished and out on the actual release date. I can't think of a Smash game where it hasn't been delayed, so it's probably better to focus on hitting that holiday time frame instead of focusing on reveals for a bit. I'm sure we all wanna play this on Christmas, right?

 

[pupNapoleon]

Honestly, I think Sakurai saying they're "slowing down the pace a bit" is because they want to focus on actually getting the game finished and out on the actual release date. I can't think of a Smash game where it hasn't been delayed, so it's probably better to focus on hitting that holiday time frame instead of focusing on reveals for a bit. I'm sure we all wanna play this on Christmas, right?

It doesnt actually matter. If it is coming out after black Friday, it might as well have been the big January game.
I dont say this because I dont want the game tomorrow, I say this because there is less to be gained from releasing it after the biggest sales date in the world. (Yes... America centric sure... but we are the biggest gluttons for product, of which our biggest export is media and entertainment).

 

[staindgrey]

It's also why I get kind of miffed when people shoehorn certain characters as echoes when they'd play nothing alike. Looking at you, Robin/Celica.

Robin's gameplay revolves entirely around the concept of weapon durability from Awakening.
Gaiden/Echoes specifically don't have weapon durability.

C'mon Smashboards. This was an easy one.

 

[Michele]

"Smash is a thoroughly strange game. It’s chaos. The things we look for in a character or stage change by the minute. Cool things must be cooler. Cute things must be cuter. But we also have to get rid of the incongruous feeling of these two types of things coexisting."

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Honestly, I think Sakurai saying they're "slowing down the pace a bit" is because they want to focus on actually getting the game finished and out on the actual release date. I can't think of a Smash game where it hasn't been delayed, so it's probably better to focus on hitting that holiday time frame instead of focusing on reveals for a bit. I'm sure we all wanna play this on Christmas, right?

I doubt it, game should go gold in a month and a half at tops

 

[Pyra]

I can't think of a Smash game where it hasn't been delayed,

Was Smash 4 delayed?

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Was Smash 4 delayed?

3DS version was delayed for like 2 months iirc

 

[SlickWylde]

Honestly, I think Sakurai saying they're "slowing down the pace a bit" is because they want to focus on actually getting the game finished and out on the actual release date. I can't think of a Smash game where it hasn't been delayed, so it's probably better to focus on hitting that holiday time frame instead of focusing on reveals for a bit. I'm sure we all wanna play this on Christmas, right?

Were SSB64 and SSBM delayed? I thought only SSBB was delayed.

 

[Michele]

3DS version was delayed for like 2 months iirc

Wait what? Never heard of the 3DS version being delayed. I mean it did come before the Wii U version but does this means it was to be in July/August?

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Wait what? Never heard of the 3DS version being delayed. I mean it did come before the Wii U version but does this means it was to be in July/August?

It was initially planned for a summer release (You can watch the first Smash direct) and at E3 they confirmed an August release.

 

[Pyra]

3DS version was delayed for like 2 months iirc

Huh. For some reason I totally don't remember that.
Neat

 

[Darkurai]

Honestly, I think Sakurai saying they're "slowing down the pace a bit" is because they want to focus on actually getting the game finished and out on the actual release date. I can't think of a Smash game where it hasn't been delayed, so it's probably better to focus on hitting that holiday time frame instead of focusing on reveals for a bit. I'm sure we all wanna play this on Christmas, right?

The people putting together the marketing are absolutely not the same people working on the game. Programmers don't make CG trailers.

 

[Deleted member]

Was Smash 4 delayed?

Smash 3DS was moved from "Summer 2018" to October and later months for any other countries. Japan got it in September, though, so there might've been different marketing over there, but I vividly remember the U.S. date being delayed.

It doesnt actually matter. If it is coming out after black Friday, it might as well have been the big January game.
I dont say this because I dont want the game tomorrow, I say this because there is less to be gained from releasing it after the biggest sales date in the world. (Yes... America centric sure... but we are the biggest gluttons for product, of which our biggest export is media and entertainment).

Pssh, the date is already close to Cyber Tuesday, Black Friday, Kwanzaa Wednesday or whatever day that makes the money in November, pre-orders and sales will skyrocket like crazy during those days.

 

[Pyra]

It was initially planned for a summer release (You can watch the first Smash direct) and at E3 they confirmed an August release.

Isn't August still part of the Summer, though?

Smash 3DS was moved from "Summer 2018" to October and later months for any other countries. Japan got it in September, though, so there might've been different marketing over there, but I vividly remember the U.S. date being delayed.

Oh, October. Okay.

 

[Fane]

The people putting together the marketing are absolutely not the same people working on the game. Programmers don't make CG trailers.

He did say they had a small group working on the game iirc though.

 

[Darkurai]

He did say they had a small group working on the game iirc though.

So? It doesn't matter how big your team is. Computer science majors don't do marketing.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Smash 3DS was moved from "Summer 2018" to October and later months for any other countries. Japan got it in September, though, so there might've been different marketing over there, but I vividly remember the U.S. date being delayed.



Pssh, the date is already close to Cyber Tuesday, Black Friday, Kwanzaa Wednesday or whatever day that makes the money in November, pre-orders and sales will skyrocket like crazy during those days.

Huh, my bad.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if we knew everything at the end of next month because then they can just bombard people with marketing for those days

 

[Kotor]

"While Isabelle was indeed based on Villager, they decided not to make her an echo fighter as they have a lot of differences in body type, and personality. Their motions are very different so they couldn’t be based on each other. "

This is my main issue when people just slap Echo Fighter on Malos simply because he uses a Monado like Shulk. A trait all Echo Fighters have is that body type is almost identical to the character they're based on. Malos doesn't have that with Shulk.

Granted, I'm comparing Malos's height to XC2's Shulk. A better comparison would probably be with Malos and Shulk's Smash model, but I don't have the means to grab the models and play with them. However, Malos should tower over Shulk.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

Here is the full interview. I guess there is nothing about the ballot.

 

[Deleted member]

Isn't August still part of the Summer, though?

Oh, October. Okay.

To be fair, I don't blame you since Smash 4's release schedule was ****ing godawful. South Korea practically got Smash 3DS almost a full year after Japan got the game, we got Smash Wii U first on November but Japan were the last people to get it in December... Even if the Wii U sold terribly, the release dates for these countries is just outright confusing, especially the South Korean Smash 3DS release date.

 

[MrSmashFour]

Isn't August still part of the Summer, though?

Yes, that's his point. They announced August at E3, but the game didn't come out till October.

 

[Untouch]

And we should be finishing up development soon…I hope!

Yeah a delay is very unlikely at this stage.

 

[staindgrey]

To be fair, I don't blame you since Smash 4's release schedule was ****ing godawful. South Korea practically got Smash 3DS almost a full year after Japan got the game, we got Smash Wii U first on November but Japan were the last people to get it in December... Even if the Wii U sold terribly, the release dates for these countries is just outright confusing, especially the South Korean Smash 3DS release date.

I think that's why they made a point of announcing an international release date at E3. As well as simply waiting to announce the game's existence until they knew they could meet such a release date.

 

[Pyra]

Yes, that's his point. They announced August at E3, but the game didn't come out till October.

Yeaaah. I misunderstood.
On my lunch break at work so I don't remember much to begin with from that period of time right now haha