Sakurai
mentioned it as they were considered but immediately dismissed along with James Bond due to the licensing issues, though referring to them as "obvious inclusions" is why I feel like, without the legal barriers mentioned, their inclusion would still be obvious, at least to me. Those legal barriers could still exist, but I was using the assumptions of the prompt. Also, "considers" is a difficult term to use, so I'm simply using the exact phrasing SG did.
It's not one or a couple polls, though, it's the combination of all of them, and Banjo & Kazooie are usually one of the top third parties, and the only evidence we have to suggest what may have happened in the ballot. You're free to not consider them, though.
I only refer to Spencer's tweet to emphasize the timing--the reason I feel Sakurai would choose Banjo & Kazooie was the previous note of having been talked about since Melee as well as their closer ties to Nintendo in addition to their popularity at the time. I never cared for the "money maker" argument, because I've seen people against Banjo & Kazooie's inclusion use the argument both ways--but if DLC, as people claim, is where the money's at, it makes sense to put the fan favorites in the game and a relevant Microsoft character as DLC, going with the trends of Ultimate so far.
Yes, they were. They were originally owned by Nintendo in Diddy Kong Racing (look at their trademark). There's plenty of press material from the era with Banjo & Kazooie alongside Mario and Donkey Kong. They aren't "currently", which is why I say I want them to come back home--I emphasized that was a personal desire. Also, let me make it clear, I'm not trying to argue with you--you asked Banjo guys a question, and I simply gave you my answer.
