Listen, I am a Nintendo fan at heart, through and through. I was literally prescribed video games to enhance my hand-eye skills. I grew up on Sega Genesis, N64, GameCube...I only hopped onto the 360 because my friends in middle school had it and I wanted to play online.
I’m a huge Nintendo fan. I play far more Nintendo than other consoles. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford all 3 consoles, which is something not everyone can do.
However, it is narrow minded to say something to the affect of Snake or Cloud not having the right or position to be in Smash. It’s a gross misrepresentation. If it were up to Smash fans, instead of Ryu, Cloud, and Snake we’d have characters that wouldn’t have had the same ripple effect as we’ve experienced. We wouldn’t have the glory of “everyone is here” and it certainly wouldn’t be as massive of a crossover as it is.
Metal Gear wasn’t on my radar until Brawl. I bought a PS3, my first Sony console, to play MGS4. I went out and found The Twin Snakes on GameCube. Metal Gear is now among my favorite series. Smash has exposed me to new things that I would never experienced otherwise.
Regardless of how you feel about some of the remaining character, it isn’t a reach to say that the caliber of first parties is...well, lacking compared to the return of going for bigger 3rd parties. To the Smash fan-bubble, these characters may seem big. But it’s a tough sell to the same people who find Joker to be earth-shattering. This is a reality that Smash fans should probably at least grapple with.
There’s nothing wrong with preferring Nintendo characters, but to act as if they’re still right up to par with some 3rd parties out there is overestimating their popularity. There’s more to gain from adding Dragon Quest content, for example, than a character that is a one off from a Nintendo game, or a character that results in nothing more than side appearances.
Sure, they could add gameplay. But with the way DLC is being chosen, adding a character, stage, and music from a series that is entirely new offers far more of a return than a character from a series already. It serves no purpose in expanding the “most ambitious crossover” that Reggie is hinting at, in adding a Nintendo character from a series already in Smash.
It’s not meant as an insult, but food for thought.
Also, be careful with this leak. There’s nothing backing 3/5s of it, well, maybe 2/5, but Steve is only backed by one source that Verg isn’t entirely convinced of. I’m certainly not.
Doom holds little popularity in Japan, similar to Mortal Kombat. That matters more than some people think.
Again, food for thought.
