Really not trying to throw stones with this comment, BUT...
Can we just talk about how this SNK hate isn’t uncharacteristic of the Smash speculation fanbase whatsoever? That this is a common thing throughout the years with characters that aren’t deemed “Nintendo” enough?
Can we finally determine that relationships with Nintendo don’t mean as much as some thought they did? That Smash isn’t just about Nintendo anymore?
Based on this mentality, that Smash is “Nintendo first” (oddly anti-selective 3rd party) the Smash fanbase hasn’t been able to really guess any of the 3rd parties past Sonic, Mega Man, and Pac-Man. If we based the 3rd parties on the desires of the fans who say, “The **** is an SNK?”, we’d never have Snake, Cloud, Ryu, Ken, Joker...arguably Bayonetta.
I just...there’s nothing wrong with wanting a character that is associated with Nintendo. Honest. But...really. There are some amazing games out there that you should play that don’t rely on Nintendo to be great. Metal Gear isn’t huge on Nintendo, but it’s an amazing series. Final Fantasy VII is an amazing game. Just not on Nintendo.
There’s always been a mentality for whatever reason, holistically, that Nintendo is the best and that anything not Nintendo doesn’t “deserve” a place in Smash.
For lack of a better word, it’s poppycock. I say this as a person who favors Nintendo games, and as someone who grew up playing nothing but Nintendo before, like, 10th grade.
EDIT: a lot of the hate isn’t here, in this thread. But social media is blowing up with it.