Alright. Let's just think this out, okay? Sakurai said that Namco wouldn't receive any special consideration, not that they wouldn't receive any consideration. So think, I mean really think, about what that means. It means that Namco won't get in over other deserving third party developers. Now, Sega and Capcom already have reps, and if Konami gets another rep it will likely be Snake. So, as of now, we have 2-3 third party reps.
Still following? Good.
We are likely to get two new third party characters in Smash 4, since we got two in Brawl (we already have one in Megaman.) Not guaranteed, but there is a good chance going by what was said and what we've seen before. Now, what company could get a rep? Most likely a Japanese company, as that's where Nintendo has it's closest business ties (and also where Sakurai has the most personal relationships with developers.) Sega, Capcom, and Konami already have reps. Who does that leave? Namco, Square-Enix, and Tecmo-Koai are the names that immediately stand out. They are the next tier of Japanese developers so to speak.
Out of those companies, the one with the closest ties to Nintendo is Namco. The most logical choice for a Namco rep is Pacman, as he is the most iconic and is the company mascot. That's not being given special consideration; that's being next in line.
So, class, if we follow this discussion logically, the most likely third party new comer in Smash 4 is _______.