I don't think they'd see it as one way or the other.
Promoting the character of the current game in the series IS thinking long term because never have they tried SO HARD to appeal to the western market as they have with DQXI, so if there's a game that will be easily accessible to almost every Nintendo fan (other than DQ8 3DS, but they already see it as a failure for some reason) and granted, they say it's among if not the best, then I believe it's a no-brainer decision. DQXI was made to be a LOT of people's first DQ game, which will lead them to the first three, and then onwards.
The only way for people to play as Erdrick in current-gen systems is on mobile devices. Unless you live in Japan where it still ranks high on 3DS I think.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I get exactly what you mean by having a character associated with the latest entry instead of the more iconic one. But TBF, for the majority of the western audience, whichever hero they go with, it'll be all the same to them.
--
Thread is so lit, might as well throw in my 2 cents.
Sephiroth: Unlikely. Square-Enix was already baffled by the request for Cloud. I don't think it's in Nintendo OR Square-Enix's best interest to go here. And since no other Final Fantasy name has been brought up, then I guess that's lights out for another Final Fantasy character.
Geno: This one is a special case. It has EVERYTHING going for him, except the VGA announcement thing. Neither Square-Enix nor Nintendo will waste billions of views for an obscure character that mostly only the Smash community is familiar with, and brings nothing else to the table (he's not attatched to any future game that's coming that would be worth announcing at VGA, unless Super Mario RPG 2 is happening). So I don't think of Geno as a long-term investment.
Luminary: A genius, albeit obvious marketing move. Dragon Quest could have it's cinderella moment at the VGAs and boldly take the stage with the protagonist of the latest DQ entry appearing in Smash as they announce a particular season when the game's coming out.
Slime: Similar to Luminary, Slime would indeed be a great marketing tool, with the added bonus that he's more universally known to both japanese and especially western gamers.
Erdrick: Probably the least known to the western public, but like Luminary, would be a genius move to force DQ into the spotlight worldwide. People will finally have a "face", or a relatable character to be the face of DQ, something that Slime has been doing for a while, but IMO fails to make people want to play DQ. Erdrick is the character that the audience needs, and the face that DQ deserves. :D
Crono: Similar to Sephiroth, Crono is an ancient character, from an ancient game. But Chrono Trigger is HUGE in game pop culture. Almost everyone knows him. It would be a tremendous sucker punch to have him in Smash. I wouldn't really put Chrono Trigger so far behind Final Fantasy. I know a LOT of people who have played CT who haven't played FF.
Sora: If he's REALLY gone, then things are boding well for us. He was a major threat.
Still, I'm not holding my breath for this. Vergebin could still be wrong. Not going to get Grinch-leaked again. Hoping for the best, though.