The Little Witch of Diamond City - Ashley - The Witch retreats. For now.

[Calane]

Wouldn't the sales of Ashley's 3DS themes provide some proof of her popularity? I assume they did well, but I'm not sure anyone knows any exact numbers.

 

[Staarih]

Ashley's Japanese popularity is one of the most crucial elements of her potential inclusion, so I thought it'd be a good idea to take a look at Japanese art site Pixiv in an attempt to paint a clearer picture of her presence.

Glad I'm not the only one doing this haha, I also browsed through Pixiv a few days ago to see how any of the speculated newcomers fare when it comes to fan art in Japan. Ashley is definitely up there, I think the only ones who had more illustrations were the likes of Isabelle (Animal Crossing) and some Pokémon ones (Mimikyu) - out of the pool I checked out of course. Though cutesy characters tend to be more popular in art pages like this anyway tbh. While illustrations don't necessarily correlate straight to Smash, it does indeed give a little insight on the characters' popularity.

 

[Slyshock]

Glad I'm not the only one doing this haha, I also browsed through Pixiv a few days ago to see how any of the speculated newcomers fare when it comes to fan art in Japan. Ashley is definitely up there, I think the only ones who had more illustrations were the likes of Isabelle (Animal Crossing) and some Pokémon ones (Mimikyu) - out of the pool I checked out of course. Though cutesy characters tend to be more popular in art pages like this anyway tbh. While illustrations don't necessarily correlate straight to Smash, it does indeed give a little insight on the characters' popularity.

Yeah, it's a handy site to keep tabs on. If I was more experienced I'd try going through Japanese forums, but tracking down roster speculation threads would be difficult.

Bandana Waddle Dee has a lot of illustrations as well, if you look beyond バンダナワドルディ(Bandana Waddle Dee) and include ワドルディ (waddle dee).

What's funny is that I think Isabelle, Bandana Waddle Dee and an Alolan Pokémon are all very likely newcomers. Ashley I'm not quite as sure about, since her credentials are a rung lower. It may come down to the amount of newcomers we get, if there are 10 1st party newcomers on the base roster I'd say Ashley has a good shot of securing a spot. Otherwise, it'll depend on whether or not an assist trophy gets in the way of DLC.

 

[Karafuru]

I’ve been lurking around some support thread recently and this one caught me off guard.

I heavily disagree with this. Sure I’m not an Ashley supporter, but to be frank, I’m willing to look at this logically and Ashley is no where near a guarantee. Ashley would have to compete with characters from the ballot like King K. Rool and Geno who have been acknowledged by Sakurai and were a considered big heavy hitters in Japan during the ballot (ie King K. Rool was an entirely new constume with new textures, and Sakurai admitted to actually wanting Geno) and many others who recieved much more vocal support than Ashley did back in 2015, which could lead to less amount of votes for Ashley in the ballot and behind set popular characters. Not to mention characters from recent games that would also be considered like Rhythm Heaven, Xenoblade, and Pokémon.

It wasn’t until after 2015 that Nintendo decided to promote Ashley heavily, but by the time they did Sakurai would’ve already selected the roster. Really, there just seem to be a lot of characters that Sakurai would’ve chosen over Ashley either due to A) Some first and especially third party characters that were more popular than Ashley and thus were prioritized over her, and B) There were some characters from recent games that had a moveset that he enovisioned already that he found unique enough to add in the game that he prioritized over her.

And although I hate to bring this up, there is still the chance that Sakurai decided to use her as an assist trophy once again. Although not having her assist shown is indeed a good thing, there is still the possibility that she might come back as one.

In my opinion, Inkling was still the only newcomer who was a matter of when than what. Ashley still has some obstacles to go through.

*Also this thread is so peaceful, it feels very different than some of the others. I like it here despite how my post sounds. Lol.

I just want to start by saying that I don't think Ashley is a shoo-in, but I don't think anyone is at this point. Despite that, I think she does have a fair chance.

We don't know the ballot results, so it is hard to determine how well any certain character did. Because of this, I think we shouldn't use it as a basis for arguements. K. Rool and Geno both faces problems that Ashley doesn't have. K. Rool hasn't been in a game for over ten years now. I don't think this is a problem necessary, but when you have a character like Dixie Kong competing with him, it does pose an issue. I am not too well versed in Donkey Kong stuff, but because Dixie Kong has been in recent games, I think it would be safe too assume that more people (especially the younger generation) would know her more than K. Rool. It doesn't help that it seems Retro wants to make an identity for themselves and thus haven't used the King. Geno is a third-party character and thus has different hurdles to jump through.

The Assist coming back is very a possibility, but the fact that it hasn't been shown is hopefully a good sign. With someone as popular as Ashley, Sakurai had to clarify that she was an Assist in the Picture of the Day. I like to believe that he would not want to get fan's hopes up and rip the bandage as early as possible, like he did with Waluigi, Krystal, and Lyndis.

Now, I do agree with you in that Inklings were the only character that was an obvious pick and that our little witch has obstacles, but I believe that they are easier hurdles than K. Rool and Geno.

 

[Tony Duck]

I do feel that yeah, it’s smart to stay that it’s not certain that Ashley is playable. I feel she had a good chance to be picked by sakurai, but i also feel that it could go anyway once again. I like the point that he teases Ashley fans by saying “by the way, she’s an assist trophy.” Back when he was doing his miiverse posts. And right now, it certainly looks odd that both of Wario’s assists are missing from any of his videos... but it could all just be a massive coincidence.

 

[Cabbagehead]

Here's something I want to add to the discussion:

I don't think that the Ballot results are as sacred as everyone thinks; I know for a fact that it will dictate some of the roster, as we all do, but we don't know to what extent. Of the three newcomers, all three have reasons for being added outside of presumed ballot results (Splatoon is Nintendo's newest mainstream IP, and was 100% going to get in no matter what; Ridley has a pre-established Western fandom that goes back as far as Melee; Daisy works well as a Peach Echo and has already served as the source of one of Peach's alternate colors since Melee), so obviously, the entire roster won't be dictated by the Ballot. This is good news for us, since Ashley might not have done as well as she could have, since everyone was under the assumption that the Ballot would be used for Sm4sh DLC (and if recent Bayo-related news is to be trusted, that isn't the case).

If Ashley gets in, it will almost certainly be because of her internal prominence. There is obviously a reason that Nintendo likes to promote Ashley so much in Japan. It's Business 101: if your consumer base likes something and wants more of it, then sell them more of it.

- The reason there are three 3DS themes based solely around Ashley, I would assume, is because the first two sold well.
- The reason Ashley became the face of the Badge Arcade, I would assume, is because Badge collections featuring Ashley sold well.
- The reason that Ashley was implemented as one of the vanilla 100 or so costumes in Mario Maker was because Nintendo knew that Ashley is a popular character.
- The reason that Ashley was featured in an advert for Tank Troopers - despite having absolutely nothing to do with the game - is because Nintendo knew fans of Ashley would have their interest piqued at the sight of a character they were familiar with and fond of.
- The reason that Ashley was made into a Mii Costume was because Sakurai knew that there was an established market for Ashley.
- The reason Club Nintendo created an Ashley cleaning rag as one of their Japan-only rewards was because of the popularity of the character in the region.
- The reason Ashley has been so prominent in Japanese advertising for WarioWare Gold - second to only Wario himself - is because Nintendo knows that she works as an effective marketing tactic.
- Ashley wouldn't have been the focus of a spinoff-turned-April Fools joke-turned-Badge Arcade marketing scheme if there wasn't considerable demand for more Ashley.
- Ashley's Theme wouldn't have been made into DLC for Daigasso Band Brothers P if Nintendo didn't think it would turn a profit.
- Ashley wouldn't have been featured in advertising for Art Academy if she wasn't a prominent Nintendo character with some level of star power.
- The Badge Arcade Bunny wouldn't have dropped that vague line about Ashley unlocking the power of crossovers (or whatever it was) if Nintendo didn't have more plans for her. Of course, what those plans are is up to the imagination, but still.

I could go on and on, but the point is that Nintendo wouldn't continue to implement Ashley in games and ads she has no business being in if her presence didn't affect sales positively. Perhaps she did get a considerable amount of votes in the Ballot (we'll probably never know for certain), but if she did, that's only icing on the cake.

Of course, like everyone else, I am aware that she isn't a shoo-in, but I will say that it's rare that a character with this sort of international presence and marketing pull - at least in Japan - is disregarded.

 

[Erotic&Heretic]

It's true that determining who is a shoe-in is hard. In fact, I think that there isn't much shoe-ins in Smash. Even back in Melee days, characters like Peach, Bowser or Zelda were shoe-in and... That's it? Maybe Mewtwo, and also Marth for the japanese audience. I think that the same goes for Brawl & Smash 4. There's always popular characters and "obvious" characters, but I think that there's always surprise in the newcomer rosters.

On the other hand, despite not being always shoe-in, characters often have that "commercial" value. Robin & Lucina for example, the Pokemon Trainer from the remakes, even Lucas for the japanese... Characters often share two traits: being profitable and coming from the last generation. There's other characters of course, like Duck Hunt.

But for this, Ashley do have a good chance. The list above show how profitable she is. Let's not forget that Sakurai seems to not mind having Warioware content, with 2 assist trophies, a stage with 5-Volt, a stage with several minigames... Gamer also feature stickers of various WW characters. This kinda negates things such as "Warioware don't deserves a second character, the serie is small"

 

[RandomAce]

I just want to start by saying that I don't think Ashley is a shoo-in, but I don't think anyone is at this point. Despite that, I think she does have a fair chance.

We don't know the ballot results, so it is hard to determine how well any certain character did. Because of this, I think we shouldn't use it as a basis for arguements. K. Rool and Geno both faces problems that Ashley doesn't have. K. Rool hasn't been in a game for over ten years now. I don't think this is a problem necessary, but when you have a character like Dixie Kong competing with him, it does pose an issue. I am not too well versed in Donkey Kong stuff, but because Dixie Kong has been in recent games, I think it would be safe too assume that more people (especially the younger generation) would know her more than K. Rool. It doesn't help that it seems Retro wants to make an identity for themselves and thus haven't used the King. Geno is a third-party character and thus has different hurdles to jump through.

The Assist coming back is very a possibility, but the fact that it hasn't been shown is hopefully a good sign. With someone as popular as Ashley, Sakurai had to clarify that she was an Assist in the Picture of the Day. I like to believe that he would not want to get fan's hopes up and rip the bandage as early as possible, like he did with Waluigi, Krystal, and Lyndis.

Now, I do agree with you in that Inklings were the only character that was an obvious pick and that our little witch has obstacles, but I believe that they are easier hurdles than K. Rool and Geno.

Well, I aimed it more at the person who made the statement.

The reason why I talked about King K. Rool and Geno is because they have been acknowledged by Sakurai soon after the ballot. (King K. Rool’s costume was entirely new and shown off the direct right after the ballot, and Sakurai stated Geno’s popularity and him wanting him AND a brand new Geno costume).

I know Ashley also has recieved a costume as well, however it seemed that they might’ve reused the assets from her Assist Trophy for it, but it’s something nonetheless.

These are really my thoughts on Ashley chances and I think she has a chance, but it’s obvious I don’t have as much faith as you guys, lol.

 

[GoodGrief741]

I do think Ashley is a shoe-in. I’d be very surprised if she doesn’t make it in, given her credentials. Only K. Rool I’d say has better chances than her.

 

[Takasmash]

Yo the support for Ashley is growing it will so disappointing if Ashley is a assist trophy.

 

[Cabbagehead]

Well, I aimed it more at the person who made the statement.

The reason why I talked about King K. Rool and Geno is because they have been acknowledged by Sakurai soon after the ballot. (King K. Rool’s costume was entirely new and shown off the direct right after the ballot, and Sakurai stated Geno’s popularity and him wanting him).

These are really my thoughts on Ashley chances, but it’s obvious I don’t have as much faith as you guys, lol.

Well, in all fairness, you're in the Ashley Support Thread, haha.

I think we're at a point where, as was stated above by Erotic&Heretic, no one is really a shoo-in anymore (outside of a new Pokemon, of course). K. Rool is probably the closest thing, due to his archaic status as DK's Bowser and the international fan demand, but Geno is literally coasting on the fan-favoritism that you mentioned.

With Ashley, she might be seen as more obscure Stateside (West side?), but it's not like WarioWare doesn't already have its foot in the door. Not to mention, we're talking about a character who has outgrown her own series, basically. Her credentials don't come from prominence in her own series, but what she has done outside of it.

As a beside, I'm glad you find the thread as chill as you do. I'm honestly glad that you found us, because your post gave us a new topic to talk about, haha.

 

[Takasmash]

I predicted that we will be at page 65 in two weeks or less.

 

[RandomAce]

Well, in all fairness, you're in the Ashley Support Thread, haha.

I think we're at a point where, as was stated above by Erotic&Heretic, no one is really a shoo-in anymore (outside of a new Pokemon, of course). K. Rool is probably the closest thing, due to his archaic status as DK's Bowser and the international fan demand, but Geno is literally coasting on the fan-favoritism that you mentioned.

With Ashley, she might be seen as more obscure Stateside (West side?), but it's not like WarioWare doesn't already have its foot in the door. Not to mention, we're talking about a character who has outgrown her own series, basically. Her credentials don't come from prominence in her own series, but what she has done outside of it.

As a beside, I'm glad you find the thread as chill as you do. I'm honestly glad that you found us, because your post gave us a new topic to talk about, haha.

Haha!

I feel that Ashley is going to become Nintendo’s Morrigan. Where Ashley is more well known for her cross over appearances than the franchise she even came from itself.

Now I feel bad for talking about why I don’t think she is likley. Y’all are so damn nice.

 

[Demonfunds]

Haha!

I feel that Ashley is going to become Nintendo’s Morrigan. Where Ashley is more well known for her cross over appearances than the franchise she even came from itself.

Now I feel bad for talking about why I don’t think she is likley. Y’all are so damn nice.

You shouldn't feel bad for having a opinion, everyone should be able to say what they think.

 

[LittleKrool]

Wouldn't the sales of Ashley's 3DS themes provide some proof of her popularity? I assume they did well, but I'm not sure anyone knows any exact numbers.

According to JapaneseNintendo, Ashley's 3ds theme each were top sellers when they were released that week and remained in the top 5 for a few weeks for each theme.

 

[Oracle_Summon]

I feel that Ashley is going to become Nintendo’s Morrigan. Where Ashley is more well known for her cross over appearances than the franchise she even came from itself.

That would be welcome in my book. Ashley seems to be the kind to branch off into her own franchise.

Now I feel bad for talking about why I don’t think she is likley. Y’all are so damn nice.

Detractors, as long as they present good counter arguments and are not just trolling, should be welcome to any board so the supporters can brush up on their debating skills.

 

[Samcrumpit]

Oh know this sounds like wishful thinking, but what do you all think the chances are of Ashley getting into MK8D now that the game is getting updates again?

If she's actually in Smash, then I don't see why they wouldn't add her in, even if Warioware is 2 degrees removed from Mario. A strong chance if that's the case. If she's not in Smash, then most likely not. God, I wish that series got more recognition. And people think Waluigi has it bad.

 

[Demonfunds]

Oh know this sounds like wishful thinking, but what do you all think the chances are of Ashley getting into MK8D now that the game is getting updates again?

Fairly likely considering her popularity, if she does make it in, I will first go out and buy the game.In a addition to this it will really increase her chances of being in smash.

 

[Cabbagehead]

Oh know this sounds like wishful thinking, but what do you all think the chances are of Ashley getting into MK8D now that the game is getting updates again?

Has it been confirmed that new characters might get added, or are you referring to the Labo thing? If new characters are incoming, it's always a possibility. I could see a trio of Funky or Diddy, ROB, and Ashley being pretty awesome, appealing to fans old and new while pulling the greater Mario universe a bit closer.

 

[Demonfunds]

This is unrelated, but does anyone else get annoyed on how pressing tab accidentally posts your message before it's complete?

 

[Erotic&Heretic]

Oh know this sounds like wishful thinking, but what do you all think the chances are of Ashley getting into MK8D now that the game is getting updates again?

If she's actually in Smash, then I don't see why they wouldn't add her in even if Warioware is 2 degrees removed from Mario. A strong chance if that's the case. If she's not in Smash, then most likely not. God, I wish that series got more recognition. And people think Waluigi has it bad.

It's been my wish since MK Wii to see some Warioware in console Mario Kart. A DLC with the comeback of Wario's bike and Ashley (imagine those twintails flowing with the wind!) and a Diamond City track like MK Arcade would be so nice.

 

[Samcrumpit]

It's been my wish since MK Wii to see some Warioware in console Mario Kart. A DLC with the comeback of Wario's bike and Ashley (imagine those twintails flowing with the wind!) and a Diamond City track like MK Arcade would be so nice.

I never knew that there was actually a diamond city track in that game. That's really cool, although the only references seem to be the Wario signs, palm trees, and Kat and Ana's house, it's the recognition that counts. Wario tracks have a good record of being top notch, and I hope a potential Daimond City one on Deluxe would be no exception.

 

[DonkaFjord]

Here's something I want to add to the discussion:

I don't think that the Ballot results are as sacred as everyone thinks; I know for a fact that it will dictate some of the roster, as we all do, but we don't know to what extent. Of the three newcomers, all three have reasons for being added outside of presumed ballot results (Splatoon is Nintendo's newest mainstream IP, and was 100% going to get in no matter what; Ridley has a pre-established Western fandom that goes back as far as Melee; Daisy works well as a Peach Echo and has already served as the source of one of Peach's alternate colors since Melee), so obviously, the entire roster won't be dictated by the Ballot. This is good news for us, since Ashley might not have done as well as she could have, since everyone was under the assumption that the Ballot would be used for Sm4sh DLC (and if recent Bayo-related news is to be trusted, that isn't the case).

If Ashley gets in, it will almost certainly be because of her internal prominence. There is obviously a reason that Nintendo likes to promote Ashley so much in Japan. It's Business 101: if your consumer base likes something and wants more of it, then sell them more of it.

- The reason there are three 3DS themes based solely around Ashley, I would assume, is because the first two sold well.
- The reason Ashley became the face of the Badge Arcade, I would assume, is because Badge collections featuring Ashley sold well.
- The reason that Ashley was implemented as one of the vanilla 100 or so costumes in Mario Maker was because Nintendo knew that Ashley is a popular character.
- The reason that Ashley was featured in an advert for Tank Troopers - despite having absolutely nothing to do with the game - is because Nintendo knew fans of Ashley would have their interest piqued at the sight of a character they were familiar with and fond of.
- The reason that Ashley was made into a Mii Costume was because Sakurai knew that there was an established market for Ashley.
- The reason Club Nintendo created an Ashley cleaning rag as one of their Japan-only rewards was because of the popularity of the character in the region.
- The reason Ashley has been so prominent in Japanese advertising for WarioWare Gold - second to only Wario himself - is because Nintendo knows that she works as an effective marketing tactic.
- Ashley wouldn't have been the focus of a spinoff-turned-April Fools joke-turned-Badge Arcade marketing scheme if there wasn't considerable demand for more Ashley.
- Ashley's Theme wouldn't have been made into DLC for Daigasso Band Brothers P if Nintendo didn't think it would turn a profit.
- Ashley wouldn't have been featured in advertising for Art Academy if she wasn't a prominent Nintendo character with some level of star power.
- The Badge Arcade Bunny wouldn't have dropped that vague line about Ashley unlocking the power of crossovers (or whatever it was) if Nintendo didn't have more plans for her. Of course, what those plans are is up to the imagination, but still.

I could go on and on, but the point is that Nintendo wouldn't continue to implement Ashley in games and ads she has no business being in if her presence didn't affect sales positively. Perhaps she did get a considerable amount of votes in the Ballot (we'll probably never know for certain), but if she did, that's only icing on the cake.

Of course, like everyone else, I am aware that she isn't a shoo-in, but I will say that it's rare that a character with this sort of international presence and pull - at least in Japan - is disregarded.

To be fair some of those have other reasons for happening- Ko Takeuchi had a big hand in badge arcade and he seems to like to draw Ashley. The line about unlocking the power of crossovers probably means nothing. The person who wrote the flavor text dialogue likely has 0 connection to anyone working on Smash Bros right now. Different dev teams, different studios even.

Oh know this sounds like wishful thinking, but what do you all think the chances are of Ashley getting into MK8D now that the game is getting updates again?

If she's actually in Smash, then I don't see why they wouldn't add her in, even if Warioware is 2 degrees removed from Mario. A strong chance if that's the case. If she's not in Smash, then most likely not. God, I wish that series got more recognition. And people think Waluigi has it bad.

I personally would like to see Kirby, Pikmin, and Arms in MK8D. Kirby because of the Rosalina Smash Trailer as well as Air Ride. Pikmin because the track would look beautiful and ARMS because it is the MK team's last project. The world is also incredibly vibrant and fun plus I imagine the track would have some corkscrews in it to match thematically.

If Wario got a character pack we'd probably see Pizza girl Mona, Ashley, or Dribble/Spitz. I imagine the first two are more likely. A Diamond City Track would make sense but I don't know how that would look in MK8's art style.

It might just be minor updates and additions though, so I wouldn't get my hopes up on guest characters yet.

 

[Erotic&Heretic]

I never knew that there was actually a diamond city track in that game. That's really cool, although the only references seem to be the Wario signs, palm trees, and Kat and Ana's house, it's the recognition that counts. Wario tracks have a good record of being top notch, and I hope a potential Daimond City one on Deluxe would be no exception.

The weirdest thing with this course is the E.Gadd building. But the course also goes through the WarioWare Inc. building, with various strange things displayed that doesn't seem too related to WarioWare. The Dojo is also a nice reference.
Anyway, it's already a nice course!

If Wario got a character pack we'd probably see Pizza girl Mona, Ashley, or Dribble/Spitz. I imagine the first two are more likely. A Diamond City Track would make sense but I don't know how that would look in MK8's art style.

It might just be minor updates and additions though, so I wouldn't get my hopes up on guest characters yet.

Personally, the best case scenario would be a DK pack and a Warioware pack. Diddy, Dixie and Funky for DK and Mona, Dribble & Spitz (as one character) and Ashley for WW. It's wishful thinking though.

 

[LimeTH]

I never knew that there was actually a diamond city track in that game. That's really cool, although the only references seem to be the Wario signs, palm trees, and Kat and Ana's house, it's the recognition that counts. Wario tracks have a good record of being top notch, and I hope a potential Daimond City one on Deluxe would be no exception.

That track is so bizarre. It's Diamond City from WarioWare yet E. Gadd from Luigi's Mansion is plastered everywhere

 

[Capybara Gaming]

Ashley's Victory Theme should be the little jingle that plays when you correctly beat one of her microgames in WarioWare: D.I.Y.i

 

[LimeTH]

Ashley's Victory Theme should be the little jingle that plays when you correctly beat one of her microgames in WarioWare: D.I.Y.i

I think the victory jingle from Game&Wario/Mario Maker would be more fitting.

 

[Samcrumpit]

Ashley's Victory Theme should be the little jingle that plays when you correctly beat one of her microgames in WarioWare: D.I.Y.i

Yeah that works really well if you combine the tracks for before entering microgame and after you beat one. That also reminds me that "Hocus Pocus" has to be one of her victory quotes. A subtle jab, likening beating her opponent to beating an easy microgame.

I know people want a riff of Ashley's song for the victory jingle, but I'd prefer if we got more songs to associate Ashley with, so I hope they go with what you suggested.

 

[meleebrawler]

Here's something I want to add to the discussion:

I don't think that the Ballot results are as sacred as everyone thinks; I know for a fact that it will dictate some of the roster, as we all do, but we don't know to what extent. Of the three newcomers, all three have reasons for being added outside of presumed ballot results (Splatoon is Nintendo's newest mainstream IP, and was 100% going to get in no matter what; Ridley has a pre-established Western fandom that goes back as far as Melee; Daisy works well as a Peach Echo and has already served as the source of one of Peach's alternate colors since Melee), so obviously, the entire roster won't be dictated by the Ballot. This is good news for us, since Ashley might not have done as well as she could have, since everyone was under the assumption that the Ballot would be used for Sm4sh DLC (and if recent Bayo-related news is to be trusted, that isn't the case).

If Ashley gets in, it will almost certainly be because of her internal prominence. There is obviously a reason that Nintendo likes to promote Ashley so much in Japan. It's Business 101: if your consumer base likes something and wants more of it, then sell them more of it.

- The reason there are three 3DS themes based solely around Ashley, I would assume, is because the first two sold well.
- The reason Ashley became the face of the Badge Arcade, I would assume, is because Badge collections featuring Ashley sold well.
- The reason that Ashley was implemented as one of the vanilla 100 or so costumes in Mario Maker was because Nintendo knew that Ashley is a popular character.
- The reason that Ashley was featured in an advert for Tank Troopers - despite having absolutely nothing to do with the game - is because Nintendo knew fans of Ashley would have their interest piqued at the sight of a character they were familiar with and fond of.
- The reason that Ashley was made into a Mii Costume was because Sakurai knew that there was an established market for Ashley.
- The reason Club Nintendo created an Ashley cleaning rag as one of their Japan-only rewards was because of the popularity of the character in the region.
- The reason Ashley has been so prominent in Japanese advertising for WarioWare Gold - second to only Wario himself - is because Nintendo knows that she works as an effective marketing tactic.
- Ashley wouldn't have been the focus of a spinoff-turned-April Fools joke-turned-Badge Arcade marketing scheme if there wasn't considerable demand for more Ashley.
- Ashley's Theme wouldn't have been made into DLC for Daigasso Band Brothers P if Nintendo didn't think it would turn a profit.
- Ashley wouldn't have been featured in advertising for Art Academy if she wasn't a prominent Nintendo character with some level of star power.
- The Badge Arcade Bunny wouldn't have dropped that vague line about Ashley unlocking the power of crossovers (or whatever it was) if Nintendo didn't have more plans for her. Of course, what those plans are is up to the imagination, but still.

I could go on and on, but the point is that Nintendo wouldn't continue to implement Ashley in games and ads she has no business being in if her presence didn't affect sales positively. Perhaps she did get a considerable amount of votes in the Ballot (we'll probably never know for certain), but if she did, that's only icing on the cake.

Of course, like everyone else, I am aware that she isn't a shoo-in, but I will say that it's rare that a character with this sort of international presence and marketing pull - at least in Japan - is disregarded.

And of course, she gets special treatment in Gold's opening with a unique call alongside series stalwarts Jimmy T. and Mona, before the others get ''and the rest!'' treatment. But on another note, am I the only one that noticed 5-Volt answering instead of 9-Volt? Does she just answer for the latter, or is she going to be handling the Nintendo microgames while 9-Volt works on his smash hit Gamer?

Haha!

I feel that Ashley is going to become Nintendo’s Morrigan. Where Ashley is more well known for her cross over appearances than the franchise she even came from itself.

Now I feel bad for talking about why I don’t think she is likley. Y’all are so damn nice.

There has to be a Nintendo vs. Capcom game one of these days, and Ashley would fit right in with the Darkstalkers. Now that I think about it, she's kind of the exact opposite of Baby Bonnie Hood.

 

[MattX20]

While I would personally prefer Mona to be a second Wario Ware rep given her multiple jobs and that she was around since day 1 of the series, I wouldn't be opposed to Ashley as long as she has at the very least a unique/creative moveset.

 

[SmashMaster02]

And of course, she gets special treatment in Gold's opening with a unique call alongside series stalwarts Jimmy T. and Mona, before the others get ''and the rest!'' treatment. But on another note, am I the only one that noticed 5-Volt answering instead of 9-Volt? Does she just answer for the latter, or is she going to be handling the Nintendo microgames while 9-Volt works on his smash hit Gamer?

"Smash Hit Gamer"
I love it

 

[LimeTH]

But on another note, am I the only one that noticed 5-Volt answering instead of 9-Volt? Does she just answer for the latter, or is she going to be handling the Nintendo microgames while 9-Volt works on his smash hit Gamer?

Probably needs parental permission to swindle 9-Volt into making games for him.

 

[Samcrumpit]

But on another note, am I the only one that noticed 5-Volt answering instead of 9-Volt? Does she just answer for the latter, or is she going to be handling the Nintendo microgames while 9-Volt works on his smash hit Gamer?

5-volt is apparently hosting Rhythm Heaven themed games.

So there's this one Direct leak Making the rounds on 4chan, and it's gotten some stuff right so far (pop figures, MK8D updates, and the Lt Surge trailer seems likely given today's May and Brock reveals). They said that the Direct would be on the 22nd of July and it would reveal Dixie Kong and King K. Just giving y'all a heads up. A lot of details looks sketchy like the Cuphead port, but I think it's still worth acknowledging.

 

[Demonfunds]

5-volt is apparently hosting Rhythm Heaven themed games.

So there's this one Direct leak Making the rounds on 4chan, and it's gotten some stuff right so far (pop figures, MK8D updates, and the Lt Surge trailer seems likely given today's May and Brock reveals). They said that the Direct would be on the 22nd of July and it would reveal Dixie Kong and King K. Just giving y'all a heads up. A lot of details looks sketchy like the Cuphead port, but I think it's still worth acknowledging.

One dead giveaway for me is how no mention of warioware gold information or the amibos, why would Nintendo release a direct like this and not even mention it, when you consider it comes out in a week within the direct

 

[MattX20]

Plus, Directs are very rare nowadays compared to the past. The general directs happen every 3-4 months, so it's automatically BS.

 

[meleebrawler]

Probably needs parental permission to swindle 9-Volt into making games for him.

With that and the abuse of power to beat her son's high score, suddenly her mothering seems a bit dubious...

 

[LimeTH]

5-volt is apparently hosting Rhythm Heaven themed games.

So there's this one Direct leak Making the rounds on 4chan, and it's gotten some stuff right so far (pop figures, MK8D updates, and the Lt Surge trailer seems likely given today's May and Brock reveals). They said that the Direct would be on the 22nd of July and it would reveal Dixie Kong and King K. Just giving y'all a heads up. A lot of details looks sketchy like the Cuphead port, but I think it's still worth acknowledging.

>Mother 3

Yeah, that's fake.

 

[smileMasky]

count me as a supporter we dont have enough real magic users. never actually played any wario ware games though I have played rhythm heaven, and honestly these leaks need to stop its just killing the hype for me.

 

[Cabbagehead]

A Direct, on a Sunday, featuring a 3D remake of Mother 3, Final Fantasy 7 remake, and a port of one of Xbox's most profitable exclusives (and one of its only exclusives)...

...Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it.

On another note, I've been looking through the Smash website and skimming over each character's background color (you know, Mario is bright red, Kirby is that faint, light pink, Ridley is that dark greyish-purple, etc.), and it got me thinking: what would Ashley's color be? I'm banking on either a neon, darker shade purple or a bold dark red.

 

[LittleKrool]

Yeah, I don't really buy the leak either unless Nintendo is doing their best to undersell WarioWare Gold. At this point any Direct leak that happens in July without WarioWare Gold is probably fake.