Agreed, none of the character threads match the support threads leading up to Brawl. In fact the hype right now is not as big. Perhaps when the trailer comes out it will increase. I really think the heavy amount of modding on here has turned off a lot of posters. In the Brawl era, you had like 100 different threads about the same topic because people would post new threads often rather than go dig up the previous. The Sonic was one of a few that actually just kept bumping up and support (It wasn't the only Sonic thread as well).
There was some more hype during the pre-unveil for Brawl than there is right now. I think there is a wide assortment of factors for this (less Nintendo fans now, less well known characters to add, Brawl being a disappointment for some, etc.).
I don't think modding has has an impact on the level of hype for Smash 4 on this site, considering GameFAQs has not acted even more hyper than it usually does.
Also, there were plenty of long-running support threads aside from the Sonic one during pre-Brawl.
@ Psycho - Yeah it was probably greater after the hype and we may see a resurgence after the trailer.
I also think though that a lot of the hype built for Brawl ended up being not just its undoing but the undoing of Smash in general. So much more was expected then received with Brawl. There is a lot of pessimism this time around, I mean look at the roster threads.
Ironically, Megaman not being in Brawl was one of the MAJOR dissappointments about the game from fans. People also expecting Geno, Krystal, Ridley, Mewtwo, Roy, and more.
Yes, there is going to me a massive deluge of new posters and hype once we actually get an unveil for Smash 4. We are going to be nostalgic for how things our now once we get hit with it.
I would not say the hype for Brawl was its undoing. There were tons of characters in which there LOTS of requests for that ended up getting in as playable characters:
- Wario
- Pit
- Meta Knight
- Ike
- Diddy Kong
- King Dedede
- Sonic
- Olimar
- Wolf
- Lucario
- Toon Link
There is only so many characters you can add to a game, and many people simply did not temper their expectations. Brawl's roster was great, and almost perfect in my opinion.
There is not so much pessimism this time but rather more people have learned to keep their expectations in check.
I'm not sure whenever to feel disappointed that I missed out on the pre-Brawl hype (outside of looking at news) or glad considering that sooooo much drama went around that it might as well have been the ultimate definition of lulz. I mean just look at ChronoBound's post on pre-Brawl Fire Emblem war (on the Roy thread). It's like the Smash fan base stuffed too much down their guts and can't eat anymore. On the other hand, it would have been so much fun that I would have never left the scene (and I would have expected waaaaayyyy too many characters and got even more disappointed than I did).
As for pessisism, I haven't noticed too many. A lot of the rosters range from 50-58 characters (transformations included). Though there are plenty that are below that and even below 45.
Pre-Brawl's post-unveil period was absolutely insane. I think there is a decent shot we may end up getting that crazy this time again too, especially with the unveil likely confirming the few obvious newcomers that there are this time.
As for the Smash Bros. fanbase, getting too much stuffed down their gut and can't eat anymore, I think that describes myself but not so much the rest of the fanbase.
For those that actually want to see idiotgeddon and massive fanboy armies and wars, well be careful what you wish for, because it could very well come true in just six weeks time.
That is why I am hoping Ridley and Mega Man get confirmed when Smash 4 is unveiled. The idiot mob will mindlessly parrot the various detractor points against them.
The introduction to third-party characters in Smash Bros. made a lot of the fanbase absolutely looney for several months, and a lot of people stuffed their rosters with a ton of third-party characters until Sakurai clarified that there would only be another 1 or 2 third-party newcomers added for Brawl.
However, who knows, for all I know, things could simply remain as how they are now except with much, much more activity.
I do think at the very least we are going to be seeing a lot of craziness during the first three months after the unveil.