So I emailed Nintendo's corporate office last week. I tried to get them to take my bait, and accidentally confirm Ridley's status in the game. This is what I sent:
Hello! I'm a major fan of Nintendo, in fact I own every Nintendo console (even the virtual boy!) and I've been playing Nintendo games for me entire life. I'm emailing you specifically about Super Smash Bros for 3DS/Wii U. I'm very much anticipating this title. In fact, I have actually gotten my young cousin (he's 11) excited about it himself. I got him a Wii U last year, and he's been loving it. Every time I see him, he tells me how he can't wait for Smash Brothers. One thing has me concerned, however. I've seen some pictures online of one of the playable characters in the game, Ridley. I'm familiar with the Metroid series and the Ridley character, and I'm actually pretty excited that you've included him in the playable roster for the new game. He seems like he'll be very unique. That being said, I worry about how violent the character will play. Like I said, I'm familiar with the character and I understand he's supposed to be a vicious space dragon. My concern is if the way he plays bumps Smash up to the an M rating from the ESRB, I'm worried my aunt my not allow my cousin to have the game. I understand how Smash works, but she doesn't. She'll look at the rating and it's be no-go. Obviously I don't want you to alter the game (as I said, I'm actually quite excited to play as Ridley). I'm just really hoping it doesn't get an M rating. I haven't been able to find the game's rating online, would you be able to let me know what the rating the game received is? If it's M, i'd like to start now in casually convincing my aunt that the game will be fine for my cousin. Thanks for any help!
Today, I got this response:
I read your email and I understand you concern. At Nintendo of America, we support the ESRB rating system, and we do not advocate somebody under the age of 17 playing or viewing the gameplay of an M rated game. However, rest assured that Super Smash Bros for the 3DS and Super Smash Bros for the Wii U are both designed for wide audiences. While neither has been officially rated by the ESRB, we have strong reason to believe that neither installment will receive an M rating. In regards to the character Ridley having violent tendencies, while the final roster for the game has not yet been announced, I was able to take a look at the character. While he is true to his home game form, he is certainly not designed in a way that would likely cause a boost to the game's overall rating.
I hope I've been able to provide the answer you were looking for. Please feel free to contact us in the future with any further concerns using the official Nintendo website, and make sure to keep an eye on the official Super Smash Bros website for information on the game and it's roster, as not all playable characters have been officially revealed.
Thanks again for contacting Nintendo!
I'm not sure what to make of this. At two points in the email, the rep mentions that the final roster hasn't been officially announced. On one hand, she mentions that she was able to "look at the character" and notes how he true to game form. It seems she was clearly not trying to reveal Ridley's role in the game. Not sure what to think on the matter.
EDIT: since on facebook people think this was somehow an automated response... I'd like to point out the first sentence in the reponse email. Notice how she says "I understand you concern". Not "your". This was typed by a person. Not automated. And I DID NOT re-type the email. It was a copy paste. If this was some extremely specific auto-reply, there would be NO typo. But this was an easy typo that spell check wouldn't find.