Wall-of-text ahead:
Alright, so I've got a new hypothetical in mind, and it's going to revive an old gag image I created last year when we were speculating about additional fighter slots. Here are two scenarios, each with their pros and cons:
Scenario A:
View attachment 202639
(Assume that Joker is already in the first 5 slots and that all other unknown DLC characters are predetermined and thus unchanged)
In this scenario, we enter a timeline where Sony mends its relationship with Nintendo and Microsoft. However, it gets the Lion's share of character promotions regarding any possible extension of Smash Ultimate's life-cycle, mainly due to their past history together before branching off. With that information all said and done, let's look over the benefits:
-Sony is more compliant with crossplay and deals involving its competitor companies, forming a friendly rivalry that cyclically aids them all
-Smash is made the first-ever Nintendo-made video game to be available on all major consoles, but is the only example in the industry
-All of the characters taken directly from Playstation All-Stars: Battle Royale will get updates to their models and move-sets, but this is obvious
-In addition to that, none of the character designs are finalized, so you can still get Dante, but he would be based on the main version. Otherwise, why the **** would Sakurai bother bringing back the scrappy version when he vehemently rejected modern Pac-Man?
But now for the problems that might arise out of this deal:
-Due to the strenuous amount of copyrights that need to be juggled, Nintendo benefits way less out of this which may hurt the series' future for a sequel
-The Sony reps lose the uniqueness factor of their stages transitioning. Instead, we get stages from their respective home series to fit with Smash, which is hardly an issue when stage morph exists
-Purchasing these characters on any system besides Sony will be given a "Sony Tax" since the incentive is to purchase the Sony-published version of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. How much that is all depends on it being close to a deal-breaker for you
-Finally, this entire scenario ultimately (no pun intended) means that the unknown four DLC characters are pretty much your only hope in getting your current Most-Wanted(s), assuming they aren't in this hypothetical roster already.
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And now for
Scenario B:
Unlike Scenario A where we get 30 DLC slots, we get half the amount with just 15 total (Joker being included in that number already). In this scenario, Sony remains distant and aloof as far as competition goes, so the hope of seeing anything from either Sony or Microsoft is shot down entirely by the former, and fairly ambiguous for the latter. The silver lining to this is that anything pretty much goes, and while there's no guarantee fan favorites will make it in this hypothetical roster, there's a decent chance for it as we get 14 chances of our Most-Wanted(s) coming true. To wit:
-Fans of Namco will have
at least three guaranteed reps by the end of the support cycle. One will be expected, and the other will be a wild card like Joker
-Microsoft being a bit more chummy with Nintendo means we could still get Banjo and Steve, and perhaps even Master Chief. This is as far as the goal posts go
-Characters who missed the mark, but are not quite support-heavy like Assist Trophies (i.e. Rex & Pyra, Geno, Magolor, etc.) get a chance at promotion. There's a catch however: Assume that the first Fighter's Pass is absent of promo choices, so no Spirit fighters
yet (but eventually, for the second and/or third Fighter's Pass)
-One-third will cater to the West, another third will cater to the home country, and the last third will feature characters popular worldwide. Everyone gets a slice of the pie, so complaining about an obscure character will get you nowhere. This is not a negative, as you will have someone you like
guaranteed, even if it's not necessarily a Most-Wanted. There is also no set order to when these characters appear
And like with Scenario A's caveats, we deal with a list for B's:
-At least one-third of the 15 characters are Nintendo shill picks, and of the sort that feel very late to the roster even from a DLC standpoint. Keep in mind,
this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Keep in mind that this scenario will inevitably upset a lot of people, even if fan-favorites find their way in the selection
-If a character does not make it into the 15 character slots, assume that this is their last chance ever to appear in any Smash game as a playable character ever again. They are relegated into minor cameo status at best and complete absence at worst. It's a gamble for your Most-Wanted, especially if it's a 1st-part character
-Mii costumes are a point of contention for many, so expect some characters to get deconfirmed with the inclusion of cosmetics. This could potentially affect anyone that is heavily requested, but still rejected for reasons Sakurai only knows. Some examples include Geno once again, and potentially Lloyd, but now with the addition of characters like Shantae and Elma
-For quality reasons, each pack and character announcement is spread out by at least 3 months of their announcement dates, meaning the wait for new information will be strenuous, and anything involving E3 will tone down Smash content overall in favor of other Nintendo-based software. Slow and unfortunate for Smashgoers and great for potentially the rest of Nintendo's userbase overall
With all of that said and done, which scenario would you guys go for?
