New game or port, just give this to me. Inject it right into my veins.

Another great Smash trailer, it's the perfect length for a teaser and the sound design is amazing. Smash is a master at hyping up it's fan base.

Expected/10

Yeah, tinkered Smash 4 engine, or.. Whole new game?  Gotta be the Smash 4 engine tuned up right?  I mean, it's coming out this year.. how the hell...  can that be a new game...

Don't let forum members try to sway you, kids! This is going to be an updated version of Smash 4, because that game's competitive community is a hot mess and needs a good re-balancing!

It should be noted that there's no precedent in the series for either a new game based on the previous game's engine or an enhanced port so your guess is as good as any. At the same time, Iwata admitted he would have had Melee ported with online added if Sakurai turned down directing a sequel on Wii so pour one on the curb for the poor fans living in that parallel universe.

Ultimately, I still don't know why it matters. The most important bit is that we're finally getting the series on Switch. If Sakurai really wants to blow everyone's mind, he'll add Melee Mode then laugh maniacally as the tournament scene tears itself apart.

Smash games take so long to make, I don't see a scenario where this game gets made from the ground up in such a short turnaround. I think leaning heavy on the Inklings was deliberate in order to reassure people that there's going to be new content added with this port.

Seriously, though, the previous statement about Smash 4's community puts me into a logical conundrum. On one hand, I could see this Smash being an enhanced port if only because Smash 4's competitive scene is still evolving and needs certain characters to be addressed if it intends to survive. On the other, wiping the slate clean with a new game would allow them to do a pretty extreme balance check and add some new mechanics atop that. But creating a new game means new art assets for a roster of 58 damn characters, as well as whatever new characters are added atop that. Seeing as Smash 4 added an absolutely monstrous amount of characters, I feel it would be much more reasonable for people to reel in their expectations regarding the roster for this game- it will likely have some much-needed fine-tuning of older characters and only a handful of new additions.

Also I think the Inkling's moveset will totally be based on an existing character.

What an awesome way to finish the Nintendo Direct! This is probably my most anticipated Switch game of the year now (at least until we learn more about Fire Emblem Switch).

Only they don't.  There was a huge gap between Melee and Brawl but the actual development of Brawl was from October 2005 until the end of December 2007, so a little over 2 years.  Smash Bros 3DS/Wii U was the same thing.  The development didn't begin until Summer of 2012 and the 3DS version was done by August of 2014, with the Wii U done in October.  So even making 2 versions for 2 different systems, each with their own unique content it still took less then 2.5 years to complete.

I understand some of you keeping your expectations in check, but to say they wouldn't have had enough time to make a new one is just plain false when the last few Smash Bros were made in 2 year development cycles as well.  The final DLC for the last Smash was released in Febuary of 2016, which has been over 2 years now.  Even if they didn't start development right away, they could have still waited until the end of 2016 and if this game doesn't come out until this Fall, that would still give it a development time very similar to what the last 2 Smash Bros had.

Now I imagine they're reusing the Wii U engine for quicker development so for people who want the game to have a completely different artstyle like Brawl and 3DS/Wii U did will end up disappointed.  But content wise, it's very possible we could be looking at a lot of new stuff.  I expect at least a dozen new characters, all the active franchises getting a new stage based of their most recent games, a few new modes and I could even see the return of an Adventure mode.  Plus Classic will be revamp again and we'll get a new set of 50+ Event matches, and a new Challange Wall that's completely unique from the one in Wii U.  Everything I said is easily doable, especially if reusing the Wii U engine in a 2 year timespan and would certainly be enough to be considered a new game over an enhance port.

Considering Melee is still getting played at tournaments, the online port of the game might actually be really popular in that parallel universe and taken over the world. Iwata may be looking like an even bigger genius along with the sales success of the Wii and DS in that universe. Ain't gonna feel too bad for them.

"I see you....

There are no scrubs in the void.

Only... Smash."

That teaser was magic and fire.

Shhh.

It's okay to be wrong, Luigi Dude. :)

Luigi Dude is right on in every aspect. This is a new game.


Sakurai announced very early after Bayonetta released that the next project was decided. Here it is. Listen to that new song when the Smash cast shows itself. Look at that logo, while similar to the Smash 3DU one, it is different. Link gets a breath of the wild look and here are the Inklings. All the dates listed with the copy right info for all the enhanced ports for switch show the original release year, not this game.


If it was an enhanced port they would have showed us a ton of stuff like all the old DLC included like they always do with all the enhanced ports. This is a new game so rejoice and be merry!


I guarantee you the the art style will evolve with new models and everything but I am certain this game was built off of the last games engine. UNLIKE Splatoon 2 which was actually built from the ground up but no one seems to know that.


RIDLEY - DIXIE - RIDLEY - DIXIE - RIDLEY - DIXIE!


It's time!

Shhh.

It’s okay to be wrong, Caterkiller. :)

Especially about playable characters. :D

People are overstating the "same engine" concept. It can use the same core engine and be an entirely new experience. The question is the included content of the game. If they spent all the time just adding/balancing/retooling the roster and building new levels and game modes it could feel like an entirely new game even if the core engine is the same.


I'm hoping it refreshes some of the older characters. Mario, Link, and Luigi could use some new movesets more relevant to their recent titles. They could even be clever about it. Dr Mario/Young Link could retain the bulk of the "classic smash" Mario/Link and allow the primary character slots be filled with a new Mario and Link that incorporate mechanics from Odyssey and BotW (or go the Game & Watch direction and make an 8-bit Mario/Link for the classic moves).


Luigi should really get some heavy Poltergust action added to his moveset, what with the new 3DS game on the horizon.


Ganondorf should really be remade from the ground up; give him a sword or some magic attacks.

Tournament players are a relatively small subset of the overall fanbase though Nintendo has been paying them more attention probably for the marketing potential. Melee Online may have been popular, but I wouldn’t want to live in a universe without a true follow up. We finally got third party characters with Snake and Sonic. Earth 2 gets what, laggy bullshit Nintendo WiFi added to an unbalanced, rushed game. No one wants that. How can you be so heartless, Linkle Link?

If you want to believe that, you also have to believe that Sakurai, who resigned from a company he spent nearly a decade and a half with then stated, “It was tough for me to see that every time I made a new game, people automatically assumed that a sequel was coming,” and “Even if it's a sequel, lots of people have to give their all to make a game, but some people think the sequel process happens naturally,” on record, decided to make a sequel immediately after completing a sequel. Not saying it’s impossible, just less likely.

No offense, but the rest of what you (and Luigi Dude) are saying is straight up confirmation bias. Maybe it happens? I don’t know or care, really. I’m still not sure why any of this matters. A lot of digital ink is being split over something so inconsequential. Would you not buy the game if it’s an enhanced port? I have a hard time believing anyone would because Lord Sakurai didn’t bless us with a new game.

Enough of that though. Maybe this doesn’t matter to other people, but one thing I really want from this game is a simpler interface. The menus in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS are a colossal mess. Training is buried under 37 submenus.

Nintendo's been holding their cards close to their vest, so I think it's fair to say maybe we don't really know how long this Smash Bros has been in development.  Which is why I'm inclined to believe the speculation that it's in fact a brand-new game. 


Not only that, but think about all the hype generation they miss-out on if it's a deluxe version like MarioKart 8 was.  You mean they're going to skip-out on the drip-feed of stage and character announcements that worked so well the last few times?


Once I saw the inklings at the start of it, I knew it was Smash Bros., if only because they had spent so much time before that on Splatoon 2, and it didn't seem like a Nintendo thing to do to say "oh, one more thing", only to be more follow-up info on the same game.


Put me in camp new game, and I'm a firm believer it'll be 2018. They need something to hang their hat on for the online service they supposedly plan on still charging for this year.

You are in luck because 2018 was confirmed in the trailer. I guess it could always get delayed. Then again, it would be odd to announce a game on the same year it releases only to kick the can down the road.

Yeah, to clarify, I think that's a firm date.

I think it'll be 2018 no matter what, and they may take the Splatoon approach where the game launches with less content and they trickle out more characters and stages in updates at no extra cost.

I was super excited at the reveal, but the "2018" scares me.  Yet another port being sold at full price is the last thing we need.  I would guess that it will be inbetween, like a sports game revision -- marketed as a new game with a new name, but the framework will be from the previous game and not have a significantly reworked battle system.  Just a guess.

Apart from the obvious Inklings and Arms characters, I hope they add some more wacky characters as well.  It would be funny to have anthropomorphized versions of all the Nintendo consoles and handhelds.

My guess is this will be a case like Splatoon 2, where it shares a lot with the Wii U predecessor but adds on enough that it's unfair to call it a port.

I dont play Smash, but I like all the hype around it. It was a very cool announcement

No offense taken. Now then I've been on the Smash 5 went into production immediately after Bayonetta wrapped since the Smash 6 job listing appeared before the Wii U game even released. If that could possibly make any sense to anyone but me.


The quote you brought up, from which game was that referring to? Or rather what Smash game was in development during that time? What ever the case I constantly see the narrative floating around that this is it for Sakurai, his body can't handle it, he's had enough of smash, he's said he was done with Smash after Melee, Brawl, and Smash 3DU, etc.


For one I distinctly remember Sakurai talking about the development of 64, Melee and Brawl as if they were going to be the last in the franchise. He made them not planning for a sequel and gave it his all in case there would never be another. That is very very different from the idea that people push around that Sakurai has had enough and wanted to be done with the franchise.


Sakurai had constantly talked about the strains Smash development put on his life and physical health but when you read the interviews that constantly went up during Smash 3DU's development you could just feel the happiness inside of him. I know this is purely conjecture on my part but there was something very different about the way Sakurai talked about Smash during the last games development. Just look at how open he was about characters that he considered for playable status. Ridley, Geno and Takamaru come to mind. During the Brawl days that kind of thing was very very rare. We heard about Dixie kong on the record but that was it. During early development he mentioned how he was very careful with what he posted on twitter or say in an interview because people would pile on him assuming it always had to do with Smash. But in the last few years he has been far more open about things that ended up on the cutting room floor. I bring this up only to say I feel like he has darn near fully embraced what Smash brings to his life and has stopped worrying so much. He mentioned several times that he doesn't know if a team could handle Smash without him. Smash is his baby and he wants to be there all day every day, consequences of his tendonitis be danged.


This is all just educated guessing on my part.
1 - Nothing was saving the Wii U, not even Smash. Before the game released Iwata requested that the Switch come out swinging with Smash early.
2 - Smash Wii U isn't even released and it's decided a new one needs to be ready early. So a job listing goes up for Smash 6. This is real by the way.
3 - Might have been an enhanced port like a bunch of other games but once everyone realized what a break away hit Zelda was and also carried the system things changed. Like that Pokemon Stars rumor.
4 - Even if it started as an enhanced port we know Sakurai's work ethic. He goes balls to the wall every single time he does absolutely anything. There was no way this was going to feel like anything other than a full on sequel.
5 - Samsh Wii U releases September of 2014. Bayonetta is released Feb 3rd, 2016 and Sakurai says he and the team take a vacation.
6 - A month or two later Sakurai publicly talks about the next project being decided. That was early 2016.
7 - It's been roughly 2 full years(or will be), the typical Smash development time.
8 - Oh and the ballot that resulted in only Bayonetta? Pu-lease! That data was being collected for a future game that was happening yesterday.


I am so certain that this is a new game and I've been predicting it for a long long time. I said if Smash comes at the Switch's launch it will be an enhanced port. If time goes on and we hear nothing it's going to end up as a full on sequel.


The music, the logo, and Link's new look are all I really need to see to convince me it's a new game.


I know a ton of what I said is based off of tin foil hat predictions but darn it, I know how these things work!

I think your number 4 is a great poinr. I could totally believe that they started out making Smash 4 Deluxe and then it ballooned into something much bigger over the course of development.

Yeah, I can see that happening. Sakurai is the same guy who whydontwehaveboth.gif when Iwata asked him to make a Super Smash Bros. on either Wii U or 3DS.

To go back to your previous post, it's reasonable to ask: how much content must be added for it to be unfair to call this release a port? Seems pretty arbitrary to me which is primarily why I don't care what this game is. Mop it up brought up a great point in Console Discussion: this will likely spark "an endless debate over what constitutes a sequel." Do we really need to do that?

Before Thursday, we knew nothing about the game. We didn't even truly know if there would be a Super Smash Bros. release on Switch; we all just assumed there would be. There was no reason to believe with any conviction that we would get another game at all. However, the lack of evidence isn't evidence in itself. Of course, Super Smash Bros. on Switch can be a new game. For better or worse, there have been so many instances in which Nintendo did something no one expected, and we were all left saying, "Well, I guess this is happening now." It's fun to speculate. Threads get derailed all the time. I'd just hate for this to keep coming up.

You're right, it's a largely arbitrary distinction. And I agree, this debate is already tiresome, and only figures to get more so.

I'm mostly torn on the port/new discussion because I am tempted to pick up the 3DS version as an appetizer to Smash-Switch (Swatch? Swash? Smatch?), but why waste the money if the new Smash has everything that one offered? I technically don't own the Wii U or 3DS versions, as I've just been borrowing Smash U from my sister long-term (she gets Mario Kart 8 in return).


When I finally got around to thinking about picking up SmUsh myself the Switch was upon us and with the announcement of MK8D I've been waiting for a port announcement before spending the money.

With a fighting game series like this that is already so mature, I am pretty forgiving with what could be considered a sequel vs. port.  If they did a MK8 or Captain Toad style enhancement (straight port with DLC style additions/fixes), I would be disappointed and would not buy it.  But, that seems unlikely.  Chibi Robo didn't burn for that.

To me, my recommendation would be dependent on what you're looking for and how you play smash. 


If getting 3DS smash would be about just having something to play the occasional match on the go, I'd argue it might be worth dropping $20 or less for a used copy.  It's a fully-functioning smash game, and I actually grew to like the simplified/condensed look they gave the characters.