Unless this is an overly elaborate and dishonest ruse, it sounds like there haven't been any talks with Snake returning. Granted, this is the man that brought us The Phantom Pain run around and wouldn't confirm or deny if Snake is in or not in Smash 4.

But if we're going to take his statements on their face value, it's a high chance that Snake got cut.

Konami seems to be the EA of Japan when it comes to supporting Nintendo. They seem to have turned their back on Nintendo. We knew all along that if MGS V did not make it to Wii U then Snake would most likely be cut from Smash Brothers. Although I would like for him to return, I am not going to shed any tears if he does not come back to the roster due to the little support Konami has been giving Nintendo lately.

I'm willing to bet Bayonetta may be playable instead, since her game and SSB4 come out around the same time...

I hope Metal Gear Solid for the Game Boy Color comes to the 3DS Virtual Console. I heard the game was good but never played it yet.

Snake was a fun character to use even if he didn't really fit. If this ends up being true, I won't be surprised, but I'll still be disappointed.

I still wouldn't take Kojima's words seriously just yet considering if Snake is in the game, saying he's not involved is the only thing he could say.  If he said, "Yes, Snake is returning", Sakurai would probably be angry at him for ruining the reveal.  If he said "No comment", that is pretty much saying he's in as well since anytime somebody says No Comment on a Yes or No question, it means Yes but they're not allowed to say it.

Plus I find it rather suspicious that Kojima says he doesn't know, when putting Snake in Brawl was his idea in the first place.  You're telling me the guy who's suppose to be a big fan of Smash Bros and is friends with the creator of the series, who wanted Snake to be in Melee but asked too late, but then got him put into Brawl from the very beginning, has no idea if the character he begged to get in the first place isn't going to return?

Now I'm not saying Snake might not return, who knows considering he's still a third party and we don't know what could be going on behind the scenes with Nintendo and Konami.  But Kojima's excuse about not knowing just strikes me as rather odd considering how Snake got into Brawl, and unless him and Sakurai got into a fight and are no longer friends since then, I have a hard time believing he really doesn't know.

If they were sticking to the arbitrary "one character per third party company" rule there are better choices to be Konami's representative. Simon Belmont would seem to have far more of a Nintendo legacy.

If I was Iwata I would explicitly have last say as Nintendo the Corporation and yeah Snake would be out.  That was a boarding on a FU to the fans in his inclusion to begin with.  Simon Belmont would be a much better character.  Shot Generic Hunter from Monster Hunter be a better character choice.

Yeah I totally remember the mass outcry and screams of "NINTENDO SOLD OUT!" across the world when Snake was revealed for Brawl


.... oh wait

I remember them.

Either way though does it really set a good precedence?  Thats like me joining the Army for a day, Serving lunch to someone, leaving, and then 10 years later Getting the medal of honor.

Naked Snake confirmed for smash.

Snake felt pretty out-of-place in the game so I won't mind if he doesn't return.

more out of place than a power-armored bounty hunter fighting a three-foot portly Italian stereotype plumber?

Snake? Snake?! SNAKE!!!

You know if Snake does return, I wonder how they'll handle his voice for the dub.  Konami's using Kiefer Sutherland for his English voice now but I doubt Nintendo would be willing to pay for his higher salary in Smash Bros.  Would they be able to get David Hayter to do the voice again or would Konami have a problem with that?  In that situation, do they not dub him at all and just leave him speaking Japanese like Marth did in Brawl?

Now I really hope he does return just to see how this situation would be handled.

They could very well use Solid Snake (David Hayter) rather than Naked Snake/Punished Snake/Big Boss (now Kiefer Sutherland). Or maybe Kojima will have a laugh and have it be Metal Gear Solid 3's Naked Snake voiced by David Hayter.

They could just reuse the voice from SSBBrawl, like how Melee reused some voices from SSB64.

If I were Sakurai, I would agree to put Snake in Smash 4 ONLY of Konami releases MGS V (both the retail demo and the actual game) on Wii U.

Nintendo is going to need to do more than barter with a Snake cameo in Super Smash Bros. to get Metal Gear game on their home console.

Hideo Kojima recently talked about supporting anyone who would be interested in reviving Snatcher. Suda51 created a radio drama prequel a few years ago. I wonder if Sakurai needs a new project after Super Smash Bros. Maybe Nintendo foots the bill for a new Snatcher title. Nintendo gets an exclusive Wii U title (or, better yet, an exclusive launch title for their Wii U successor) published by Konami of course while Kojima gets Snake in Super Smash Bros. and sees one of his earlier series brought back to life. Each side gets something (though this probably favors Konami even if Nintendo scores lifetime exclusivity).

If a deal like the one Adrock has proposed does occur, it would need to favor Konami. Favoring 3rd parties would be a huge step in getting them back on board with Nintendo systems. And that would be a big win for Nintendo.

More room for Ridley!

Your character's so fat, he needs two character slots to be in the game!

How come this is the only guy who speaks gospel?

I hope Snake is out despite missing out on his unique move set. If Konami can't put out for Nintendo in a meaningful way then get out. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

If third party support is how this is being measured, might as well boot Mega Man too. While Capcom's Wii U support is better than Konami's, it's still pretty weak. Both companies' output on 3DS is fairly decent. Sonic is the only character that truly belongs if we're going this way.

Instead, I prefer to view a third party character's inclusion based on what the character means in relation to Nintendo's history. That means Snake would likely still be out having only appeared in a single, completely original exclusive (albeit non-canon) game, but Mega Man definitely has a place. Additionally, Sonic absolutely belongs in terms of Sega's rivalry and subsequent partnerships with Nintendo. If any Konami character deserved a spot, a representative from Castlevania makes the most sense.

I really don't fully see those as mutually exclusive.

Mega Man and Castlevania was a lot of third party support just not now.  Meanwhile MGS Nintendo systems were always an after thought even in the NES days.

Sonic is a weird one because of the rivalry but the modern support really helps.  Though in a way I could argue Pacman as well.

If we are measuring by number of games they have been in then the Ice Climbers have been in even fewer games.

Mike Jones only needs two games to make it in to Smash. SAKURAIIIIIIIIIIIII! >:D

meh don't care.
I HAVE LUCARIO NOW!!
FFFOOOCCCUUUSSS BBBLLLAAASSSTTT!!!