Should 3rd Party Characters Be a One Time Deal?

[Randoman]

Do you think 3rd party characters like Snake and Sonic should be a one time deal, and not be reoccurring characters in Smash Bros?

I personally think so. It'd be ridiculous if they were reoccurring characters since no other fighting games have guest characters as reoccurring. It'd also really detract from the game being about Nintendo characters if specific non-Nintendo characters became staples to the series. Even if it were non-Nintendo characters that were favourites of mine and were heavily affiliated with Nintendo (like Bomberman or Cecil Harvey), I'd still want them to stay one time deals, since it'd be more fair overall to both Nintendo characters and non-Nintendo characters that way. I mean, if they kept Snake and Sonic and removed Lucario and Ike, there'd be tons of outrage and people would be furious about Nintendo prioritizing non-Nintendo characters over their own. And since Sakurai said he wanted to keep 3rd parties to a minimum to keep the game's focus, if specific non-Nintendo characters became reoccurring, that wouldn't leave much of a chance for other 3rd parties to join the fray, and it'd be unfair to them.

I also thought I'd share this about Sonic's potential return:

NWR: One more question here. Sonic was very popular in Smash Bros. for Wii. Is there any possibility of him making a return appearance in the next Smash Bros.?

TI: All we can say is that we also think it would be awesome if he was in the next Smash Bros. So yeah, but that's more of a question for Nintendo than us.

I'm not sure if that quote leans towards or away from his inclusion. Either way, I really expected Sega to make their own Smash Bros. equivalent by now. If Sony could pull it off despite all the contracting and licensing they had to go through, Sega definitely should be able to do the same, especially since they've already got a lot of their characters together in Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing.

[HK Motendra]

Third party characters can be summed up with one word: GUESTS! No guest should overstay their welcome and reoccurring guests would detract from the uniqueness between each game in the series.

[Jedi]

If they want to stay let them. If they can't stay, let em go. I see no problem with letting Sonic or Snake stay. I'd be almost willing to bet Sonic is gonna be staying but Snake will probably be going. This is speaking outside of my Sonic bias. I'm still seeing that deal between Nintendo and Sega of late playing a part in this in some small way.

Although if they wanted to keep Snake in spirit they could make some alterations to his moveset and give it to an Advanced Wars character.

[HK Motendra]

Once you put it like that, there probably is a good chance of Sonic returning . Snake would most likely be a one time thing though

[Mighty Kamina]

I'd say that because of Sega's deal with Nintendo Sonic probably will be staying (Snake will probably be going). I'm fine with 3rd party characters reoccuring, as long as they stay within 2-4 characters out of the entire roster.

Edited June 25, 2013 by Kamina

[Guy Starwind]

Personally I think it adds more fun. I mean in Brawl Snake and Sonic were two original characters. I think it's dumb when they remove any characters though.

[Randoman]

I don't think that deal with Sega and Nintendo has anything to do with Sonic being in Smash Bros. Sega had a 3 game exclusive deal with Nintendo, and Sega barely does any development on Smash Bros.

Also, I personally think that Sega believes in "guest characters being one time deals." I mean, they removed Banjo Kazooie from Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing Transformed, even though he was in the original. And Miis and avatars don't count as "reoccurring guest characters," since they're representations of the actual human player and not really characters.

Anyways, I guess we'll see what Sonic's fate is later on down the line regarding Smash Bros. Though what do you guys personally think the interview quote is leaning towards, regarding Sonic's inclusion?

[Ema Skye]

I don't think Sakurai is going into this game with the intention of cutting Snake and Sonic. This applies to any character.

However, I would be surprised if any Nintendo character was a lower priority to complete than Snake or Sonic were, unless programming limitations exist for someone like Pokemon Trainer. He's only going to cut characters due to time constraints like he did with Mewtwo and Roy, so if Snake and Sonic are the lowest on the priority totem pole, then they certainly have a chance at not making it into the game.

Though I will say that from an economic standpoint, removing Sonic would be really stupid because so many people wanted Sonic in the game.

Edited June 25, 2013 by Dinfinitysignfina

[Vestige]

I really don't care either way. Because while I don't care much for sonic or snake, that's just me. I'm sure there's other people who want them to return and for their sake, I wont freak if they return. -shrug-

[Jedi]

I don't think Sakurai is going into this game with the intention of cutting Snake and Sonic. This applies to any character.

However, I would be surprised if any Nintendo character was a lower priority to complete than Snake or Sonic were. He's only going to cut characters due to time constraints like he did with Mewtwo and Roy, so if Snake and Sonic are the lowest on the priority totem pole, then they certainly have a chance at not making it into the game.

Though I will say that from an economic standpoint, removing Sonic would be really stupid because so many people wanted Sonic in the game.

Yep. Remove Sonic and you lose tons of sales. That's just how it works. He was the most wanted 3rd Party character, more so then Megaman. Lookie Megaman is in now. What does this mean? :P

[IceBrand]

I'm ok with Sonic staying since Nintendo and Sega has had history together. Character's like Snake on the other hand should be a one timer. Mega man.......eh.

[Jedi]

I'm ok with Sonic staying since Nintendo and Sega has had history together. Character's like Snake on the other hand should be a one timer. Mega man.......eh.

Megaman more then earned his shot, I'd practically consider Classic Megaman to be part of Nintendo.

Plus this artwork was sweet. Just need Simon now xDD

Edited June 25, 2013 by Jedi

[Randoman]

Yep. Remove Sonic and you lose tons of sales. That's just how it works.

Tons of sales? SSB64 and Melee sold 5 million and 7.09 million respectively, without third parties. Sure, Brawl sold 11.49 million, but I doubt Snake or Sonic's inclusion contributed to a significant portion of the 4.4 million difference between Brawl and Melee. It's not like Sonic's inclusion is going to make or break the game's sales, or even contribute to 1/20th of its sales. At most, Sonic's inclusion probably bumped up the sales by a 4 or 5 digit number (eg: 6000, 10000), so it's not like Brawl wouldn't have been a success or outsold Melee without his inclusion. Also, you need to pay for the license to include 3rd parties in, even if it's a case like Kojima wanting Snake in Brawl. Nintendo still has to pay to have 3rd Parties in the game for legal reasons. So when you subtract that payment with the extra sales that are made from including 3rd parties in, I doubt it actually makes a significant amount of profit.

Smash Bros. is a game that revolves around Nintendo characters, and anyone who thinks 3rd parties are the game's main attraction or anything more than icing on the cake is being ridiculous.

Megaman more then earned his shot, I'd practically consider Classic Megaman to be part of Nintendo.

This, I'll agree with you on. Especially since Club Nintendo comics back in the day also considered him to be a part of Nintendo.

Megaman, along with Bomberman, were the only non-Nintendo characters that the Nintendo comics included. And seeing how they were practically exclusive to Nintendo back then and still supported Nintendo quite a lot from the PS/N64 era onward, I'm okay with their inclusion in Smash Bros.

[Jedi]

Tons of sales? SSB64 and Melee sold 5 million and 7.09 million respectively, without third parties. Sure, Brawl sold 11.49 million, but I doubt Snake or Sonic's inclusion contributed to a significant portion of the 4.4 million difference between Brawl and Melee. It's not like Sonic's inclusion is going to make or break the game's sales, or even contribute to 1/20th of its sales. At most, Sonic's inclusion probably bumped up the sales by a 4 or 5 digit number (eg: 6000, 10000), so it's not like Brawl wouldn't have been a success or outsold Melee without his inclusion. Also, you need to pay for the license to include 3rd parties in, even if it's a case like Kojima wanting Snake in Brawl. Nintendo still has to pay to have 3rd Parties in the game for legal reasons. So when you subtract that payment with the extra sales that are made from including 3rd parties in, I doubt it actually makes a significant amount of profit.

Smash Bros. is a game that revolves around Nintendo characters, and anyone who thinks 3rd parties are the game's main attraction or anything more than icing on the cake is being ridiculous.

Yes I get that its based on Nintendo characters but if you have the gall to say Sonic and Snake did NOTHING for brawls sales. You are blind.

I do not think 3rd parties are the main attraction. No where did I even Imply that, I was just stating Sonic and Snake helped brawl sell more. Some people who never got 64 or Melee saw the 1 of the 2 and were like omg. They are in this crossover game! I gotta get it! Because some people in the Sonic and Metal Gear markets saw them. This is a marketing technique to expand interest and get more revenue.

[Rehab]

As long as they can make the characters interesting ingame, I can be content so to see them do what they please with the roster.

Edited June 29, 2013 by Rehab

[Steampunk]

I wouldn't mind them leaving the 3rd party characters in. I mean, at least they're actual video game characters unlike Rob. I wouldn't mind them adding 3rd party characters that are identified as Nintendo characters. Banjo/Kazooie would be a good example. Even though they are owned by Rare and have appeared on other consoles, I consider them Nintendo characters would love to see them in an SSB game. Megaman is another example. Sure, he's appeared in Playstation games, but I think we all really identify him with Nintendo. Battletoads is another that isn't technically a Nintendo franchise, but I don't think they've ever appeared on another console.

So, it depends. I think 3rd party characters have have a history with Nintendo are fine. Smash Bros is all about reminding us of Nintendo's history, and some characters are a part of that history, even if they aren't Nintendo exclusive.

[Randoman]

Yes I get that its based on Nintendo characters but if you have the gall to say Sonic and Snake did NOTHING for brawls sales. You are blind.

I do not think 3rd parties are the main attraction. No where did I even Imply that, I was just stating Sonic and Snake helped brawl sell more. Some people who never got 64 or Melee saw the 1 of the 2 and were like omg. They are in this crossover game! I gotta get it! Because some people in the Sonic and Metal Gear markets saw them. This is a marketing technique to expand interest and get more revenue.

Alright, fair enough. I guess I'm just a little ticked at some of the fans that do think third parties are key to the success of Smash Bros. games. Like that one guy that posted a video/article about why Master Chief should be in Smash Bros. and why it'd make Smash Bros. skyrocket in sales...

[Ema Skye]

There's people on Miiverse telling Sakurai to add Batman for goodness sake.

Yeah, adding people from multiple companies increases the amount of people who buy the game, but this is too much.

Stahp requesting batman all ye miiversers.

[Refa]

I name Link "Batman" in all of the Zelda games anyways.

[Super Smash Bros. Fan]

There's people on Miiverse telling Sakurai to add Batman for goodness sake.

Yeah, adding people from multiple companies increases the amount of people who buy the game, but this is too much.

Stahp requesting batman all ye miiversers.

No matter how bad things may get at SSB4 character scene, they won't ever get as bad as they do in Miiverse.

Anyway, to answer the question, I feel as it depends on if they can provide fresh experiences a second time around. Sonic in particular has a lot of things he could do to make his inclusion worthwhile and maybe Snake as well. Sonic at least should return, but I'd understand if guests are a one-time deal.

already got Mega Man anyway, who is instant main for me.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Super Smash Bros. Fan

[MacLovin]

There's people on Miiverse telling Sakurai to add Batman for goodness sake.

Yeah, adding people from multiple companies increases the amount of people who buy the game, but this is too much.

Stahp requesting batman all ye miiversers.

We need Superman, not Batman.

Also, 3rd party should be free to be recurring. It's always nice to see characters that have a place in gaming history and watch them join da fight. Simon Belmont and Contra Bill would be nice to see.