Super Smash Bros. fans have grown accustomed to excruciating waits between new entries in the series. There was an eight-year gap between Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl, and a six-year wait between Brawl and the Wii U and 3DS versions. Given that history, we shouldn’t expect a new Super Smash Bros. until at least 2020.
Well, according to Japanese video game industry insider and consultant Dr. Serkan Toto, fans may be getting a new Smash Bros. a lot sooner than anticipated. Toto, who has a reliable track record when it comes to insider info, claims Bandai-Namco is working on a new Smash Bros. and is aiming to have the title ready for the launch of the Nintendo’s next console, the NX…
Bandai Namco is currently developing several NX titles. Smash Bros is planned to be a launch title. I am not sure about the date - yet ;).
— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) January 28, 2016
To follow up on my last tweet: I haven't heard if it's a completely new (numbered) Smash Bros or not. Otherwise, source situation is solid.
— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) January 28, 2016
Of course, we don’t have a precise release date for the Nintendo NX, but it will be out by 2017 by the very latest. Would it even be possible for a new Smash Bros. to come out that quickly? Nintendo is still releasing DLC for the Wii U and 3DS versions!
Interestingly, Toto only mentions Bandai-Namco in his rumor. Every Smash Bros. to date has been presided over by infamously fastidious series-creator Masahiro Sakurai, but in recent years he’s expressed a desire to move on from Smash. Bandai-Namco did a lot of the heavy lifting on the current Smash Bros. games, so is it possible they’re stepping up and making the next entry without much input from Sakurai? Without Sakurai’s constant tinkering, I could see the next Smash Bros. coming together more quickly than usual. Of course, another possibility is that this rumored Smash Bros. is just a remastered take on the Wii U version.
What are your thoughts? Do you think we might really get another Smash Bros. so soon? What do you want out of the next entry in the series?
(via IGN)