Tagged with: Smash Bros.

Satoru Iwata provided a quick update with regards to Smash Bros. on the Wii U at the recent Nintendo Direct broadcast. He said:

Smash Bros is a huge development undertaking and we need more time before it launches. Mr Sakurai told us that we have set the timing for the first screens at this year’s E3. Please wait for just a little longer.

I think if we’re lucky, we’ll have the game in our homes at the end of 2014.

Masahiro Sakurai, the director of Smash Bros. for the 3DS and Wii U, has confirmed that “the game system itself is complete”. But this doesn’t mean the game is complete. Or is even close to completion. These are the basic foundations of the game that he’s talking about. And, as for his full quote:

The game system itself is complete, so we don’t want to make it 3D or introduce complicated controls just for the sake of it. However, I am thinking of ways we can introduce a slightly different, fun experience all the while keeping the usual frantic game play.

It’s nice that Nintendo is opening up about the game. I thought there was going to be dead-silence for a while longer, so it’s also nice that I was wrong.

It’s not clear what control schemes will be available in Smash Bros. on the Wii U, but Masahiro Sakurai — the director of the game — has said that:

The GameCube controller is not the only way to control Smash Bros., so we will look into ways that fits the Wii U.

This seems like the sort of title that will have all sorts of options for controlling the game. The tablet controller will surely be put to full use, but I think there’ll be options to suit all playing styles.

Masahiro Sakurai, the developer who’s working on Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, has said that “there is a certain dead end we come to if we just expand the volume of the game”, so we shouldn’t just expect more characters and stages. He intends to “change direction a little as we go”, believes “the key to that’s going to be its dual support” for both platforms, and explains that:

I’m really just getting started on this so it’s going to take time, but I’ll come up with something that uses that link as the game’s central axis, so I hope you’re looking forward to it.

It’ll be a long time before the game is released, but my excitement levels have started to rise.

I posted this to Nintendo 3DS Blog, but, in case you missed that post (which I should assume is entirely possible), here’s what Masahiro Sakurai has said in regards to Smash Bros on the Wii U:

I can’t really say anything until things settle down with Kid Icarus. …And a lot of it will depend on the team that I end up assembling for Smash Bros. It may take a while, but I think your patience will be rewarded.

Or, with even less words: don’t expect Smash Bros to be released any time soon. There’s a long while before the game will be available. At most, I’d expect a teaser at E3 2013, but even that might be pushing it.