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The only way I could see Cloud making it in is if S-E is planning on making a FF7-related property for a Nintendo console (FF7 remake on the DS, anyone?
). The guy already said that only characters who have appeared on Nintendo consoles would be eligible, although admittedly nothing they've said has really been final or definitive so far
Cloud was in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories on GBA. Yeah, it's a stretch, but, really, so is Snake. On Nintendo hardware, he's been in two remakes (original MG and Twin Snakes), an unofficial retconned sequel (Snake's Revenge), a non-canon side-story (Ghost Babel) and that DreamMix fighting game (which was also on PS2). And on top of that, they even use his MGS2 design, which was released on PS2 and Xbox and NOT Gamecube.
Based on Snake's inclusion, that "must have been on a Nintendo platform" rules doesn't seem too strict. Snake should have been one of those characters who was on the fence, but his presence in Brawl kind of makes it fair game for any popular character.
Brawl never
needed to have 3rd party characters. It would've sold well on its own. I'm convinced that the only reason Nintendo OK'd it was to make more money by widening the audience to fans on those 3rd party characters. The popularity of a certain 3rd party character is most likely the determining factor. Sure, Kojima asked/begged to have Snake in the game, but Snake is also a very popular and recognizable character.
And yeah, I think there will be a FFVII related property on Wii, probably a remake. Square-Enix likes making money and they'll get the greater returns on Wii. It's easier and cheaper to develop for with the largest install base in Japan and soon everywhere else in the world.