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3DSWiiU

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, Wii U Release Windows Revealed

by Bryan Rose - April 8, 2014, 3:15 pm EDT
Total comments: 33 Source: Nintendo Direct

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U slated for this winter.

The upcoming Super Smash Bros. games have received two separate release date windows. Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS will be released this summer. The Wii U version will be released this winter.

This was revealed today in the Nintendo Direct concerning the upcoming games.

Talkback

Ian SaneApril 08, 2014

I didn't think having SSB on the 3DS was a good idea.  Now since I own a 3DS and not a Wii U the whole concept is pretty favourable for me but that's the whole point.  Why buy a Wii U for SSB when the 3DS, the system people actually own, provides the same basic experience?  Nintendo thought that Mario would sell Wii U's but both NSMB and 3D World did not and both games had 3DS equivalents that were released first.  It's like the Wii U is an extra luxury.  "Buy the Wii U and get a fancier HD version of your favourite 3DS games!"  It might as well be the Sega CD offering a great, but unessential game like Sonic CD, to those that want to spend more to enhance their experience.  But the Wii U isn't going to sell worth a damn as an expensive accessory for the 3DS owner.

So why offer the 3DS game first unless you're trying to bury the Wii U?  You did this twice already and it blew up in your face!  At least those Mario games have unique levels.  A multiplayer focused title like SSB is going to have a harder time selling both titles as essential purchases.  They'll be more likely to come across as the same game.  And I assume the whole rationale for this decision is to get people to double dip.  Well that might work for someone that owns both systems but who is going to buy a Wii U for a "special edition"?

Frankly I think even having a 3DS version is self-sabotage but, hey, when the development was started the Wii U wasn't in such dire straits and if you spent time on development there's no point in canning the 3DS one now.  But Nintendo can stagger these out to give the Wii U a period of exclusivity that might encourage system sales.

Not only do I NOT have to buy a Wii U for SSB I get my game FIRST!  Sweet!  Hell, there's probably going to be some owners of both consoles that will not get the Wii U version because they don't feel they can justify purchasing both and their impatience will make them get the 3DS version.  Nintendo delayed the Gamecube version of Twilight Princess to give the Wii a boost.  Anyone disagree with that decision in retrospect?  So why is Nintendo doing effectively the exact opposite here?

AdrockApril 08, 2014

I like that there's a 3DS game, especially since they each have exclusive content. Launching the 3DS version first is like 10 different terrible ideas in one. Didn't we read this book already? We all know how this story ends.

SorenApril 08, 2014

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!~?!??!?!?!

Kytim89April 08, 2014

I am going to buy both versions. I am still upset that the subtitles have not been revealed for each game.

Makes sense, it'll get people too impatient to play new Smash to pick up the 3DS version.  Heck, I wasn't planning on getting the 3DS version, but I may pick it up if I find a good deal for it prior to the Wii U release.

Mop it upApril 08, 2014

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this bad move, yet still, I am.

Ian SaneApril 08, 2014

I'm wondering if Nintendo fears that the "inferior" 3DS game won't have much appeal unless it goes first.  But the things is the 3DS game does have obvious value - portability.  That's the Game Boy strategy in a nutshell.  The "real" game goes on the console and the portable equivalents are scaled down due to the lesser technology but the consumer accepts that to play it on the go.

Though a simpler explanation is that the less advanced 3DS game will simply be completed sooner.  That's not a good reason to release it first but it's a reason.

Evan_BApril 08, 2014

I seriously don't get why people think they're not going to make the Wii U version appealing, like, everyone thinks Smash 4 Wii U will be the most bare-bones experience ever and the 3DS version is the "clearly" superior one.

It's just not true.

rlse9April 08, 2014

Not that surprising that the Wii U version isn't coming until later, they've only got two major Wii U releases scheduled for the year at this point so I couldn't have seen them releasing Smash Bros this summer.  I wonder how they're defining "winter" because by the calendar winter would imply that it probably won't release until 2015.  But I'm hoping their definition is more like November.

It really is starting to seem like the 3DS is the Wii U's worst enemy.  Mario, Mario Kart, Smash Bros all having Wii U releases not that long after their 3DS counterparts and people not having a need to get a Wii U as a result definitely isn't helping its cause.

SorenApril 08, 2014

Quote from: Evan_B

I seriously don't get why people think they're not going to make the Wii U version appealing, like, everyone thinks Smash 4 Wii U will be the most bare-bones experience ever and the 3DS version is the "clearly" superior one.

It's just not true.

Well, they had a great opportunity with this Direct to make the Wii U version appealing. And they failed. Big gap in release dates, extra game mode on 3DS and Sakurai "advising" us to get a LAN Adapter if we want a stable experience online(a full 8 months before the game is released no less.).


So you can understand why I'm a bit skeptical.

AdrockApril 08, 2014

Quote from: Kytim89

I am still upset that the subtitles have not been revealed for each game.

I haven't watched the Nintendo Direct yet so I don't know if it was specifically mentioned that "For 3DS" and "For Wii U" are now placeholders, but last E3, Sakurai said those were the official titles.

Quote from: Evan_B

I seriously don't get why people think they're not going to make the Wii U version appealing, like, everyone thinks Smash 4 Wii U will be the most bare-bones experience ever and the 3DS version is the "clearly" superior one.

It's just not true.

Who is "everyone?" My understanding is beyond graphics, some stages, and at least one mode, they're essentially the same game.

Besides a very short window when the games were announced, I already decided to get both. Releasing the Wii U game second really hurts Wii U in general.

broodwarsApril 08, 2014

Looks like Nintendo is determined to make the same mistake they made releasing the inferior New Super Mario Bros. 2 a few months ahead of New Super Mario Bros. U. Well, at least Nintendo is consistent in their incompetence. May the end result this time be just as underwhelming.

Evan_BApril 08, 2014

With the 3DS coming out first, it makes sense to focus on its features before divulging the Wii U features, which can be hyped even more in the future.

Don't be me wrong, I think they could have done a lot more to differentiate these two versions (costumes, modes, and even rosters), but thinking the Wii U version won't be superior is backwards.

nickmitchApril 08, 2014

I'm still highly interested in both versions.  The Wii U version will give more control options and look amazing.

The 3DS version coming out first just ensures that I won't wait to buy it.

AdrockApril 08, 2014

Besides playing on a TV, I expect the Wii U version to be superior only in that I won't have to replace my entire console when I wear down the analog stick. My 3DS's poor, poor circle pad...

I'm glad the roster is the same between versions. I'm still holding out for costumes. It would be cool if, like the stages, each version had costumes based handhelds and consoles. For example, only in the 3DS version would Samus have the Fusion suit while in the Wii U version, Samus would get the Light Suit from Metroid Prime 2 and/or the PED suit from Metroid Prime 3.

SorenApril 08, 2014

Ah yes, the superior version of a game come on Wii U, albeit months after it was released on other platforms.

I'm sure the folks at Criterion can tell Nintendo how well that strategy works out. That is, if they're still on speaking terms.

Chad SexingtonApril 08, 2014

Nice.


Speaking as someone who only owns a 3DS and hasn't owned a (any console) for 10 years, down with the Wii U, all hail the 3DS.  :P:

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterApril 09, 2014

Quote from: Ian

I'm wondering if Nintendo fears that the "inferior" 3DS game won't have much appeal unless it goes first.  But the things is the 3DS game does have obvious value - portability.  That's the Game Boy strategy in a nutshell.  The "real" game goes on the console and the portable equivalents are scaled down due to the lesser technology but the consumer accepts that to play it on the go.

Based on what people have said to me in a school setting there is alot of reservation with the 3ds version and concern with the screen being too small.

If it were a 2 month gap I'd be fine with it but it isn't.

Also isn't winter basically missing Black Friday I mean wth

Quote from: pokepal148

Also isn't winter basically missing Black Friday I mean wth

"Winter 2014" taken literally gives them about an 8 day window to launch the game, and I seriously doubt they would even remotely consider any of those days. I guarantee you they mean "right before Black Friday."

Luigi DudeApril 09, 2014

Well on the one hand, Nintendo pretty much killed the Wii U's biggest holiday game.  Good luck getting parents to buy Smash Bros Wii U when they already bought the cheaper 3DS version a few months early. Yeah the Wii U version will still sell a few million, but it's appeal have been greatly reduced since the 3DS version being first just a few months earlier will make that the default game for most people.  Nintendo needed to get the Wii U version out first just so it would be the one with the most power but now the Wii U version is the second banana game that the hardcore fans will still get, but everyone else can live without.


On the other hand though, I'm one of those hardcore fans who'll buy both so it isn't that big a deal to me personally.  It's been over 6 years since Brawl and I really want to play a new Smash Bros and with the 3DS version coming out this sooner, it'll be a great way to hold me over until the superior Wii U version comes out later.  Plus this means we'll get to know the entire roster soon since with a Summer release, character reveals will probably speed up on the website and the inevitable hidden character leaks will appear a few weeks before the official release just like Melee and Brawl.

broodwarsApril 09, 2014

Here's a sobering thought: if Smash Bros. U is now the Wii U's big November/December 2014 game, that pretty much means Nintendo's probably not going to announce any new 2014 Wii U games at E3. Aside from the Indies, that's probably it for the Wii U this year. If that doesn't confirm that Nintendo has abandoned the Wii U at this point, I'm not sure what else could.

MagicCow64April 09, 2014

Quote from: broodwars

Here's a sobering thought: if Smash Bros. U is now the Wii U's big November/December 2014 game, that pretty much means Nintendo's probably not going to announce any new 2014 Wii U games at E3. Aside from the Indies, that's probably it for the Wii U this year. If that doesn't confirm that Nintendo has abandoned the Wii U at this point, I'm not sure what else could.

Actually this is the most disturbing implication from the direct. I was holding out for a summer release for the WiiU version, which would require another big gun during the holiday period. Now it's going to be a marginal release or two in the summer and fall until Smash hits in November. Which means they'll tease out Zelda until holiday 2015. And then possibly an epic drought until . . . ?

broodwarsApril 09, 2014

Quote from: MagicCow64

Quote from: broodwars

Here's a sobering thought: if Smash Bros. U is now the Wii U's big November/December 2014 game, that pretty much means Nintendo's probably not going to announce any new 2014 Wii U games at E3. Aside from the Indies, that's probably it for the Wii U this year. If that doesn't confirm that Nintendo has abandoned the Wii U at this point, I'm not sure what else could.

Actually this is the most disturbing implication from the direct. I was holding out for a summer release for the WiiU version, which would require another big gun during the holiday period. Now it's going to be a marginal release or two in the summer and fall until Smash hits in November. Which means they'll tease out Zelda until holiday 2015. And then possibly an epic drought until . . . ?

I expect we'll see Bayonetta 2 sometime during Summer, Yarn Yoshi in September/October, possibly another $50 GameCube port in October (Mario Sunshine, perhaps), and Smash U in November. That's not the most exciting lineup, and that's a best case scenario right now since we've heard nothing about Yarn Yoshi for quite some time and the GameCube port is pure speculation.

I'll say again that I think it's foolish to write off the possibility of X hitting this year at this point. We haven't seen a ton of it, but Xenoblade's been out for four years in Japan now.

This thread is just LOADED with doom and gloom, huh? I've come to inject a bit of positive outlook here because holy -WOW-, you folks are down on the idea of the 3DS version splashing first.

First and foremost, I've been hearing lots of Sentiment that the 3DS version will be an inferior game and that it'd be superfluous if they shoved it on the back burner, and that much the same would happen if they launched simultaneously or too close.

This thread however decries that and make the opposite the case. The way I kinda see it and Sakurai was talking about was that he wanted the 3DS game to be a more personalized and single-player focused experience.

I have a bit of a theory, so this may be me being overly hopeful, -BUT-... What if Smash Run had the unlockable properties for the Custom Move Sets that then a yet revealed mode in the console game -REALLY- took advantage of? and that in turn there's a biiig piece of the 3DS game that remains dormant without the Wii U?

The big thing that makes me say this is that the segment in the reveal trailer of SSB4, when Mario did that big jump that made him suddenly turn HD, he was in the Smash run stage and likely was juiced up by a bunch of jump powerups!

I think these games are designed to be two halves of a whole, and that when we realize what this complete experience is, that it will be Nintendo's big move to get people to own both versions!





I also want to address concerns about the rather spartan Wii U lineup here... First and foremost, Super Mario 3D world got revealed at E3 last year and came out by black Friday, and we've only had 2 Nintendo directs in 2014; February and this Smash Bros. Direct. I think they're keeping things a little tighter to their chest so they have multiple spots to hit that we won't see coming. Smash Bros. was the big elephant in the room that people would have been clamoring for and would have eclipsed the rest of the presentation , so they got that out of the way, much like they got A link between worlds, Mario and Luigi Dream Team, and all the other 3DS Hubbubaloo out of the way before last year's primarily Wii U focused presentation.

AdrockApril 09, 2014

I suspect Super Smash Bros. for Wii U will be a February release like Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze was this year. If so, that's probably for the best if Nintendo insists on releasing the 3DS version first. The more time in between the two versions, the better. Five or six months isn't much of a gap, but it's better than the two to three months in the same year between New Super Mario Bros. 2 and New Super Mario Bros. U.

If Sakurai and Namco Bandai have nearly half a year of extra development time, the Wii U version would benefit greatly by being loaded with extra content. Smash Run looks like fun. They'll have to do better on Wii U. They can start with costumes and a metric fuck-ton of stages. A stage editor may be absent from the 3DS version (otherwise, last night was the time to talk about it). The fact that almost every stage has a version of Final Destination gives me hope that a stage editor will build off of that and let us create non-generic stages.

And if Nintendo really wanted to make the Wii U version more appealing, they could make some unlockable characters free on Wii U as well as free on the 3DS by connecting to Wii U, but paid DLC on 3DS without Wii U. That's kind of a dick move, but there's no better carrot to dangle than extra characters.

Quote from: ClexYoshi

I have a bit of a theory, so this may be me being overly hopeful, -BUT-... What if Smash Run had the unlockable properties for the Custom Move Sets that then a yet revealed mode in the console game -REALLY- took advantage of? and that in turn there's a biiig piece of the 3DS game that remains dormant without the Wii U?

The big thing that makes me say this is that the segment in the reveal trailer of SSB4, when Mario did that big jump that made him suddenly turn HD, he was in the Smash run stage and likely was juiced up by a bunch of jump powerups!

That's an interesting theory that I felt that morph to HD in the original trailer was just because it looked cool.

StogiApril 09, 2014

Wow you guys really love to assume your opinions are correct.

AdrockApril 09, 2014

Quote from: Stogi

Wow you guys really love to assume your opinions are correct.

That's typically what having an opinions means.

StogiApril 09, 2014

Actually no, it's not.

I think your confusing opinion with theory or even hypothesis.

Ian SaneApril 09, 2014

Quote from: broodwars

Here's a sobering thought: if Smash Bros. U is now the Wii U's big November/December 2014 game, that pretty much means Nintendo's probably not going to announce any new 2014 Wii U games at E3. Aside from the Indies, that's probably it for the Wii U this year. If that doesn't confirm that Nintendo has abandoned the Wii U at this point, I'm not sure what else could.

I'm going to wait until E3 before I assume this.  I'm pretty much never optimistic in matters regarding Nintendo but I'll still wait for E3.

AdrockApril 09, 2014

Quote from: Stogi

Actually no, it's not.

I think your confusing opinion with theory or even hypothesis.

Thinking you're right and being right are two different things. An opinion can't be proven; it's only what someone thinks is true. Are we really having this discussion again?

Would you care to elaborate on what's wrong with people sharing their thoughts? Or were you just stating the obvious?

StogiApril 09, 2014

No biggie my brotha

But I think your confusing opinion now with beliefs hahaha

WahMay 07, 2014

no silly story :'(

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