I wonder what the odds of Sakurai's project being new DLC or an enhanced port of SSBU for Switch 2 are. I'm actually kinda hoping it's Melee HD. Even better would be a SSB collection, but I'm not gonna get my hopes up for that, especially since it would almost certainly omit the 3DS version anyway.Masahiro Sakurai recently revealed that he has been overseeing a secret game project since April 2022. He apparently finished the proposal for this mysterious title "at lightning speed" back in July 2021 while he was still working on Tekken's Kazuya and Kingdom Hearts' Sora as DLC fighters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Fans had plenty of reasons to speculate that, with this reveal, Sakurai had already begun development on the next Super Smash Bros. entry after Smash Ultimate. Back in November 2021, however, Sakurai made it clear that he wasn't thinking about a sequel at that time.
"I am not thinking of a sequel. I am not thinking of it every time," said Sakurai. "However, I can't say with certainty that this would be the end of Smash."
"I am not thinking of a sequel. I am not thinking of it every time. However, I can't say with certainty that this would be the end of Smash." — Masahiro Sakurai
Needless to say, the timing of this statement is enough to cast some serious doubt about any theory suggesting that Sakurai's next project was related to Super Smash Bros. While this assumes that Sakurai was being honest with his response, it's difficult to imagine Sakurai not thinking about a potential sequel in the event that he wrote a proposal for it.
Whatever Sakurai's secret game project is, it can't be related to the Super Smash Bros. series, right? Well, Nintendo apparently just dropped a new commercial that seemingly advertises for a certain game released nearly six years.
As such, the possibility that Sakurai's new game is somehow related to Super Smash Bros. has greatly increased. Even though the holiday season is approaching, it's a bit strange to imagine why Nintendo would be promoting Smash Ultimate when so many other games have come out after it.
Of course, it's been reported that Smash Ultimate had reached over 35.14 million sales, cementing it as the third best-selling title on the Switch. However, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons with their respective achievements of 64.27 million and 46.45 million sales would probably be better games to promote from a business perspective.
Why is Nintendo releasing an ad about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2024? For some reason, Nintendo wants fans to have a renewed interest in the series.
Earlier this year, new Spirits were added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate that celebrated The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Splatoon 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Pikmin 4, MLB Power Pros, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Hades, Pokémon Scarlet, Pokémon Violet, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Princess Peach: Showtime!
Nintendo even introduced patch 13.0.3 into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate after years with no updates. Though this patch only fixed a longstanding issue with the game's online ranking system that's been present since launch, this update actually had huge implications for the future of the series.
It's starting to feel more and more likely that Sakurai's secret game project is actually somehow related to the Smash series despite his statement pointing towards the contrary. It's even been rumored that new GameCube controllers are also in production, which has traditionally been a telltale sign of a new Smash entry on the horizon.
While Sakurai never confirmed that it was Nintendo that requested him to write up the proposal that he did in July 2021, it's certainly the most likely scenario. The timing of the official statements regarding the Switch successor also feels related as it can be speculated that Sakurai is working on a game that will be a launch title for the upcoming console.
We recently learned that the Switch successor will have backwards compatibility with the previous console, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate certainly would be a good game to play on that device. With that said, Nintendo has traditionally released a new Super Smash Bros. entry on every Nintendo console since the Nintendo 64 as it has always been a console-seller all on its own.
Without these factors, the idea of Nintendo releasing an ad for a game that's six-years-old at this point just feels bizarre. At this point, Nintendo is clearly trying to put some focus on Super Smash Bros.
More than likely, we'll finally get answers as to what's going on when Nintendo is finally ready to unveil the Switch successor, which should happen on or before March 31, 2025.
I really don't think this will end up being a new SSB, it's probably too early for that, I'd expect the next main entry to launch, at the earliest, during the 2nd year of Switch 2's lifespan (same for Mario Kart, MK8D is still selling like hotcakes and there's no way Nintendo wants to stop that, unfortunately).
