For Everyone, Just Like Always
This may come as something of a shock, but Super Smash Bros. isn’t focused on competitive players. Every entry since the first one has been about accessible fun for everyone, and it looks like Ultimate will be no exception. This doesn’t mean that serious players won’t enjoy the upcoming Switch game, simply that they aren’t the key demographic being targeted.
In a recent interview with The Washington Post, director Masahiro Sakurai addressed the competitive side of the Smash Bros franchise. While Sakurai acknowledges this competitive side, he doesn’t want the game to skew “a little bit too much on the technical side.” Rather than that, it looks as though Nintendo is going to keep focusing on fun and accessibility.
People playing for money, people injuring themselves playing the game and people getting burned out are not things that line up with Nintendo’s inherent design philosophy. Sure, there are many fans who consider Melee to be the pinnacle of the series, but technical perfection was never Nintendo’s ultimate goal. Although Ultimate looks to be brimming with changes geared towards competitive players, it looks like Super Smash Bros. will continue to be a breezy blast of a party game. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be out on the Nintendo Switch on December 7th, 2018.