Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS and Wii U has certainly seen its share of DLC. It’s brought back fan-favorites from years past like Roy, and has brought us characters that have never even set foot on a Nintendo console such as Cloud. That DLC trail that we’ve been on is coming to an end, states game director Masahiro Sakurai.
In an interview from the Making of Fire Emblem: 25 Years of Development Secrets (thankfully translated by SourceGaming), Sakurai discusses the future of the Fire Emblem series, and whether there are any more characters from Fire Emblem being imported to Super Smash Bros, as well as the future of the Smash Bros. series.
“How much a character will please the players, how unique they are–there are a lot of factors that go into deciding a character’s inclusion. I don’t know whether Fire Emblem will have many more games in the future, but it’s not as if we have a stipulation that says, ‘We have to include the protagonist of the next Fire Emblem game.’ Moreover, we don’t even know if there’ll be another Smash game.”
He also had some heart-felt words for the development work he’s done with the current set of Fire Emblem characters in Super Smash Bros.
But, being able to take these characters who first appeared so long ago, and to be able to keep using them and share them with the current generation is, in my opinion, a blessing and a really fun job. Fire Emblem is changing and evolving with entries like Awakening and Fates, and I’d love to keep an eye on this evolution now and in the future.
This is not the first time Sakurai’s discussed a possible end to the Smash Bros. series, but he also states within the article that some failing of health, specifically with his eye sight, might make this one of the last in the series. Below is also the statements between the interviewer and Sakurai specifically dealing with the end of Super Smash Bros. DLC
Interviewer: You do say that every time [about Smash Bros. games coming to an end], though, so I do wonder if maybe it’ll just keep on going forever.
Sakurai: And I’ll become the Smash craftsman? (laughs)
Interviewer: Yes. After all, including the DLC, you’ve been involved with Smash since the beginning.
Sakurai: Well, DLC is coming to an end soon, too, y’know.
On December 15th, Nintendo held its last Nintendo Direct for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U. With the game having sold more than 4 million copies so far, the Smash Bros. series still has proven to be a fun and engaging title for Nintendo.