TSR's Super Smash Bros Thread|SWITCH HYPE TRAIN NOW BOARDING

[TomGuycott]

Of course he showed the best stuff off first, they need to sell the game. Brawl was almost the exact same way, showing off most of the main newcomers off before release and making veterans and odd newcomers secret.

Take for example Shulk. Kind of an out-there choice from Sakurai's point of view (he said it himself when he introduced him), but he was heavily requested by fans and even EXPECTED by fans to a degree. People who requested him may have been disappointed with his absence and not bought the game if he wasn't in it (in extreme cases).

Also, when you purposely go out trying to find out information about a game pre-release, there's always a danger of killing your hype, because you'll know what to expect. I don't really have that problem, personally, in fact my hype for the game is at an all-time high right now because I almost have my hands on it.

Also, in modern fighting games it is better to have a very diverse roster right from the start. Most tournament style fighters don't even have unlockable characters anymore, just having everything ready from the get-go so everyone can be played BY everyone. Sakurai considers the game more of a party fighter than a traditional fighter, though, and unlockable characters are staple. If you put all the interesting newcomers behind a wall of unlocks, then there's no hype for them pre-release. I think the choices for the locked vs unlocked does make sense, at least to me. It's not really that different from what went on in Brawl.