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

[Kriven]

I don't know if DKCR has anything much to do with Diddy in Brawl, or if Xenoblade Chronicles has anything much to do with Shulk in Sm4sh... I feel like both of those games were already going to happen anyway. With those properties I feel like it's kind of the reverse: if King K. Rool had been in DKCR, his chances for appearing in Sm4sh probably would have been greater.

As far as "Nintendo's Picking Family-Friendly Third-Parties" k Bayonetta.
But yes, Nintendo is picking characters that don't stick out like sore thumbs from their core cast. But they're also picking characters which are extremely significant to gaming as both a culture and an industry, and in at least two cases, to Nintendo itself. The rivalry between Sega and Nintendo being made tangible in Smash Bros. through the inclusion of Sonic is a strong force behind his inclusion, even ignoring the relationship the two companies have developed over the past fifteen years (close enough to release an entire franchise based on crossing over their leading men... which also pays friendly homage to the rivalry in the 90s). Then there's Mega Man, arguably the most significant third-party character to grace the NES. Far too many people already (wrongfully) consider Mega Man a Nintendo character in the same way they consider Cloud a PlayStation character.

I think the only truly "political" move Nintendo has made as far as third-party characters was the inclusion of Snake in Brawl, and that was less of a political gesture on Nintendo's part and more of one on Sakurai's part, to make his friend happy. I suppose an argument could be made for Bayonetta being political, considering how deep Nintendo's hands were in those pockets, but then you could also make the argument that she's partially Nintendo's creation.