Since the debut of Super Smash Brothers on the Nintendo 64, the immense popularity of the game has been relaunched on every version of Nintendo, most recently the Wii U. E3 2015 has allowed the company to really expand their vision for Super Smash Brothers DLC (downloadable content) with characters like Ryu, Roy, and Lucas as well as much more characters becoming available in the future.
According to Engadget, the roster for Super Smash Brothers on both the Nintendo Wii U and 3DS has grown larger as Street Fighter's own Ryu and Fire Emblem's Roy are going to be player characters. Ryu's pack also comes with a Suzaku Castle stage, and both are available for $3.99 on either system, or on both for $4.99 each.
Considering that footage of these characters leaked on YouTube, this isn't really a big surprise. In addition to those characters, there is also Lucas from Mother 3 as well as a lot of Mii fighter outfits. This includes: "Mega Man and Zero, Isabelle from Animal Crossing, an inkling boy, girl and 'squid hat' outfit from Splatoon, Heihachi from Tekken, and Jacky and Akira from Virtua Fighter". All eight of these costumes are available for $6, or $9.20 across both the Wii U and 3DS versions. The player can also buy the individual costumes for $0.75 on his or her preferred system, or $1.15 if on both systems.
For those unfamiliar with Super Smash Brothers, it is a game that is the ultimate battle of Player vs. Player, and the players can be their favorite Nintendo character with special powers and abilities to defeat the other character with their special abilities. Smash Brothers is a gaming cash cow for Nintendo like The Legend of Zelda, or other Mario-related games like the Mario Kart series.
Last fall, according to VG 24/7, Smash Brothers creator Masahiro Sakurai has described the upcoming MewTwo DLC as an "experiment". Sakurai did not want to see criticism that the game was "cutting up content to sell characters one by one, or that we are adding things later that should have been there from the start". Sakurai also considered all the hard work put in the game, and the current roster is heavy with powerful playable characters.
Apparently, Sakurai has had a change of heart as seen in a recent presentation before E3 2015. E3, short for Electronic Entertainment Expo, is a big gaming convention that takes place annually at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The pre-E3 Nintendo presentation had Sakurai show off a new Dreamland stage from Kirby, as well as two retro-styled levels taken from the original Nintendo 64 Super Smash Brothers. The Kirby stage will be $1.99 or $2.99 depending on if you want it on one or both systems.
Nintendo is also planning on offering a complete DLC pack including the new Ryu, Roy, and Lucas fighters for $21.96 on the 3DS or Wii U, or $29.16 across both game versions. Nintendo is also planning on an August update that will introduce two tourney modes: regular tourneys and community tourneys. In addition to this, the company will also patch in YouTube support for easily uploading and sharing replays.
Nintendo also announced that every playable Smash Brothers character will have a matching Amiibo figure. In September, there will be the Mii Brawler, Mii Swordfighter, and Mii Gunner, as well as R.O.B., Duck Hunt, and Mr. Game and Watch. Falco is planning on coming this holiday season.
However, the idea of Nintendo selling a low-price version of the Super Smash Brothers and then selling off DLC characters might seem deplorable to some. This is like those applications users can get on the smartphones that are initially free, but then the user has to pay for specific content. If players of Super Smash Brothers only want to play one specific character, the idea of selling the game and buying only one DLC character might be a good deal, but this does limit the traditional version of the game. It is clear that the demand for DLC characters could create an entirely new market in this classic fighting game, and it will be interesting to see if other games follow a sellable DLC character business model.
