Connectivity has been a constant theme throughout this year’s E3. Leading that charge over on the Nintendo front is the promise of the next Smash Bros game actually being two games: one for the Wii U and one for the 3DS. Even though it sounds like not a single development hour has actually been spent on either version as of yet, we have some early conceptual plans to share with you.
In a video recorded in advance of E3 and released yesterday, Satoru Iwata and series creator Masahiro Sakurai sat down and gave some official word regarding where they think the franchise should go. The two have apparently been bouncing around ideas since immediately after Brawl’s release, but Sakurai and his new team were assigned to Kid Icarus: Uprising before crafting another sequel. This would give the designer a break from Smash Bros. and allow his team to get used to 3DS development. After all, he knew immediately that he wanted to bring the series over to the handheld, but was worried about the restrictions that would counteract the new possibilities offered by the platform.
Out of that dilemma was born the idea to develop a version for both the 3DS and the newly-announced Wii U. No one could know about the top secret plans because Wii U was still a mystery at the time. That meant that the team members who were recruited for Icarus and Smash were left in the dark about the latter game. That’s one way to keep things under wraps.
As for the actual plans for the sequel, Sakurai doesn’t want to just throw in a dozen more fighters and stages. He feels that a fresh approach is needed so that the series does not grow stale. His plan is to introduce things such as experience points, leveling and rewards. Worried that this would alienate casual players, he is opting to only implement personalization on that level into the 3DS outing. Players will then be able to bring over their character to the more expansive Wii U version.
The other point he made has to do with character balancing. This aspect was handled entirely by Sakurai himself in previous games, but not this is not the case for the next outing in the series. He doesn’t want to be tied down to balancing, so the responsibility will be given over to numerous members of the design team instead. The team itself will be composed both of Project Sora members and new hires. His vision is so expansive that a large crew will be required to bring it to life.
That’s all we’ve got for you on the next Smash games that are almost definitely still several years out. What do the Smash fans out there think about the new direction the franchise is headed in? Let us know in the comments below.
[Source: Andriasang]
[Image via Video Games Blogger.]
