Games in Time – Super Smash Bros. Switch Is REAL

It’s your video game industry news update for March 8th, 2018 – The confirmation of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Switch highlights the March 2018 Direct, Microsoft is trying its hand at a live news broadcast with Inside Xbox, and Activision announces Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. The video game industry changes every day and your time is important. Let’s get you caught up, starting right now, on Games in Time!

HEADLINES

Smash Bros. for Switch Confirmed

Nearly ten years to the day of Super Smash Bros. Brawl’s release in North America, Nintendo has announced that the next Smash Bros. game for Nintendo Switch will arrive in 2018. This news arrived with a reveal trailer at the end of the latest Nintendo Direct that showed Inkling from Splatoon joining the fray. Masahiro Sakurai has confirmed on his Twitter account that he is working on the game, which means the overworked developer never seems to rest.

The biggest topic of discussion at the moment is whether this Smash Bros. game will be a new entry in the series, or an enhanced port that’s built upon the foundation of Wii U and 3DS content. All of the messaging so far has implied that the Switch version will be a new installment – from the working title, to a new website, and Sakurai’s involvement that leaves the mystery open in a Switch launch period filled with Wii U ports. If this is the case, though, consider what this could mean. First of all, third-party DLC agreements such as Ryu and Cloud are not guaranteed to carry over to a new game, so there is the risk of losing characters to gain new ones. Second, a new installment opens the door for possible delays beyond 2018, especially with Sakurai’s perfectionist tendencies.

If you ask me, I’ve thought for a while now that a deluxe version with added content makes far more sense, not only for comparative ease of development, but also to build on an already established Smash 4 community. While I’m not opposed to an all-new Smash game, I think I’d be most happy with one that adds more content to a refined Smash 4 experience, in order to blur the line between port and new. And of course, you’d have to imagine that this game needs to be the title that drives Nintendo’s paid online service later this year. For now, I’ll call it one 2018 video game prediction down, and we’ll likely see an info blowout along with gameplay at E3 in June.

Nintendo Direct for March 2018

While it would be easy to think that Smash Bros. was the only announcement in the Nintendo Direct, there were certainly more big headlines. 3DS seems to be wrapping up its final relevant year with releases like franchise-wide mini-game compilation WarioWare Gold on August 3rd, GameCube port Luigi’s Mansion later this year, and DS remake Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey in 2019. After coming off of the recent Superstar Saga remake, it’s odd that Partners in Time has been seemingly skipped, but even more surprising that when this new game comes out, Bowser’s Inside Story will have been ten years old.

Ports to Switch continue to be gladly accepted, considering its portable possibilities. In this Direct, we learned that Okami HD is coming this summer, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker arrives July 13th with extra levels based on Super Mario Odyssey, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy loses its PS4 exclusivity on July 10th, South Park: The Fractured But Whole arrives on April 24th, and Undertale is coming eventually.

Specific release dates for previously announced Switch exclusives are always welcome news. Octopath Traveler – yes, the final name – launches July