Mega Smash 4 Poll Analysis Week 1: Meet the Hardcore Community

Introduction:

I’m excited to show you guys the first wave of information from the Mega Smash 4 Poll I’ve been conducting. The poll is open in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and French! Thanks to the hard work of the translators who have made it possible. If you have not already, please take the poll here before reading. The poll will be open until the end of the month, but I wanted to show you some information. Furthermore, the goal of this post is to promote the poll. The more respondents we have, the more accurate the data will be. Once the poll closes, the data will be released to everyone . So please do your part and take the poll. If you have already taken it, please help promote it.

This post takes into account over 2,300 responses. As of writing, the poll has gathered almost 3,000 votes in all languages. However, in this post, I will be focused on the English results for simplicity sake. I’m going to let the data do most of the talking. This post has a ton of data in it, and I look forward to seeing the conversation that emerges as a result.

Who Voted So far (English):

Mean: 19.69271061
Mode: 19
Median: 19

Males from North America are the common poll takers. The male-to-female ratio is actually observed in all languages. Hardcore Smashers tend to be young males. The average age of the poll taker is 19 years old. About 60% of the respondents have played Project M. Most respondents claim that Smash 4 Wii U is their favorite Smash game yet. The legend on the right follows the order from biggest to smallest perctange.

Average Age For Favorite Smash Game:

Super Smash Bros. (64)	21.36170213
Super Smash Flash	20.44444444
Super Smash Bros: Brawl	20.0733945
Super Smash Bros: 4 Wii U	19.61052632
Super Smash Bros: Melee	19.53200883
Super Smash Bros: 4 3DS	19.40718563
Project M	18.91341991
I don’t own any Smash Brothers game	17.25

Respondents who said Smash 64 was their favorite game tended to be older. Super Smash Flash places second, with Brawl being third. Not owning a Smash Brothers game usually meant that the user was younger, by almost 4 years when compared to Smash 64.

83.7% of respondents owned the Wii U version. 71.5% owned the 3DS version. I believe these are good percentages to have in this poll, as most of the other questions deal with Smash 4.

Average Age for Responses on 3DS/ Wii U ownership:

Neither	19.66055046
Wii U Only	20.15498155
3DS Only	18.79752066
Both	19.4612069

Wii U only users tend to be older. This is surprising, as I assumed owning both would the older as the respondents would be more likely to work full time. 3DS only users tended to be the youngest. Perhaps, the majority of 3DS only respondents received the 3DS version as a present.

Hardcore Ranking:

(Graph removed because it featured an error)
For Glory (Competitive Player)
1 722
2 434
3 621
4 320
5 330
6 124
7 118
8 115
9 43
10 128
For Fun (Friendly Player)

Users were asked on a scale of 1 to 10 to rank how hardcore they are. 1 is the “most hardcore” while 10 is the “most casual”. Most respondents claimed they are extremely hardcore.

Mean: 3.542869641
Mode: 10
Median: 3

Legend of Zelda	559
Pokemon	490
Mario	272
Fire Emblem	172
Earthbound	111
Metroid	101
Kirby	77
Mega Man	68
DK	57
Sonic the Hedgehog	57
Xenoblade	56
Metal Gear Solid	48
Animal Crossing	45
Star Fox	41
Pikmin	32
Kid Icarus	31
F-Zero	19
Retro	14
Wario Ware	9
Wii Fit	8
Namco	6
Punch Out!!	5
Yoshi’s Island	4

Yoshi’s Island was not included as an option for about 1,400/2,300 respondents so more users may like it.

The series that are liked tend to be the more “hardcore” series, which makes sense considering the respondents.

Below, I compared the favorite series to the respondents age.

Average Age per favorite series:

Yoshi’s Island:	28.75
Metroid:	21.4
Mega Man:	20.53
DK:	20.35
Retro:	20.35
Legend of Zelda:	20.28
Namco:	20.1
Punch Out!!:	20
F-Zero:	19.75
Mario:	19.65
Star Fox:	19.65
Metal Gear:	19.34
Animal Crossing:	19.31
Fire Emblem:	19.25
Warioware:	19.25
Pokemon:	19.1
Earthbound:	19.04
Kid Icarus:	19
Sonic:	19
Kirby:	18.13
Pikmin:	18
Xenoblade:	17
Wii Fit:	15.6

Character Preferences (Interactive Version):

Most Like Votes: Captain Falcon, Ganondorf, Marth, Shulk, Mario

Most Liked Ratio: Captain Falcon, Kirby, Marth, Mario, Ganondorf

Most Dislike Votes: Diddy Kong, Rosalina and Luma, Dark Pit, Sonic, Mii Swordsman

Most Dislike Ratio: Mii Swordsman, Diddy Kong, Mii Gunner, Dark Pit, Rosalina and Luma

Captain Falcon not only got the most “like votes”, but his like-to-dislike ratio is perhaps the best in the game. His clone, Ganondorf is also well-liked by many of the English poll takers.

Most of the “dislike” characters are either considered OP (Hoo, Hah), or a “waste” of a character slot. Mii Swordsman is usually ranked one of the worst characters in the game with regards to tier list, which may explain his lack of popularity.

Character Name:	Likes	Dislikes	Total Votes:	% Like	% Dislike
Mario	981	121	1102	89.02%	10.98%
Luigi	878	126	1004	87.45%	12.55%
Peach	623	169	792	78.66%	21.34%
Bowser	732	101	833	87.88%	12.12%
Yoshi	762	206	968	78.72%	21.28%
Rosalina and Luma	591	610	1201	49.21%	50.79%
Bowser Jr.	733	243	976	75.10%	24.90%
Wario	519	356	875	59.31%	40.69%
Mr. Game and Watch	708	201	909	77.89%	22.11%
Donkey Kong	673	129	802	83.92%	16.08%
Diddy Kong	495	755	1250	39.60%	60.40%
Link	924	220	1144	80.77%	19.23%
Zelda	595	188	783	75.99%	24.01%
Sheik	785	251	1036	75.77%	24.23%
Ganondorf	1073	133	1206	88.97%	11.03%
Toon Link	790	248	1038	76.11%	23.89%
Samus	721	151	872	82.68%	17.32%
Zero Suit Samus	746	319	1065	70.05%	29.95%
Pit	613	238	851	72.03%	27.97%
Palutena	504	381	885	56.95%	43.05%
Marth	1054	118	1172	89.93%	10.07%
Ike	820	124	944	86.86%	13.14%
Robin	860	171	1031	83.41%	16.59%
Kirby	788	81	869	90.68%	9.32%
King Dedede	744	176	920	80.87%	19.13%
Meta Knight	554	232	786	70.48%	29.52%
Little Mac	766	437	1203	63.67%	36.33%
Fox	811	155	966	83.95%	16.05%
Falco	704	193	897	78.48%	21.52%
Pikachu	816	108	924	88.31%	11.69%
Charizard	571	195	766	74.54%	25.46%
Lucario	604	262	866	69.75%	30.25%
Jigglypuff	865	181	1046	82.70%	17.30%
Greninja	718	167	885	81.13%	18.87%
Duck Hunt Dog	732	329	1061	68.99%	31.01%
R.O.B	638	259	897	71.13%	28.87%
Ness	961	171	1132	84.89%	15.11%
Captain Falcon	1329	79	1408	94.39%	5.61%
Villager	924	161	1085	85.16%	14.84%
Olimar	451	399	850	53.06%	46.94%
Wii Fit Trainer	532	283	815	65.28%	34.72%
Shulk	985	190	1175	83.83%	16.17%
Dr. Mario	681	259	940	72.45%	27.55%
Dark Pit	523	568	1091	47.94%	52.06%
Lucina	777	282	1059	73.37%	26.63%
Pac-Man	828	175	1003	82.55%	17.45%
Megaman	958	159	1117	85.77%	14.23%
Sonic	599	514	1113	53.82%	46.18%
Mii Fighter	473	337	810	58.40%	41.60%
Mii Swordsman	271	476	747	36.28%	63.72%
Mii Gunner	284	425	709	40.06%	59.94%

Stage Preferences (Interactive Version):

Flat-Zone X was missing from the poll for over 1,000 votes. Because of this, it has a low amount of votes. However, considering it’s like to dislike ratio, it’s probably safe to say that Flat-Zone X would be one of the most disliked stages if it was had more votes.

The legal stages in each game tend to have higher likes and percentages of likes. Since most of the respondents self-identified as “hardcore”, this is to be expected. In the same vein, the disliked stages tended to be stages with hazards, or not seen hardcore friendly.

Wii U:
Most Liked Stages: Battlefield, Final Destination, Smashville, Town and City, Delfino Plaza
Most Liked Ratio: Battlefield, Town and City, Final Destination, Smashville, Delfino Plaza
Most Disliked Stages: 75m, Pac Land, Great Cave Offensive, Dr. Wily’s Castle, Pyrosphere
Most Disliked Ratio: 75m, Pac Land. Great Cave Offensive, Flat Zone X, Pyrosphere

3DS:
Most Liked Stages: Battlefield, Final Destination, Yoshi’s Island, Corneria, Prism Tower
Most Liked Ratio: Battlefield, Final Destination, Yoshi’s Island, Corneria, Arena Ferox
Most Disliked Stages: Dr. Wily’s Castle, Mushroom Kingdom, Golden Plains, Flat Zone 2, Balloon Fight
Most Disliked Ratio: Mushroom Kingdom, Golden Plains, Flat Zone 2, Balloon Fight, Distant Planet

Wii U: 3DS:

Stage Name:	Total Votes:	Likes	% Liked:	Dislikes	% Disliked:	Stage Name:	Total Votes:	Likes	% Liked:	Dislikes	% Disliked:
Battlefield	1781	1759	99%	22	1%	Battlefield	1638	1611	98%	27	2%
Big Battlefield	1084	978	90%	106	10%	Final Destination	1633	1588	97%	45	3%
Final Destination	1762	1715	97%	47	3%	3D Land	723	392	54%	331	46%
Mushroom Kingdom U	849	641	76%	208	24%	Golden Plains	654	236	36%	418	64%
Mario Galaxy	1169	1052	90%	117	10%	Rainbow Road	815	593	73%	222	27%
Delfino Plaza	1141	1086	95%	55	5%	Paper Mario	838	511	61%	327	39%
Mario Kart 8	1061	891	84%	170	16%	Mushroom Kingdom (Brawl)	641	184	29%	457	71%
Mario Kart Circuit (Brawl)	656	311	47%	345	53%	Jungle Japes (Melee)	823	521	63%	302	37%
Luigi Mansion	903	761	84%	142	16%	Gerudo Valley	996	859	86%	137	14%
Jungle Hijinks	826	544	66%	282	34%	Spirit Train	865	600	69%	265	31%
Kongo Jungle 64	1071	957	89%	114	11%	Brinstar	622	374	60%	248	40%
Skyloft	1101	1007	91%	94	9%	Yoshi’s Island (Brawl)	1016	975	96%	41	4%
Bridge of Eldin	875	691	79%	184	21%	Dream Land	686	498	73%	188	27%
Temple	1146	1037	90%	109	10%	Corneria (Melee)	955	890	93%	65	7%
Pyrosphere	910	426	47%	484	53%	Unova Pokemon League	795	600	75%	195	25%
Norfair	704	410	58%	294	42%	Prism Tower	954	874	92%	80	8%
Port Town Aero Drive	719	498	69%	221	31%	Mute City	851	700	82%	151	18%
Woolly World	867	657	76%	210	24%	Magicant	1022	763	75%	259	25%
Yoshi’s Island	743	586	79%	157	21%	Arena Ferox	902	840	93%	62	7%
The Great Cave Offensive	1076	433	40%	643	60%	Flat Zone 2	601	221	37%	380	63%
Halberd	1002	925	92%	77	8%	Reset Bomb Forest	740	433	59%	307	41%
Orbital Gate Assault	840	567	68%	273	33%	Warioware	687	447	65%	240	35%
Lylat Cruise	893	736	82%	157	18%	Distant Planet (Brawl)	520	236	45%	284	55%
Kalos Pokemon League	1061	894	84%	167	16%	Tortimer Island	670	544	81%	126	19%
Pokemon Stadium 2	1079	989	92%	90	8%	Boxing Ring	890	774	87%	116	13%
Onett	882	733	83%	149	17%	Gaur Plain	832	585	70%	247	30%
Coliseum	798	724	91%	74	9%	Balloon Fight	659	279	42%	380	58%
Castle Siege	871	776	89%	95	11%	Living Room	621	334	54%	287	46%
Palutena’s Temple	962	508	53%	454	47%	Find Mii	624	367	59%	257	41%
Flat Zone X	332	152	46%	180	54%	Tomodachi Life	729	544	75%	185	25%
Skyworld	639	398	62%	241	38%	Pictochat 2	588	395	67%	193	33%
Gamer	1012	786	78%	226	22%	Green Hill Zone	617	419	68%	198	32%
Garden of Hope	659	435	66%	224	34%	Wily’s Castle	962	456	47%	506	53%
Town and City	1359	1334	98%	25	2%	Pac-Maze	865	554	64%	311	36%
Smashville	1510	1469	97%	41	3%
Wii Fit Studio	721	580	80%	141	20%
Boxing Ring	946	845	89%	101	11%
Gaur Plains	975	669	69%	306	31%
Duck Hunt	1079	954	88%	125	12%
75 m	1060	144	14%	916	86%
Wrecking Crew	711	363	51%	348	49%
Pilot Wings	893	791	89%	102	11%
Wuhu Island	916	830	91%	86	9%
Windy Hill	722	579	80%	143	20%
Dr. Wily’s Castle	1064	507	48%	557	52%
Pac-Land	953	266	28%	687	72%

Conclusion:

So that’s it for today. I hope you enjoy reading the data. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Again, please help promote the poll: tinyurl.com/SmashPoll

Thanks! I look forward to sharing the final results!