What does it really take to be a guest character in Smash Bros.? It’s a question that is at the very heart of the “Case For” series. I have long argued that the defining characteristic for third party Smash characters is their iconicness. It’s what separates the Sonics and Pacmans of the world from the Klonoas and Ristars. It’s what makes a character like Cloud Strife make sense. Is he a Nintendo All Star? No. Is he one of the most recognizable and influential figures in the video game industry? Yes. Cloud’s inclusion opened the minds of many Smash fans to a world of possibilities. We now have Mr. Fighting games (Ryu) and Mr. RPG (Cloud) in the SAME game. Who else could measure up to these titans? As odd as it is to consider, video gaming does have a Mr. FPS – Microsoft’s own Master Chief.
The game launched a franchise. And Machinima. A lot of Machinima. (Image Source)
Character Background:
The former leader of Spartan Blue Team, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is the quintessential super soldier. One of the most decorated and important figures in the Human-Covenant War, Master Chief is a man of few words but many actions. As a member of the SPARTAN-II program, Master Chief is a biologically and cybernetically enhanced living weapon inhabiting an exosuit of mass destruction. He always puts that strength to good use, however, as he defends humanity from a variety of extraterrestrial threats including the insidious flood.
Halo: Combat Evolved, launched on the original Xbox in November of 2001, and went on to be a commercial and critical darling. The game currently sits at a staggering 97 metascore on review score aggregator metacritic.com and has sold more than 5 million units on that platform. It has gone on to sell over 65 million units(http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-series-reaches-65-million-units-sold/1100-6428844/) since then, placing it in super elite company.
LANDMASTER! Wait, no, wrong franchise. (Image Source)
The series has been lauded for its online multiplayer, and was one of the primary forces driving First Person Shooters on consoles to their current prominence. Its fingerprints can be seen everywhere in the genre, with rechargeable shields, the ability to use grenades on the fly, and a two gun inventory system becoming the norm.
Halo has moved far beyond its video game, roots, however. The series has spawned a successful book series, several comics, a few live action and anime adaptations, and even a life size wax statue at Madame Tussauds’ famous wax museum in Las Vegas. Even bigger things loom in the franchise’s future, though, as Steven Spielberg is currently working on turning Halo into a live action TV show for the Showtime Network.
Reasons for inclusion: Smash Bros. is a series that focuses very heavily on the history of gaming, with an understandable focus on Nintendo in specific. While Halo has zero ties to Nintendo, it is, simply put, one of the most successful and influential game series of all time. When Pacman was revealed, Masahiro Sakurai was quoted as saying that he was “aiming to make Super Smash Bros. best character game in the world.” With the additions of Ryu and Cloud, he managed to add “Mr. Fighting Game” and “Mr. RPG” to an already star studded roster. What better way to round things out than to add “Mr. FPS”?
Popular enough to have its’ own anime. (Image source)
At 65 Million units sold, the only series currently in Smash with better sales than Halo are Mario, Pokemon, “Wii,” Final Fantasy, the Legend of Zelda, and Sonic the Hedgehog. That’s it. Megaman, Street Fighter, Metroid, Animal Crossing, Donkey, and all the rest lay below Halo in sales, and most are older franchises on top of that. Halo is a proven “system seller” and is often seen as a killer AP on whatever system it happens to be on. As mentioned previously, however, Halo and the character of Master Chief have crossed over to other media many times, making them familiar figures to gamers and non-gamers alike. The importance of Halo to Microsoft can be summed up in one word: Cortana. In the games, Cortana is a synthetic intelligence that assists Master Chief on his missions. Microsoft has used the name and voice actress to launch their own intelligent person assistant for all Windows Phones.
Unlike many modern gaming icons, Master Chief has a very recognizable look. He is a point of view character, yet he has a design and arsenal that are very much his own. He is very similar to Nintendo heroes such as Link and Samus in that way, as he is a largely silent protagonist that the player can project themselves on while still feeling like an entirely unique and powerful character.
Reasons for exclusion:
Legit Smash leak (Image source)
Master Chief is not only “Mr. FPS,” he is also “Mr. Microsoft.” Seeing him in Smash Bros. would be akin to seeing Mario in PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale. While many Smash Fans bemoan the inclusion of Snake and Cloud for being “too Sony,” they are both from third party franchises that have an actual history on Nintendo franchises. Halo, on the other hand, is wholly owned by one of Nintendo’s direct competitors.
It should be noted that Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s Xbox division, did send out a tweet saying that he would love to see Banjo and Kazooie in Smash Bros. He also cited that Microsoft has worked with Nintendo on games such as Diddy Kong Racing for the DS. The thing to remember is that these collaborations are rare (no pun intended) and have not occurred since Viva Pinata DS in 2008. In addition to this, all of the Microsoft games to appear on Nintendo consoles were Rare properties. Halo is a different animal as it is Microsoft’s golden child. There was some talk of the franchise coming to the DS, with a playable pitch even being produced (see video below), but the fact remains that Chief has never appeared on non-Microsoft Console (mobile and PC excluded).
Halo DS, a thing that you might currently be playing if you come from a parallel universe
Master Chief also has a few smaller, but still noteworthy strikes against him. The first is his use of realistic fire arms. While it is true that many of his weapons do fall into this category, he also has a wide variety of sci-fi weapons (including Covenant weapons) that are iconic to the series and are no more “realistic” than Fox’s laser pistol. A bigger issue may be that he is created by a Western studio, and that the majority of his popularity stems from the West. The series is not completely unknown in Japan, however, with Halo 3 being the best selling game of its Japanese launch week.
Master Chief is a character that is almost mandatory in any list of video game icons. If Smash is ever going to evolve into a series that is truly a celebration of all things gaming, his inclusion makes a staggering amount of sense. Right now, though? It’s hard to imagine Microsoft lending out their poster child to the competition, and even harder to imagine Nintendo wanting to make that offer. Who knows, though… Sakurai is going to Sakurai, after all.
Music
What is Smash Bros. without music? Here are a few tracks you can look forward to if Master Chief makes it in.
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Master Chief seems like a long-shot, but I actually wouldn’t mind seeing him in Smash. I’ll admit that pre-Cloud reveal, I would have been completely opposed to the idea, but Cloud has really gotten me thinking differently about character inclusion in Smash.
Of course, I would much rather see an Inkling in Smash… seems like much less hurdles both legally and content-wise, yet could still represent the shooter genre.
I think it might not be in Nintendo’s best interests to put Inkling in the game now. It feels like it would be going all in too early, when they could use the “Smash boost” to retain attention for the next title in both series (Smash/Splatoon). While Splatoon has definitely captured Japan’s interest and the West’s curiosity, the truth is would be Wii U owners are most likely now on the fence waiting to see what the NX is and has to offer, since we all know the NX will be revealed next year and soon after replace the Wii U, despite what Nintendo claims about a “third pillar.”
How many big, still relevant Nintendo characters are there really left for the next Smash game? It’s a fairly short list now. Inkling might be the biggest, alongside of Isabelle. Even if the NX doesn’t receive if its own unique version of Smash, and instead an upgraded version of the current iteration, it’d make more sense to me to put Inkling there keep the Splatoon train going into Nintendo’s next generation.
It would make more sense for Nintendo to benefit from the popularity of Inklings now rather than later. We don’t know if Splatoon will retain it’s popularity in the future and there may not even be another Smash Bros. game, sad to say. (We probably will, but there’s always a possibility.) Of course, Smash Bros. isn’t necessarily about advertisement, but how popular the Inkling is can diminish.
It certainly would make sense to include Inkling right now over Master Chief. It’s not that I wouldn’t be open to it – I actually am. But I feel like it would alienate your audience rather than excite them. This isn’t a property of Rare, Square Enix, or Konami. This is a product of Microsoft Studios.
I know it was not your intent to offend, but I think it’s a little insulting to think that Nintendo needs to hold off Inklings for a potential Smash 5. If there was another Smash Bros. it wouldn’t be released for seven years! Are we really going to assume that Nintendo won’t have ANY new and intriguing characters to use for Smash Bros. by that point? Within the latest entry we got Rosalina & Luma, Greninja, Palutena, Dark Pit, Robin, Lucina, and Shulk – all of which characters that debuted after Brawl’s roster was finalized.
The popularity of the Inklings diminishing is exactly the reason to save them for a later game, or a remaster of this current game for the NX. It’d provide a secondary stimulus boost for another entry in the Splatoon series, and serve as a way of catching the attention of those who never played Splatoon the first time due to not having or not being interested in a Wii U. This is why I referred to adding them now as “going all in too early,” as it exploits current popularity at the cost of potential future gain from the addition. You can’t play the “in Smash” card twice; once it’s done, it’s done. You don’t think they’ll release another version of Splatoon for the NX? I’m not sure if they’ll develop another Smash for the NX, but if they don’t, some sorta Street Fighter style “definite edition” makes a lot of sense, and if they included Inkling then it’d make more sense to me than to do it now. Of course, I’m working off the assumption that the NX is interrupting Nintendo’s usual cycle in a way that Smash only being released again in 7 years doesn’t seem probable.
What is the gain, to Nintendo, to have Inkling in Splatoon now? Nintendo reported in their latest investors briefing that Splatoon is outpacing Smash for Wii U sales. I’d say it’s safe to say the majority of potential buyers of Splatoon are instead wary of purchasing a Wii U itself, for the reason I mentioned before–the specter of the approaching NX. At least, that’s what it seems like to me.
You and Winterwulf are definitely right that many of the entries in Smash 4 were introduced after Brawl, but there’s a division between expected (Pokemon, FE) and anticipated (Mega Man, Little Mac, and Villager as an AC rep). Of course, we were happy to see all these characters in! But it didn’t make serious waves the way the anticipated characters did: the big names that were still missing. Inkling will be one of these, I think.
We don’t know when the next Smash game is coming out… it’ll likely be years, as I doubt Sakurai would be taken straight from Smash 4 development right into Smash 5 (despite the SG team joking about that in their podcasts.) Splatoon is popular now… holding onto Inkling until the next Smash game doesn’t make sense, as it would be a good financial move for Nintendo to capitalize on it now.
We don’t know what games will be coming out between now and Smash 5… maybe we’ll get someone from Zelda U, Star Fox Zero, Fire Emblem: Fates, an inevitable new Pokemon, an inevitable retro rep or two, and who knows what else between. Nintendo isn’t completely out of source material, and just because there’s nobody bigger NOW, that doesn’t mean there won’t be when Smash 5 begins development.
Besides, fans are upset that Nintendo hasn’t had any newcomers for DLC… there really isn’t anybody else first-party ATM that could generate as much hype as Cloud.
I can agree that a third pillar is a proven lie by Nintendo, but there are is still too much unknown about the system.
We have been given such little information, and with such a large amount of potential and rumor, that it is a difficult subject to do more than speculate. If the system is launching in about a year, then Nintendo has either been working on it for a long time, or is rushing the process. If the process were rushed, then Nintendo risks setting out another system that is perceived as subpar to the current generation. If the process is not rushed, Nintendo had a lot of foresight to start the project long ago, and gave up on the Wii U in an unprecedented short amount of time. Of course, the Wii U could have always been planned to be a temporary console, a Wii HD with a new handheld screen control… I just don’t think they would intentionally do that to their devoted audience.
And above all, despite the sole case of historic statements regarding a third pillar (DS, Gameboy, home console) being false… maybe it isnt. Nintendo is a company as known for innovation as Apple. The world now associates a tablet as the third pillar of computers (cell phone, home console/labtop), why could it not happen in gaming? Our own lack of ingenuity does not dictate that of Nintendo.
Nintendo has made some revolutionary statements this year- amiibo, a mobile phone, Theme parks; hell, we even have rumors of Netflix and movie deals using their IPs, which isn’t absurd after the amount of crossover content and third party participation in their own IPs (Pokken, Hyrule Warriors, and even Mario Kart becoming Nintendo Kart). Nintendo is a crafty company, I would not put anything past them short of intentionally becoming non-family-friendly, and even that is put to the test with events such as the Bayonetta playboy photoshoot. This has been a bigger year for Nintendo than anyone could show by it’s lack of Holiday line up. I think we are going to see some big ideas come forth.
As much of a surprise as Cloud was…I don’t think he really opened the door that much wider. He helps out major characters who aren’t associated primarily with Nintendo yet have had roles on Nintendo systems, but his series has had major Nintendo presence from the get go and his patron company is on increasingly good terms with them. It’s a far cry from being the poster child of Nintendo’s direct competition, you know?
Even though there’s an appeal to making Smash a grand crossover of all series–one of the reasons third party characters always get so many votes in unofficial polls–sometimes there are things sound insanely awesome at first but leave a strange taste in your mouth over time. And as it stands? I don’t see how Master Chief would feel like anything other than jumping the shark.
Remember the days where people joked about master chief in smash? Its so crazy to think nowadays that this maybe will actually be a possibility…
Now this is an interesting case… what we have here is a character that was going to be on many consoles before Microsoft purchased Bungie before Halo was released. If Nintendo had to choose between Goku and this guy, the world might descend into chaos (either pick a video game character from a rival company or pick a non-video game character with multiple owners).
The one question that remains is: How would they get Master Chief to work in Super Smash Bros.? Halo is an FPS after all, and there’s barely any attacks that the Spartan has used in the series (besides shooting). Would he fight like Megaman? Or would he fight like any other generic character? Would Master Chief be accepted into Nintendo’s greatest fighting game of all time? Find out next time in the final episode of Nintendo Direct: Super Smash Bros. Edition!
Radec from PSABR is the closest thing we’ve seen to Master Chief in a Smash type game. Might be a good place to start looking for a possible move set. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5HvNT6V7RM
I looked at that and found that his moveset looks a little… projectile spammy. It does fit the FPS quota, but this is Super Smash Bros., not PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. I have several ideas on how to implement the Spartan into this game, although it would require removing most UNSC standard weapons (Including his trademark Assault Rifle and Magnum) but that’s gonna take some time, and we all know that the winner(s) would be announced in 2-5 weeks tops. If you want, I could propose a moveset idea for the Chief. That seems to be something that this website lacks: How would Masahiro Sakurai implement the character into the game? That would be the interesting question.
All-Stars Battle Royale does a number of things that are a bit sub par for Smash Bros. I love the game, but thank goodness Nintendo All Stars Battle Royale Smash was cut off the white board, amongst other ideas.
And now we can even get the Kart racing in the form of the next ‘Mario’ Kart.
So far the only Western-designed character in Smash Bros. is Diddy Kong and FPS and shooters in general aren’t as big of a Genre in Japan as they are over here- Hell, even the Xbox is barely selling over there.
Maybe Microsoft would be okay lending a character (Probably from something like Rare) over to try and increase its visibility in Japan, but at the end of the day it really might not be worth it.
Definitely a long shot- We’d probably see Lara Croft or Jill Valentine or some other icon before him. I’d say he’d never be chosen, but we don’t know the future, at least Cloud had a following in some Smash communities because he was the only Square-Enix/FF character that made sense… I mean for all we know companies could drop out of the console war or merge with one another so it could happen or even could make them more sensible as a choice…
I don’t know how this news about “Japanese Smash fans are displeased and upset with Cloud’s inclusion in Smash 4” is true as I searched through Google News, but it may be true there are so many Smash fans out there still not understanding Smash’s true nature, even in Japan which they are more negative on it. I think somebody needs to explain this to some fans out there in Japan to understand…
I do see Banjo-Kazooie being in Smash as the game is now widely open to other iconic video game characters, but I could hardly think of how they could add Master Chief in Smash. I do agree he may not have a chance due to his weapons based on real-life firearms, as Snake wasn’t allowed to use those too back in Brawl, but since he also uses laser based weapons, I think he can be a hybrid type of fighter of both Fox and Snake; Fox type skills of using laser based weapons; Snake type skills of using explosives. I don’t know if Snake have a possibility to return either, but Master Chief can be a good replacement for using explosives which Smash now lacks that type of fighter.
Splatoon’s Inkling can be a stronger choice than Master Chief when it comes with FPS towards Nintendo fans, but I do somehow sense that they may NOT have a chance to be in Smash. Not just because the game is too recent for being part of Nintendo’s history, but upon 2 problems among favorable development. 1. Characters chosen as Mii Fighter Costumes may mean that they’re not qualified to be playable for Smash. Sure, this is definitely a wrongful idea which will disappoint fans, like K.Rool. But it does make sense, if there was nothing to add things for that character to be in Smash. If we can relate this to Heihachi’s exclusion for Smash 4, along with Chocobo’s exclusion for Melee…2. Sakurai couldn’t add anything to the Inklings for Smash 4. Unlike Master Chief, Inklings (including the Octarians) uses inks as their weapon’s ammo. It does harm other Inklings if the ink color opposes them, but it is harmless against other creatures than Inklings, like Mario. Their weapon is like Mario’s Pomp; it pushes their opponent by using water’s force, but it won’t damage their opponent. Inkling’s weapons and sub weapons are similar to that point, which ink itself won’t harm their opponents as long their not projectiles. When I was talking about this to a friend in Japan through chat, he said “I think Inkling’s costume does fit perfect for the Mii Gunner, due to their move sets are pretty close to the original attacks of the actual Inklings”. I do love to see Inklings being playable in Smash, but at this rate, I think it’s impossible. Maybe we’ll have them for Smash 5, if Sakurai (or whoever the replacement would be) can think of anything to add them for Smash.
So, since we got Mr. Fighting Game and Mr. RPG for Smash, and we thought of Mr. FPS, who else we could think of? I got some ideas…
1. Puzzle Game…Tetris can be a good choice of being Mr. Puzzle Game, but the problem is there’s no actual character for that game. But some games did make a character for that franchise, so there may be possibilities for it. However, Puyo Puyo’s Arle can be a good candidate of being Ms. Puzzle Game as it’s iconic in Japan, but that’ll depend upon the West’s viewings since the game is not that popular than Japan.
2. Music Game…this may be way too off, but as we think about the Villager and Wii Fit Trainer, then it wouldn’t be odd for having this type of character to Smash. DDR has been a popular dance arcade game since then, and using the iconic duo (I don’t know their names but a character that’s a robot and a girl with a frog-like hat) can be a good choice. Parappa the Rapper can be another good one since that game’s a first music game ever released, but that may depend since that game doesn’t have a sequel anymore as it’s not iconic either. Vocaloid’s Hatsume Miku can be a possible choice of being a Ms. Music Game candidate, as she’s popular and iconic worldwide.
3. Key Chain Game…I think this will mainly be focused on Bandai Namco as this type of game was first debuted by Bandai. Tamagotchi was the first game for that genre, and was a huge social phenomenon globally back then. Mametchi may not be a best fighter to think of, but maybe Sakurai can add something for him as he did to the Villager. Digimon can be another good candidate for this genre, and Agumon may be a good choice as being the series’ main mascot, but the series now these days are much more being an RPG series rather than the key chain series, so it may depend on what Sakurai can add him for Smash.
4. Horror Game…This can be really depending since there’s tons of horror games out there. Resident Evil, Fatal Frame, Alone in the Dark, Siren, Clock Tower…who can we think of?
No offense, but your argument against Inkling is pretty weak. Just to be clear, I’m not really EXPECTING them to be in Smash… I would just like to see them and I think it would be good for Nintendo to capitalize on their popularity now. After all, DLC is a monetary investment… the characters need to sell, it’s not like we’re getting oddball choices only hardcore fans will purchase.
That said, Inklings being too recent seems like one of those made-up fan rules that has no basis. Also, I don’t really have evidence per se, but I believe the Splatoon DLC for Smash was more of a promotional thing, as it was offered with pre-orders of Splatoon, mentioned at the end of the Splatoon Direct… and notice how it was the only DLC so far to come with a trophy (other than Ryu.) Unlike Heihachi (who Sakurai said was difficult to implement in Smash) and K. Rool (who is really not relevant, as PushDustIn illustrated in his famous “why is that Mii wearing a crocodile costume” story), Inkling really doesn’t have any glaring issues for being excluded. The ink ammo acting like F.L.U.D.D. for non-Inkling characters seems like a limitation that would exclude them forever and would likely not be implemented. In Smash, the rules are bent sometimes (but never broken) in order to make characters work in Smash, hence why normal Mario can throw fireballs, Olimar is not tiny, and Ness and Lucas can use attacks other characters in Mother/Earthbound use.
Additionally, their use of ink and the mirroring of various real-life weapons gives them an edge over other gun-toting characters. I haven’t played Splatoon yet (no Wii U… u_u), but I’ve done enough research on it, and they can do so much more than the Mii Gunners can do… with long-range rifles, gatling guns, the rollers, various sub-weapons, and their squid transformation, they have plenty to offer Smash.
As for the “Mr. Genre” thing… what makes Ryu, Cloud, and Master Chief special is that they pushed their respective genres to a new height of popularity. Tetris (puzzle), Tamagotchi (keychain… though I dunno if that should count as a “genre”), and Resident Evil (horror) are probably the biggest names in those particular categories, with music games pretty much coming and going with popularity, with a few games that explode with popularity (like DDR and Guitar Hero) that have no real mascot nor have staying power, really.
I don’t think each and every genre NEEDS a rep, but if we’re going that route…
1) Dr. Mario is already in Smash and represents the puzzle genre. Aside from Tetris and Puyo, it’s one of the oldest puzzle games to be consistently released over the years (and was even on the same cartridge as Tetris on SNES.)
2) If Smash is going to get ANYONE from the music genre, it needs to be a Rhythm Heaven character. ’nuff said.
3) We’ve got Mr. Game & Watch to kind of represent LCD games, so I think that’s good enough.
4) Not sure if we’ll ever get a horror rep in Smash, but Resident Evil invented and popularized the survival horror genre (and is still going strong as a franchise), so that would be the most logical choice, but realistic guns and bio-weapons being main staples in the series make it non-Smash-friendly. I’m not sure how Fatal Frame would rank in there, but it’s currently co-owned by Nintendo and it got a trophy in Smash 4 already, so I think if ANYTHING in the horror genre would have a shot, it would be that.
Thanks for correcting me Winturwulf, I get your point. I really do love to see the Inklings being in Smash as being part of my predictions, but at this moment and rate, although there are many possibilities for Smash now since Cloud’s inclusion, I think it’s impossible that the Inklings would join in either way. I may be wrong on that part too, but just like you said, I can’t expect anything at this moment until we see what’s Sakurai gonna bring for us next month. I just need to stay determined so I won’t be disappointed on anything and admit the final roster is perfect.
Sure, I’m not expecting any third parties too, but I just brought that out as a “what if” discussion, like I mostly do as bringing up opinions. For the key chain genre…I didn’t know what you call that kind of game, but as I checked on wikipedia later, it’s supposed to be the “digital pet” genre.
In Xenoblade, Shulk’s Monado can’t harm anything except robots. I don’t see why a similar “bending” of canon couldn’t be applied for the Inklings. (I also don’t recall this distinktion being made in Splatoon in the first place.)
Thanks! I knew there was something else similar I was missing… stupid thing was, I was just playing Xenoblade recently too. x_x
For “Mr. Puzzle Game,” there’s Professor Layton. Multi-million worldwide sales tally, well enough known in gaming pop culture at the least, and strong affiliation with Nintendo, only appearing on the DS and 3DS (despite a mobile spin-off, he doesn’t actually appear in it). I think one thing Smash is missing is an acknowledgement of the popularity of visual novel/mystery games on the DS and 3DS, mostly thanks to Layton and Ace Attorney. A decent amount of people who will continue to purchase Nintendo handhelds do so because they want to keep playing entries in series like that, which aren’t made for home consoles.
I think “puzzle games” in zoniken’s case are games like Tetris, Dr. Mario, Puyo, Bejeweled, etc. Isn’t Prof. Layton more of a visual novel game?
Speaking of which, I agree that it’s something we should see in Smash. Ayumi Tachibana from Famicom Detective Club was considered for Melee, but she’s not really relevant anymore. I know Nintendo had four text adventure series on Famicom Disk System (FDC, Shin Onigashima, Yuyuki, and Time Twister), but I’m not sure if they’ve really done anything recently with the genre.
When are we going to see the Case for Mrs Danmaku Shooter, Reimu Hakurei from Touhou Project?
She can round things up with Mr. Fighting Game (Ryu), Mr. RPG (Cloud) and possibly Mr. FPS (Master Chief, as mentioned in that article), and she has more chances to appear than Master Chief by being Third Party.
Cool.. man Cloud broke the previous character validation rules. But remember, the cons between his case are, really, too much. Quality over Quantity, and the Microsoft case is way too big. Halo would honestly be a breaking point for Nintendo, and besides, the dev team behind Smash, Sora, seem to really want to dum it down on the third party characters. Just too many and it’ll become Soul Caliber. Honestly, although Smash is being seen as more of a celebration of gaming, there are strong bounds that should be in place. A character like Master Chief could anger fans as much as hype them up, and honestly, I think Cloud is the type character they should stop on. Going any leaner on the character rules and things will get ridiculous.
How about the Doom guy and Quake guy? Even though they didn’t start on consoles, they did do so on PCs. I would also say James Bond, but Sakurai would need to get permission from the folks at MGM/EON.
SPOILERS
Shulk’s Monado later gets the ability to cut living creatures before the second half of the game.
I’d argue that Doomguy is more Mr. FPS.
I won’t pretend I’m an expert in Microsoft, Halo, Bungee, etc, or to even have specific facts on the matter. I do, however, remember two weeks ago, hearing that the woman in charge of Halo now (or whichever company owns it for the current iteration) is not a gamer by design, and has a background in only tangentially related fields.
The bottom line is that the ‘video game industry’ is no longer so specific, and that both Microsoft and Sony are names which are just as heavily associated with other forms of media, particularly home computers and movies. Never underestimate what may come from the grand picture.