The Wii U and 3DS versions of Super Smash Bros. don’t share a launch date. Could this somehow affect the sales of either version?
Super Smash Bros. will be released first on 3DS this summer. The Wii U version will follow in the winter. And this is a very, very good thing.
Mainly, it gives the titles room to breathe.
This way the games can be themselves. I’ve long thought that having the 3DS and Wii U versions come out the same day would be confusing. Particularly to someone like me who was going to buy both at the same time. There would be little reason, beyond the different stages and modes, to play the 3DS version. After all, why I wouldn’t I just turn on my Wii U and play Smash on the big screen and with a better controller (is anyone really looking forward to playing smash with the 3DS’s ‘nub’ and odd shoulder buttons?). So, in that scenario, the 3DS version would only really be for traveling. In my situation, that would mean it would end up hardly ever getting played.
So releasing the games apart is a much smarter move. Also, I think it is better for the 3DS version to be first as well. If it was the other way around and the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. was coming out first, I’d already have my awesome couch party game so why would I want the lower res, crappy controller 3DS one several months later? Honestly, how many 3DS and Wii U owners were equally excited about both games? If you have a Wii U, chances are that’s the version you really wanted. Now, having the 3DS version come out first makes people who cannot wait buy it and allows it to shine on its own.
People may argue that it will kill the Wii U version’s sales but I doubt it. It may in fact do the opposite by building hype via a version that has a much larger install base. Local couch matches will still be the way people want to play, not to mention finally being about to see Smash in HD. Smash on the 3DS will be an appetizer for the main Wii U course, and maybe even an equally as robust and promising game.
And now they can live peacefully by not being released together.
Do you think separating the launches of the two games is a good thing? Are you concerned or glad the 3DS version is coming out first? Sound off in the comments below!
If you want more Super Smash Bros. we’ve also detailed the new multiplayer modes, given a rundown of the game’s details given during the Nintendo Direct, and more.
