![]() All hopes were crushed in face of a show entirely dedicated to products solely for the aforementioned casual market. The mass disappointment from Brawl and Mario Kart Wii shifted all eyes towards what Nintendo had lined up for the unknown future. Amid all the chaos, it was a burgeoning accusation that grew beyond Sakurai, for the absolute worst was yet to come.Įnter E3 2008. Super Smash Bros., once a franchise wholly synonymous with the words "party," "nostalgia," and "celebration" was now tarnished by bitter flame wars and toxic fandom factions. Masahiro Sakurai, a famous former Nintendo developer, was now reviled by many as not merely one who supposedly spat in the face of competitive Smash fans, but as a sellout who pandered entirely to Nintendo's new audience. Competitive Smash players who participated in Melee tournaments bemoaned the absence of advanced mechanics, and proceeded to vilify the game (and, in many instances, those who played it) with a vengeance not seen since the cel-shaded unveil of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Those who only played Smash as a party game and were completely alien to concepts like wavedashing were torn: did they defend the game on its own non-competitive merits, or did they contribute to the noise by complaining about those very elements? After two painful delays, the beloved Nintendo crossover was set to embrace us in euphoric, nostalgic bliss.īut it was not to be, as the arrival of Brawl brought about the biggest fandom split in Nintendo history. DOJO!!, a daily blog dedicated to trickling out tantalizing info about the upcoming sequel to the insanely popular Melee. It proved to be the one of the most successful marketing campaigns in gaming history, sparking massive discussion threads, in-depth analyses and character wishlists across message boards and gaming outlets everywhere. Brawl, had reached stratospheric levels. For the majority of 2007, the former Kirby director maintained the Smash Bros. Nintendo's overall scheduling looked bleak, but the hype for Sakurai's latest, Super Smash Bros. Dozens upon dozens of these cash-ins overflowed Wii store shelves, and were soon granted the not-too-kind, but all-too-fitting name of "shovelware".Ĭonsequently, 2008 brought with it insanely-high expectations. Third-parties, shell-shocked by the Wii's overnight success, quickly pumped out low budget mini-game collections and Wii Sports knock-offs. ![]() The honeymoon period with the Wii had long since evaporated, fans already grown tired of motion controls and not at all accepting of Nintendo's "casual" focus. 2008, otherwise known as the absolute worst time to be a Nintendo fan. ![]()
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