'Smash Ultimate' DLC: Nintendo Explains Why It Isn't Taking Fan Suggestions

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a dream come true for many Nintendo fans, but the company’s president and COO Reggie Fils-Aimé is crushing hopes for a fan poll to decide future DLC (downloadable content) characters. That means some of the “most wanted” fighters demanded by fans have an even slimmer chance of making the latest game’s playable roster.

In a wide-ranging interview published Thursday on Kotaku, Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aimé said Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of the Super Smash Bros. franchise, is not planning another fan poll to let players decide new characters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

“My interpretation is that there will be no fan polls,” Fils-Aimé said. “No independent poll trying to push Waluigi, as an example, will not influence the decisions that have already been made.”

This isn’t exactly news. Last week, Sakurai told fans on Twitter not to bother the Smash Bros. development team with character suggestions.

In another tweet, Sakurai said that the DLC for Ultimate has been finalized.

Fils-Aime essentially confirmed those tweets, while adding a bit more context.

“I haven’t talked to him,” he said, “but I believe he was working hard to communicate two things: One, that the characters have been decided on. Second, that he is well in development on this, so please be patient.”

When Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo brought up Waluigi, one of the most requested characters yet to be playable in the series, Fils-Aimé replied, “We’re not here to discuss that at this point in time.”

Ouch.

The first and only time Nintendo held a poll for Super Smash Bros. was in 2015, when the worldwide “Fighter Ballot” allowed fans to submit their favorite characters with a brief pitch for their inclusion.

While joke suggestions like Goku, Shrek, and the Nintendo Wii’s “Reckless Safety Man” may have topped the poll (Nintendo never released a full list), the winner was unveiled in October that year as Bayonetta, the protagonist of PlatinumGames’ adult-oriented Bayonetta series.

The endless speculation surrounding playable characters in the Super Smash Bros. series stems from the simple fact Nintendo fans want to play as their favorite characters. Despite a selection of almost 70 playable fighters — an absurd amount for any fighting game — there will always be fans who don’t have their favorites represented.

For example, I will forever resent Sakurai if Travis Touchdown from Suda51’s No More Heroes is never included as a playable character.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be released for the Nintendo Switch on December 7.