Waluigi time? Reddit user discovers a potentially huge Super Smash Bros. leak

A new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate challenger is approaching. A February 17 Nintendo Direct will feature new news on Nintendo’s fighting game, which generally means that a new character will be revealed. Of course, that means that fans are on the hunt for any clues about who’s joining the roster.

Some particularly eagle-eyed sleuths may have uncovered a key piece of evidence that points towards one of the series’ most requested characters being next in line: the purple prince himself, Waluigi.

But first: How did gaming get you through the pandemic? We want to hear from you! Take this quick Inverse survey.

The theory comes from Smashboards user BZocky, who did some clever digging into Nintendo’s domains. By using a domain lookup tool, the user noticed that Nintendo made a random update to www.waluigi.com early in the day on February 17 — less than 24 hours before the Nintendo Direct presentation. Originally, the website would link to Nintendo’s primary website, but now it just infinitely loads.

The most plausible explanation is that Nintendo will reveal Waluigi as a playable character sometime tonight and redirect the website to something like his character page on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate website. It’s a long shot, but it’s an admittedly random website update that should turn heads regardless of whether or not Waluigi joins Smash.

Some might be asking themselves, “There’s a Waluigi.com?” Weirdly, the character appears to be the only Mario character that has his own Nintendo-owned domain, making this even more puzzling. The website first appeared in the year 2000 as a promotional site for Mario Tennis. According to the Reddit user, the website used to have some sort of toenail clipping mini-game embedded on it. The domain itself is set to expire next April.

The tiny morsel of news is especially exciting for any Nintendo fans who have begged Nintendo to give the character a spotlight over the years. While characters like Wario have gotten their own spinoffs, Waluigi remains a beloved side character who mostly shows up to play sports. He’s become something of a meme over the past few years as fans petition to get him a spot in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. After all, if Piranha Plant can join the fray, why can’t Waluigi?

It wouldn’t be unprecedented for Nintendo to include a popular fan pick in the game. For many years, fans begged the company to put Samus’ arch enemy Ridley in the game, despite him being a gigantic dragon that dwarfs every character in the Smash universe. Nintendo eventually surprised fans by adding him as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Now players are drunk with power and they demand Waluigi.

That said, this should naturally be taken with a grain of salt. The website update could just be something as banal as Nintendo checking in on all of its old domains. On top of that, newer Super Smash Bros. characters also tend to be collaborations with third parties, with a few exceptions, so the next character might not be from a Nintendo property at all.

Still, it’s hilarious to imagine that Nintendo may be gearing up for a big Waluigi reveal after years of meme-fueled fan outcry. If the Nintendo Direct ends with Waluigi's debut, perhaps that’ll make it up to fans if Metroid Prime 4 and Breath of the Wild 2 are no-shows.

A 50-minute Nintendo Direct will begin at 5 p.m. Eastern on February 17, 2021.