Topic: Where should Smash Bros go After Ultimate?

Alright, I know the game isn't out yet, but I can't help thinking about it. Smash Bros Ultimate really looks to be the definitive Smash game, and topping it will probably be a Herculean task. So I ask you, what could Nintendo possibly do to make the next game feel relevant or even necessary?

I have three ideas:

1: Don't. Don't even try. I mean, of course there will be a new one someday, but make it a long wait before trying again. 10 years would be good. Either as a late entry in the life cycle of the Switch successor, or early entry two gens from now. Nintendo now has two other viable fighting franchises in Pokken and ARMS, give them a bigger budget so they can fill the void somewhat.

2: Have a big gimmick to set apart future titles. Like Nintendo vs. Capcom or Sega whathaveyou. Something to justify a smaller roster but still give people a reason to be excited.

3: Change genres. Fan service can be done in something other than a brawler. Make an RPG or adventure game that spans various Nintendo universes a la Kingdom Hearts. There could be a smaller multiplayer component to go with it, but make the emphasis an epic single-player quest. Call it Smash Bros Saga or something like that.

Anyhow, I'm curious to see what others think. Looking forward to your posts

Super Smash Bros Ultimate Hyper Turbo Edition

They can just port it in perpetuity and continue to add (or swap) existing content so as to not render previous instalments totally redundant. Or perhaps they can continue adding content to Ultimate, but feature new single player campaigns to give existing fans more of an incentive to upgrade.

There really is no easy way to answer this, but one thing is for certain... there is no going back.

The wise move would be to build on this title and continually expand throughout future installments. Whether or not that will be the case remains to be seen. Only time will tell, but it's best to approach Nintendo's Smash strategy with a healthy dose of skepticism. This is Nintendo we're talking about, after all.

I say this with love but I kinda hope this is it. I want Sakurai-san to go on to bigger and better things. Smash fills a much needed void in the Nintendo genre catalogue but I want to see something else from and perhaps see some of these characters get more than a party brawler cameo.

If there are more games after Ultimate, then imo it'll be time for Smash to get rebooted massively, with Ultimate serving as an end of an era. You can't really top something as huge and ambitious as Ultimate's roster, so it'd be time to tear everything down and start afresh, with a whole lot new and a lot of the old thrown out and maybe some new hook or mechanic. Kind of like Street Fighter III moving on from Street Fighter II.

Then maybe within 20 years we'd get Super Smash Bros Ultimate 2 where it has everyone from Ultimate and all the characters from the next game to that hypothetical game. :^]

As long as it sells well, there will probably always be new Smash games. With or without Sakurai, I guess. How they will look and what they will contain is another question.

I would love for an open world game with Nintendo characters, with a fun story and fighting mechanics as in Smash. That would be cool!

I feel like the next Smash going be similar to WoW. All they have to do is expands the same game with more contents such as characters with expansion packs. At least everyone know the game inside out and they can always patch the game.

Depends on the direction Nintendo's systems go. If Nintendo's future systems are just upgraded Switches with backwards compatibility going back as far as the 2017 Switch then either don't have another Smash game or have some crazy experimental phase because Ultimate is still playable on the current system. If Nintendo goes for a different future for their systems (e.g. return back to home and handheld consoles) then port Ultimate to the new system.

@judaspete If the game lives up to the hype - which is really up in the air, Smash fans are hard to please - then I think the best choice would be your first idea. Don't try to top it. Just wait a long time. Let tech evolve and improve enough so when they do release another, it'll be because it's on a vastly more powerful device.

@judaspete
I can't begin to imagine. One could easily say "More characters, stages, music, and modes", but I dunno.
You brought up spin-offs like Nintendo vs. Capcom or a Kingdom Hearts type of game, which I would be fine with either or (so long as Nintendo makes the NvC, cause I don't trust Capcom with making anything anymore.), but I don't count spin-offs as the next actual Smash game, like how people don't count Pokken as the next actual Pokemon game.
If we are talking about what can be done with Smash Bros (which essentially Nintendo as a whole) in general, than yeah, NvC, Nintendo Hearts, a MOBA, Hero shooter, etc...fairly broad possibilities that I wouldn't mind seeing.

@ReaderRagfish
Birdo isn't in MK8 though >:l...

you can keep adding characters, adding abilities, ect, but in the end, it would just be yet another fighting game, and unless they plan on resurrecting the old arcades, or convince gaming stores to host weekly or even monthly tournaments, fighting games lost their true purpose and attraction long ago and like playing Mario Kart alone, once you get to or beyond a certain point, they lose what made them interesting in the first place.....

even MK's novelty wore thin when people had no one to play with at home