Smashboth

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS isn't short of content, and the upcoming live Nintendo Direct is promising "50 new things" for the home console iteration; it's clear that Masahiro Sakurai and his team have devoted a great deal of effort to details both big and small.

Gamers and fans always want more, of course, and with major Nintendo titles often featuring DLC nowadays — high profile examples include Hyrule Warriors and the upcoming Mario Kart 8 packs — there are hopes that Smash Bros. will join the trend. Following previous rumours around code in the 3DS title that suggests DLC may be a reality, an inquisitive gamer called PushDustin has been digging around to find details.

Among the evidence apparently found we have code that supposedly proves the ability to load DLC characters and stages, an in-game shop and — picking up on the key part of earlier rumours — support for 8-player fights. Some of the evidence has been found in the Wii U connectivity area, suggesting a role for 3DS systems in supporting 8-player matches — the portable can be used as a controller in the Wii U version. Below is a summary posted over on NeoGaf.

The game uses pictures (EFF and BCO for Japanese and English) to animate "A Challenger Appears" on the top screen, so since there is a text version in the dump, either characters are unlocked through connecting to the Wii U, or it will display the text when a character is purchased through the store. Even though I hate to admit it, it's most likely connected to the Wii U menu as there is no other text for the store (it'll probably connect to the E-Shop, or download the page from the Internet). However, there are no additional characters files in the game which severely hurts the chances of this being the case (as the 3DS would have to download quite a bit of data from the Wii U in order to utilize the character).

The 3DS can be used as a controller in 8 player Smash for the Wii U, based on the pictures with the file names: 29CE and 279A (Essentially: the 1-8 Player Icons, and numbers with pictures of 8 fighters). Files with CFC13 are the menu pictures.

Head on over to the linked forum post to see the claimed evidence, though as always we urge caution; leaks around Smash Bros. have sometimes proven correct but, equally, have occasionally been well wide of the mark. The concept of DLC and eight-player battles does seem relatively feasible, however, and would play up to Sakurai-san's remarks about showing off the true potential of the franchise.

Do you think there'll be Super Smash Bros. DLC, and if so what do you think it'd be? Let us know in the comments below.

[source neogaf.com, via gamnesia.com]