Smash Bros. Ultimate Is Second Most Anticipated Holiday Release, According To US Survey

#1 for me. Mario party stopped being relevant to me after number 5, I think.

Nice, that's really good considering its an exclusive with such a smaller install base compared to multiplats on PS4, XB1 and PC.

Glad to see the Pokemon games rank fairly high, more proof that the "hardcore" gamers mad at those games are just the loud minority.

Whats not to like, seems like finally a nindie exclusive that is not rushed with planned free DLC later that should have been in the game already.

Yes i am looking at you ARMS, Tennis and Super Mario party.

I was more excited for Spider-Man and Horizon 4 myself but I'm still very hyped for Smash.

Yeah for me the main games this Christmas period are Smash Bros, FH4, Super Mario Party and Kirby.

The only other major title i want is REmake 2 but that’s next year.

I knew Black Ops 4 was going to be the most anticipated, but it astounds me that people still support Activision's garbage. $60 game, season pass, micro transactions, loot boxes, AND a battle pass.. Kids might as well ask for Fortnite V Bucks. Anyway I'm more excited for Pokemon and Smash than anything else, and we've been having a blast with Mario Party!

For December 2018 & January 2019, i will buy :
1. Crash Bandicoot N'Sane Trilogy (Switch)
2. Captain Toad Treasure Trackers (Switch)
3. Nintendo LABO Toy Cons 03 Vehicle Kits
4. Super Mario Party (Switch)
5. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu (Switch)

I still have to manage my money because lately i almost broke due to Tons of games want to buy during this year.

For me: Star Fox Switch (aka Starlink)

The fact that there are people who prefer something as lifeless as COD over the passion-filled Smash Ultimate reduces my faith in humanity.

Oof...

Pokemon games have had 98-99 throughout generations.

Now ten point drop.

That's bad no matter how one might want to spin it.

I'm thinking of cutting back on some of my game time, so Jackbox 5 might be my last game purchase until Smash. I'm excited to play RDR2 on PS4 but realizing the massive time sink it will be won't mesh with my will to be productive... ah, first world problems.

I am excited only for K Rool. I want a new Donkey Kong Country game

Enough about smash brothers! We have all pre ordered it already so no need to hype the game any more!

Katamari is nowhere to be seen. This list is rubbish.

Super Mario Party isn’t even a holiday release? It came out in September. When was that the holiday season?

Frakkin’ duh.

@ilikeike the fact that some people think that their own gaming preference is somehow superior to others reduces my faith in humanity

Katamari and Smash for me this holiday as far as retail goes.

No thanks to Pokémon.

@diwdiws

Well yeah, the individual tends to believe their taste in things are better than others. That's just, you know, how opinions work. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure ilikeike's faith in humanity isn't actually going to be challenged by something as trivial as videogames. It's just a saying.

@justin233

I might pick up Katamari actually! Probably in January though, after my honeymoon with Smash is over. Katamari looks so weird, like WarioWare microgame weird, but I love it!

@Dalarrun It’s a fantastic game and I highly, highly recommend it. It’s incrediblely fun and weird.

Wow, I had no idea people were that excited for Mario party!

Is it wrong that for the rest of the year, I'm most excited about Warriors Orochi 4 for the Switch which releases in a weeks time here in the UK lol? I realise I'm probably the only one lol.

Joint second place for me is Luigis Mansion for 3DS (also releases next Friday) and Super Smash Bros.

I don't have a PS4 or Xbox One anymore so can't look forward to Assassins Creed or Red Dead Redemption 2.

@justin233

Glad to hear it! The Katamari fans I've met were all very interesting and friendly, maybe these games bring it out of them. I'll definitely grab it then. I'm sure someone will create a big Smash thread for online multiplayer when it releases, if I see you there I'll add you and we can play sometime!

@GuruOfGreatness

Not at all! I'm not so happy with how Koei Tecmo is handling the Warriors games right now (Dynasty 9 was a travesty), but Orochi 4 is a great game and I'll be picking it up after I buy Hyrule Warriors.

@Alpha008

Super Mario Party is an absolute blast! I wish there were more boards, but other than that it's probably my favorite game in the series since 5. The fiance and I have been playing it pretty regularly, we keep switching between the various modes and we're taking it to a family get together this weekend.

Boy, is anyone else seeing how low Shadow of the Tomb Raider is?

@Slasher

From what I heard it's not nearly as good as the first two. You might say that it's a.... Shadow of its former self.

(B^]|

Hitman doesn't deserve a rating higher than 47.

Between Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Super Mario Party, there isn't really a contest for me, especially since the latter left me disappointed.

Of course Call of Duty and Spider-Man are the numbers one and two.

The two most overrated games of the year.

@Timppis Well we know about nothing about the newest game yet so that's fair.
@SmaggTheSmug I see what you did there.

@Dalarrun Actually I like the new game a lot. But the other two were great as well. It's a lot more dark, though. Some people might not like that as much.

It's actually my non-Switch game of the Year right now, with AC Odyssey on the number 2 spot. My all platform / Switch top 2 are Mario Tennis Aces (2) and Octopath Traveler (1). But I feel that one of these will fall for Smash.

@sanderev

Oh okay, I haven't played it yet but I really enjoyed the first two, more than I did Uncharted. The third one is more focused on tombs and stuff rather than combat right? I personally like that but my friend complained that it didn't have enough combat and the story was weird. I'm still going to get around to playing it!

The fact that Super Mario Party is tied with Smash Bros Ultimate, and that NBA Live 19 is even on this list (above Tomb Raider/Hitman no less) makes me question the legitimacy of this list.

@Dalarrun I'm not that far in yet, however I did play the opening "chapter" which made me really excited for the rest of the game. But then I still had to finish "RIse of the" so I went back to that and finished it yesterday.

I'll be continuing "Shadow of the" this weekend

@westman98 The list is legit, however it's a popularity list. Not a quality one.

I’ll definitely be buying Smash but I wish Nintendo hadn’t given us so many reveals.....I wonder if there’s any surprises left!!

List isn't really surprising. Just shows that the masses couldn't spot a quality game if it hit them square in the face.

I can't comment on the other games, but seeing CoD hit #1... Yeah, no. It's not even remotely a good game franchise. Hasn't been for years.

Their programming skills have either gone to ununbybbybybyb, or they stopped bothering with anything called depth. You can still in their last release shoot somebody a gazillion yards away and have them instantly die. It's not that bloody hard to program a travel path instead of just teleporting the bullet.

@EasyDaRon Same game, new number, so it doesn't particularly matter.

Sega Ages Outrun is not on the list. Disgraceful!

@BensonUii

I've had fun with CoD, it's the ridiculous predatory monetization that I have a problem with. $60 is basically an introductory price yet they include free to play loot boxes but even worse because they put weapons and whatnot in them. It's such a shame that the CoD franchise is being milked dry by greedy Activision, and it's why I won't buy the game and support their anti consumer practices.

I suggest anyone wanting to play a shooter to just go play Fortnite, Splatoon, or Counter Strike.

Fortnite might have a battle pass like Black Ops 4, but at least it's free. Black Ops 4 doesn't even have a campaign.

@NewAdvent

RDR2 looks fantastic! I'm going to have to take a wait and see approach though, even singleplayer games aren't free from microtransactions these days and games like Assassin's Creed have me worried that RDR2 might be guilty of the same crime. If it's just in the online multiplayer I can forgive that, seeing as I won't play that anyway.

For me it's Starlink.
Over the holidays when almost every friend is at home and comes by maybe Mario Party.
And then some more NeoGeoTitles, Team Sonic Racing, Megaman 11, Blade Strangers, maybe Dragon Ball Fighterz and New SMB Deluxe.

Sh** Ops over RDR2
There I lost my credibility.

Guys don't worry. Nintendo is still doomed. Because reasons. Bigly reasons. Wonderful reasons. And we all know surveys are evil lies concocted by fanboys. You know, aside from the times they aren't. Covfefe yo!

Bit surprised Mario Party is so anticipated.

CoD and LGPE being ranked that high makes me want to vomit

What's a Call of Duty?

@Bolt_Strike
And that's our job as gamer to encourage younger generations to like Better games than those Blah games.

@ilikeike that comparison makes no sense as they are two completely different type of games. I for instance could not care less about any fighting game (not that I would pay for cod but I have played its single player campaigns in the past and had fun with it)

@Dalarrun they also made the second one exclusive on xbone for a year. That annoyed a lot of people and also means many players have only recently played the second one.

And it didnt review well.

How fair is it to devide the Pokemon games and count them separately?

@Blizzia actually the beta apparently changed people minds. The battle Royale mode has been changed for the better.

Did they survey children?

FH4 and Smash for me with excitement of the latter being partially dependent on the content that hasn't been announced yet (e.g. single player, whether online is actually good quality for once).

@Balta666 Except adding a battle royale mode makes any game much, much worse. Same game, different number.

@NewAdvent There is nothing that confirms that. After the statement from the publishers CEO regarding microtranactions in all titles I am expecting them to be part of RDR2s single player. Or that they will have focused on the lucrative multiplayer at the detriment of the story.

My most antisipated game of the year so i hope i am wrong.

@Balta666 yeah. The only hype Ive heard this year for cod is from players who tried the beta.

Then again - they are people who had all pre ordered so they are likely to be on side anyway.

Most anticipated game of the year for me is Fallout 76, then Smash Bros. Ultimate and finally Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu!

I actually just got the collector's edition of Disgaea 1 on the Switch this morning too which was awesome 😆 Let's Go dood!

Edit: Also very interesting that Battlefield V is so high on that list when all I've heard is negativity, outcries and that it has very few pre-orders.

Smash is gonna be good, but I'm more anticipating Pokémon Let's Go. I'll probably end up buying Smash at some point next year, during a lull in releases.

wow those multiplat titles don't line up with mine at all. Only AC Odyssey and Tomb Raider are ones I'd buy (maybe Fallout)

Spider Man is certainly the best fall game I've played so far though

While opening the page, I casually, jokingly thought "Heh, I bet the number one'll be Call of Duty something".

And then it actually was.

For whatever reason my hype is pretty low all around, but Super Smash Bros is #1 followed by Fallout 76.
Getting Soul Calibur VI, Everspace, Valkyria Chronicles 1, Sega Genesis collection, Atari collection, SNK collection, probably Starlink and wife is getting Pokemon Lets Go Eevee.
Plenty of good games, just none as earth shatteringly good as Breath of the Wild.

@Grumblevolcano When do you think they'll finally tell us about the single player mode, Spirits or whatever it will be called? My interest in the game is entirely based on it being Subspace Emissary 2 and not a boss rush mode. Surely early November at the latest I would think, in a SSBU ND.

This list has me thinking Netflix this holiday. Netflix and backlog.

I'm surprised it beat Red Dead. That game is going to be a megaton this month.

@Dalarrun hey, I love Super Mario Party too, I’m just surprised at the level of hype for it, according to this chart. You normally don’t think people are as hyped for a new Mario party compared to a new smash bros.

@rjejr I think a Smash Direct will come in either October or November, I'm leaning towards October because late October has the Nintendo Q2 sales results (July-September).

@Blizzia that's your opinion (I won't buy as I not big on online multiplayer and don't have a good pc at the moment (the only place to play FPS)). However I had fun for a little bit with Fortnite. No game is worst for just being of a type of a person dislikes... There are games out there for every taste

The difference with peoples choices are just completely focused on what they know it seems like they don’t want to try something new, I don’t think there is nothing bad about COD only that the market has been saturated with way to many FPS games and I got to say that list does nothing for me because I don’t want any of them lol. Smash Bros is on my list of course but it doesn’t take top spot and like most I gave up on PlayStation and never liked Xbox and PC so my Nintendo Switch and 3DS get all of my attention so here is my list of most anticipated holiday releases for me.
1. My Hero One’s Justice - Oct 26 BANDAI NAMCO Games
2. Pokémon Let’s go Eevee/Pikachu - November 16 Nintendo
3. Super Smash Bros Ultimate - December 7 Nintendo
4. Starlink Battle for Atlas October 16 - Ubisoft
5. Luigi’s Mansion - out now Nintendo

Then at the start of the new year I’ll be into Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition and who know how many other countless games coming in 2019 but I can’t wait to find out.

I think I'm pretty much done for the year. Still unsure about Smash. We'll see what happens.

Sounds like both Sony and Nintendo should have a good holiday season, though.

Part of me expected Red Dead Redemption 2 to take the top spot, leastways with all the talk I'm noticing about it amongst my friends.

Call of Duty....... :')

Yeah, Smash Bros should be number 1. That shouldn't even be a contest.

Smash almost made it to the top, but got snagged in Spidermans web on the way.

@Orin41

I don't think anyone is surprised by CoD being up there. I just think this year is their greediest CoD yet and it's a shame. If the thing had a single player campaign and not so much monetization I might be interested, I actually really enjoyed the series up until Ghosts.

This list doesn't really mean anything in the grand scheme of things, Smash is my #1,Pokemon #2, and Taiko No Tatsujin #3.

@Wanjia Read the title again. Ignoring the fact that the title of their article is a mismatch with the actual survey topic, the title matches the content of their own article (so technically they're right). Spiderman isn't a holiday release since it was released last month.

Though...then again that's weird too. Smash would be first if that was the case, since COD comes out this month.

Welp, I apologize, it doesn't seem to make sense regardless of the measuring metric used here.............

First smash game I'll be playing since the original on 64 so I'm pretty pumped

Black Ops IV, Pokemon and Smash are all tied for me!

Damn it, Pokemon Let`s Go is gonna sell like hot cakes. Not sure that`s a good thing or not...

This is actually only the 3rd time i've picked up a Call of Duty game with 4, I really enjoyed blackout mode during the beta. However I also used to play a ton of PUBG, and this is closer to pubg than fortnite is. For Switch though Smash is already pre-ordered, but it's the only holiday title I've currently got pre-ordered. I'm still as of this time boycotting the new pokemon games because they just do not look like games I'm going to enjoy compared to the past entries. Also I don't have a lot of people to play Mario Party with so didn't pick it up.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the only game worth getting for the rest of this year IMO. Nintendo have nothing of interest for me until well into 2019. Nintendo have been very disappointing overall this year. All old ports and indie games. Probably DOOM Eternal will be my next purchase for the Switch and that's just to support Besthesda and Panic Button in particular

@Timppis More proof at how disapointing thease games are to people...

@EasyDaRon Sure it does, that number's existed for prisoner's writing on walls since the dawn of time. I'm sure the next logo's gonna have a diagonal slash through it.

@Timppis These games are basically spinoffs no matter how much they try to say they aren't

I find this chart top be extremely disturbing. CoD being the most anticipated game, Mario Party is tied with Smash Bros, and Mario Party is above Red Dead Redemption.

@Dalarrun
#6
You forgot that they took out the single player campaign~

@Grumblevolcano "late October"

Sounds good to me. And if the secret hidden mode is Spirits, well getting it out just before Halloween seems like a good idea. And the bundle that comes with the code for the game launches November 2nd, so you would think they would want to tell people what's in the game before they ask people to spend $360 on the bundle with the game. At least anyone relying on something other than Ntinedo Logic would tell people about the game before asking them to buy it, even if it is only an early code.

I'll be honest, I had forgotten about the bundle until just now. And when I remembered it I thought it was out mid November, but checking to see it's Nov 2nd, well they really need to have a SSBU Mini ND Oct 29th or 30th ahead of that bundle and Halloween for Spirits. I'll be impressed if it is Spirits and Ntinedo has been waiting until close to Halloween to show that, I don't expect them to market things that well, they normally miss the obvious easy low hanging fruit, and instead release SMM on 9/11 in New York. But I'm expecting 29th or 30th now.

Games I’m most excited for this holiday season:
Red Dead Redemption 2,
Smash Bros Ultimate,
Guacamelee 2,
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

That graph pretty much shows why having a multiplatform home is the way to go.

Red Dead 2 is almost here. I do not play fighting games so never cared much about Smash

@KryptoniteKrunch,

Now that comment about Pokemon go makes far too much sense to be on here.

This is a survey of less than 6000 people, so it's hardly definitive statistics.

I have Starlink, RDR2, Pokemon Lets Go and Smash Bros Ultimate for the holidays.

@rjejr It does make sense to have a Smash Direct before the bundle comes out, I wasn't thinking about the bundle at all. I see 25th October as the latest then, leaning more towards 17th/18th October. Get the details out there to increase excitement for the bundle and have a Nintendo Switch Online exclusive demo/beta before Nintendo has to explain to investors how they plan to improve subscription numbers.

@Grumblevolcano "have a Nintendo Switch Online exclusive demo/beta"

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I had that same thought right around when online went live. Seemed like the perfect game and the perfect way to get stragglers like me to sign up for the service. I never even turn my Switch on so I surely dont' need to pay for online, but I'll give the 1 week free trial a go for a beta test. Don't think they could keep the free trial people out, I'm assuming Nintnedo isn't' that sophisticated.

17/18 seems early to me, that's next week, but I like the 25th. Either one, but I'll be disappointed now if they dont' have one before the bundle launches. And I'm hoping Spirits ties in to Halloween like that Castlevania Dracula level seemed to imply.

@rjejr I think Nintendo will work on the assumption most that haven't signed up already have already used their 1 week free trial.

I really shouldn't be shocked that the wider population still somehow loves call of duty even after that BS they pulled with the remake of MW and how it was tied in with infinite warfare.

Is it, worth it on Christmas Gift to offer smash bro ultimate.

@Dalarrun Katamari is wonderous! Fair warning, the music will get stuck in your head if you’re the type of person that randomly sings a line from a song for no reason. ROYAL RAINBOWWW.

I’ll be getting it while I pick up Smash. So add me and I’ll see you on both

Considering the smaller size of the user-base, I’m surprised Switch games are as high up the list as they are. But then we have no idea of the demographics of the 6,000 people interviewed - we don’t even know if it’s a general population or gaming fans.

@Wanjia He's going off of Switch titles alone. If you throw other platforms in then it would be lower.

Spider-Man is a great game worthy of the hype and praise, and Red Dead Redemption 2 looks great. Personally not that thrilled for the multiplayer only Black Ops 4 and will be skipping that one personally, but I know I'm in the minority that enjoys the campaign primarily. Still for Switch very looking forward to Smash and at least I consider Starlink a Switch exclusive for it's Star Fox content. Will grab that next week.

@Kalmaro This new one looks good though. It kind of feels fresh again.

@Blofse Until someone like Sora gets announced.

Meh Super Mario Party is fun, and I'm sure the overhyped Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be a great seller, but I'm still hoping to they'll release Super Smash Mario Bros. Ultimate Party. You know, you go around game boards beating the snot out of your friends in fights when you land on the same space as them, taking their stars and coins, using coins to buy weapons you can use in mini game battles, and the last one standing wins.

Hey a guy can dream.

@Timppis
1. 88 is still high as if you couldn’t tell from the score range given.
2. They’re both spin offs so of course people are anticipating the main line series more
Not sure why or how you perceive this as bad just because it isn’t as high compared to previous generations.

@Bolt_Strike It's a popularity contest dude. Like they care what people actually think.

And god forbid people are hyped for Pokemon Let’s Go. Not sure why you even dared to pair it with COD

I mean, does it even count as a holiday game? It's nowhere near December and still weeks from Halloween

@Entrr_username

Ten point drop is big drop no matter how you might try to spin it as I said in my original posting.

They don't sell them as spin offs. They sell them as Pokemon games.

Fooling yourself only works on yourself, not others.

Not totally surprised the Smash Ultimate is in the top for most anticipated games. What surprises me is that its tied with Super Mario Party. Don't get me wrong, from what I heard this is supposed to be one of the best games in the series in years, but after all the mediocre games you think there would be some burnout?

@Timppis Pretty certain you’re referring to yourself when talking anout fooling people since you think Pokemon getting beaten out by a huge crossover franchise is somehow worse than it actually is

Anywho, up yours

@Entrr_username

It's not a matter of getting beaten by Smash. It's about the actual value.

It's not rocket science. It's not even fifth grade science.