E311 | Iwata, Sakurai on the New Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS

Project Sora has shared a new details on the forthcoming Super Smash Bros. project for the Wii U and 3DS and how the new games came to be.

Nintendo surprised fans during their E3 conference this week by confirming a new Super Smash Bros. project for both Wii U and 3DS, promising to share more at a later date. Today the studio published an interview between Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and the creative leader behind the past Super Smash Bros. games, Masahiro Sakurai.

Initially Nintendo were planning the first Project Sora game to be the new Super Smash Bros., but instead went with the upcoming Kid Icarus: Uprising game, feeling it may have been too early to make another Nintendo brawler. Since then Smash Bros. 3DS became the second project and only Iwata and Sakurai knew of Nintendo’s plans to make the game.

Sakurai knew that Nintendo would have to create the new game for both platforms when Iwata first spoke on the Wii U and was asked which console he would like to make a new Smash Bros for. Sakurai believed that it would be wrong to simply upgrade the concept established with the first three games - Nintendo can't just add more characters and stages. He saw the 3DS as an opportunity to do a number of new things and make Smash Bros. a more individual/solo experience.

Previous games didn't have too much replay value for the single player aside from trophies/stickers, and Sakurai wants to resolve this with some form of character creation system through battle/rewards. However Iwata had concern that not everyone would enjoy levelling up/gaining experience and it might devalue the instant pick-up-and-play nature that the series has established.

So the pair came up with a solution: A more solo orientated experience on 3DS, gaining experience and rewards in character creation and linking this up to the Wii for massive battles on the big screen. That said, Sakurai wants both versions to be enjoyable, with connectivity between both adding new mechanics to the popular series. The 3DS version will focus on players helping one-another.

Upon completion of Kid Icarus: Uprising a lot of staff members will move onto the new Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS game through careful planning, developing the basic systems and taking elements from the past games.

Via Andriasang.