JC Rodrigo on Capturing all Smash Bros. Fans for Smash Ultimate

Amongst the action from the tournament side of EVO 2018, we caught up with JC Rodrigo, Manager for Product Marketing at Nintendo, to talk about the mentality behind Smash Ultimate, and how they plan to bring fans of older Smash Bros. titles forward.

TG: What’s the mentality with Smash Ultimate, going into it and trying to obtain the Melee players?

JC: "Really, the strategy is for us to make the best game possible, we always listen for feedback from the Melee side and the Wii side, we listen to all of our Smash Bros. players. The fact of the matter is, we’re going to make the best game we can, and we have been listening, that’s the reason why mechanics like short hop are a thing, we’ve introduced another advanced mechanic, releasing the shield button to get the perfect shield, we’ve also got a new mechanic that changes the way the dash works a little bit more similar to Melee, and we’ve improved the speed.

All of those things came out of listening and understanding the community, so for us, we’re going to make the best game possible, and hope that the Melee players don’t just play Melee but come and enjoy the fun. We want you to play this and that, play all the Smash Bros. games you want, our focus is always going to be on fun and we hope that you’ll be a part of that fun as well, regardless of what kind of game you play."

TG: So, it’s a Smash Bros. for the next generation, but the older generation is free to join in as well.

JC: "Are you kidding me dude, we love everyone who has ever invested their time into a Smash Bros. game, whether you’re playing by yourself, playing with others, whether you’re playing Melee for the first time or if you’ve been a Melee fanatic forever, we want to make sure that there is something in this Smash Bros. Ultimate game that’s coming out that is for everyone, and we really think that with the cast we have, bringing back all the characters, the various stages, the new stuff that we’re coming out with, it’s exciting. This is a really exciting time to be a Smash Bros. fan."

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the highly anticipated latest addition to the franchise, and speculation about the exact roster continues to circulate the internet every day. For more information on the title, check out the official website, here.