If there is any game that can help the fortunes of Nintendo’s Wii U console, which hasn’t been seeing stellar sales since it launched, that game would be Super Smash Bros. Nintendo has spent months teasing characters that will be appearing on the multiplayer fighter’s roster and yesterday the company gave out a launch window for the game’s two iterations. The good news is that it will be launching this year.
The bad news is that there isn’t an exact date yet for the new Smash Bros. title, just vague times for when the 3DS and Wii U versions of the game will be launching. We can expect the 3DS version of Super Smash Bros. to land some time in the middle of the year while the Wii U edition will drop closer to the year-end gaming rush.
The game had two new characters from the Pokemon franchise revealed and game director Masahiro Sakurai also revealed that the handheld and console versions would be able to interact, though Nintendo is saving the ‘how’ of that for a later stage. The Nintendo Direct presentation also listed a 3DS specific game mode called Smash Run and details of the Wii U’s online modes, which may see the rise of a reporting function for nastier online players.
Source: Ars Technica