Smash Ultimate DLC fighters will apparently be delayed due to Coronavirus
NintendoWe may be waiting longer than expected for upcoming Smash Bros Ultimate DLC fighters due to the coronavirus, according to a leaked column by series creator Masahiro Sakurai.
A translation of the column by journalist PushDustIn revealed that the piece was all about how the virus was impacting development on Smash, with an emphasis on the six yet-to-be-released characters.
He added that, while the full column wasn’t released yet, things may not be fully contextualized. Nonetheless, there were definitely some major concerns for anyone hoping to get their hands on a new fighter this March or April.
NintendoThe translation stated that Sakurai had plans to present information about the new fighter or fighters to publishers, but now those plans have been put on hold.
PushDustIn explained that Japanese doesn’t have plurals like English, so it wasn’t clear if he was talking about one character or multiple. That said, there are still six DLC characters to be released as part of Fighters Pass Volume 2, so it could have been several.
He continued to explain that if someone at the office had coronavirus, the whole building would be shut down and development in general would be halted.
Sakurai had plans to present information about new fighter(s) to a publisher(s), but that's been put on hold now.
If someone at the office is found to have COVID-19, then the whole building would be shut down and development would be put on hold.
(cont)
— Will (PushDustIn) (@PushDustIn) March 17, 2020
However, there is a chance that Nintendo will still announce new fighter(s) as scheduled, even though no development work would be proceeding.
PushDustIn added an interesting point: columns are usually written a week or two in advance, so the situation may have changed drastically from then until now.
There have been many rumors about the identity of the sixth DLC fighter and when they will be announced or released. As Dexerto was first to report, a leaker who correctly said Byleth would be the fifth DLC character also claimed that Crash Bandicoot would be the sixth.
Note: Japanese does not have plurals like in English. So Sakurai could be talking about 1 fighter, or all fighters. With more context, it might become more clear. Please be mindful this is from a leaked excerpt, and the final translation of Sakurai's comments might differ.
— Will (PushDustIn) (@PushDustIn) March 17, 2020
Aside from that leak, it’s anyone’s guess as to who the new fighter will be. Unlike fighter five, leakers have been quiet and not providing any details, even in the form of deconfirms like they were doing previously.
Hopefully, the coronavirus situation gets under control so Nintendo can return to its normally scheduled DLC releases and development can resume as planned.