Why Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Needs a Port on Nintendo’s Next Console

Highlights

• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate remains popular despite technical issues, and with rumors of a Switch 2 release heating up, a re-release may be beneficial.
• A Switch 2 port of Smash Ultimate could be worthwhile given the game’s finality, and a price cut could make it more appealing to those who already own the previous version.
• A future Smash Ultimate port could help redeem Nintendo’s online reputation and attract new fans to the ecosystem if it features multiplayer improvements.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is among the Switch’s biggest hits, retaining an audience despite Nintendo’s technical issues and tournament policy snafus. Whenever the Switch’s successor hits the shelves, SuperSmash Bros. Ultimate should come along with it.

Switch 2 rumors are hitting a fever pitch this year. With March being the month primed for news of the Switch’s successor to start flowing, new information could come at any moment. Leaks are coming out left and right, while many of Nintendo’s biggest IPs have gotten their time on the Switch—not to mention Twitch taking its app off the eShop. The seventh year of the Switch seems like a time for winding down—and a time for Nintendo’s bigger IPs to look towards newer pastures.

Smash’s Switch 2 Entry Should Be A Port Of Ultimate

6 years after Smash Ultimate‘s release, the game remains popular. Despite Nintendo’s attacks on independent tournament organizers and all of Switch Online’s netcode problems, Smash Ultimate has retained its standing. Given how the title throws around its ‘Ultimate’ moniker (and with a roster to back it up), it may be the best course of action for Nintendo to ditch having a new Smash entry and just stick a port of Smash Ultimate on its next console.

Smash Ultimate Comes With An Air Of Finality

Though Smash creator Masahiro Sakurai hasn’t yet retired from the games industry, he has been on record about the finality inherent to Smash Ultimate. The title is all about the ‘Everyone is Here’ tagline, with some of the most requested fighters from fans—such as Ridley, Sora, and Banjo/Kazooie—finally arriving thanks to Ultimate. Combine this with the game’s epic narrative, and there’s not much further a Smash game can go from here; it’d be hard for any succeeding game to not feel anticlimactic in comparison. A Switch 2 port would not only save Nintendo resources, but it would keep such a huge game and its longtime fans supported. In that respect, it would be wise for the next console to have some level of backwards-compatibility with the Switch.

There is the issue of Sakurai saying that Smash Ultimate is complete, however. If there’s no room for Smash Ultimate to grow, it may not be very desirable for any long-term content plans Nintendo has in mind. On the other hand, Smash Ultimate could get by with a reduced price and a new coat of paint. After 6 years on the market, it might be time for Nintendo to be more relaxed about Ultimate‘s price—something that could grow the Switch 2 greatly. Even if Nintendo’s unable to add some extra DLC to lengthen the game’s life, Ultimate could still do wonders as a loss-leader.

A Smash Ultimate Port Could Be Used To Redeem Nintendo’s Online Reputation

Switch Online is easily the console’s most hated aspect, chiefly down to its connection capabilities falling far behind competitors. It wouldn’t be too bad if online play was free, as it was on other Nintendo consoles, but even its comparatively cheap price can’t make up for a sloppy service being put behind a paywall.

If the Switch 2 can fix connectivity issues and deliver solid online play, a Smash Ultimate port would be the perfect demonstration. It would allow fans to see how much better the successor console could run, potentially attracting large groups of fans into its ecosystem. This would then expose those fans to the rest of the Switch 2’s library, allowing the console to really hit the ground running with a strong foundation. Of course, this will only work if Nintendo can sort out its future online service.