Nintendo focuses its effort on 2018 with Super Smash Bros Ultimate reveal

Nintendo drew the E3 conferences to a conclusion earlier today, offering a deep dive into its upcoming Super Smash Bros Ultimate. In a Nintendo Direct that was a bit longer than what we anticipated, the return of the fan favourite franchise stole the show, as the platform holder announced that every single character ever featured in Smash Bros will be returning for this new entry.

Due to its impressive roster, Super Smash Bros Ultimate has the potential to attract a very large audience, from competitive gamers to casual players who might not have touched the franchise for a decade and who will be excited about returning characters or by the fact the GameCube controller will be supported on Switch.

Revealing a release date of December 7th, Nintendo just guaranteed the Switch a stellar Christmas, as we fully expect Super Smash Bros Ultimate to also be bundled with the console. Combined with the release of Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee mid-November, Super Mario Party announced for October 5th, and the wealth of indie titles (including Overcooked 2 this August) releasing between now and then, Nintendo should have one of the strongest Q4 line-ups this year.

The platform holder focused its E3 conference on titles releasing this year, unlike most publishers during this E3, who announced a wealth of launches for Q1 2019, probably keen to avoid direct competition with Red Dead Redemption 2. As leaked earlier this month, Fortnite is making the leap to Switch as well, with Nintendo announcing that it’s out today. If Epic Games’ battle royale hit will not help to shift hardware, it’s just another sign that the Switch is, more than ever, a force to be reckoned with. And you won’t have to wait until 2019 to see why.