Yesterday's Nintendo Direct revealed a couple new characters for the game, but Nintendo also pulled back the curtain on the release windows for both games. Smash Bros 3DS is coming this summer, while the Wii U version is releasing in the winter.
I'm not surprised, but this is pretty disappointing and not exactly good news. Nintendo has been a day late and a dollar short with the Wii U almost from the beginning, so I was expecting the Wii U version of Smash Bros to release later. This doesn't bode well for the Wii U, though.
I'm excited to get my hands on the 3DS version, but the 3DS is already selling like gangbusters so everybody is going to get the 3DS version. If gamers already have Smash Bros for their 3DS, that means they'll be even less likely to get Smash Bros for Wii U, which pretty much torpedoes the game's shot at being a much-needed system seller for the beleaguered console.
Nintendo really should have pushed to get the Wii U version out sooner, so the only way to play the new Smash for several months was to buy a Wii U. That the game will sell on the 3DS is a foregone conclusion, but when even Super Mario 3D World didn't move Wii U consoles off shelves, there isn't much guarantee that people will buy the console for Smash, especially if they already have it on their 3DS.
I'm happy both versions are coming out in 2014 (barring any potential delays), but when Nintendo is undercutting their own sales, you really have to wonder what they're thinking.
Source: IGN
