Nintendo isn't working on any paid DLC for Super Smash Bros.
"I think there might be criticism that we are cutting up content."
Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai has confirmed that Nintendo isn't planning on developing any paid DLC for the popular 3DS and Wii U brawler.
"What I can say now about paid DLC is that we aren't working on anything at the moment," Sakurai confirmed in an interview with Videogamer. "We've put all our efforts into making the actual game. Creating DLC would involve large additional costs and require the involvement of a lot of people. I can't yet give you an answer about whether the price would justify the costs."
Beyond the cost in time, effort and money, Sakurai is weary of the message DLC sends to players. He's worried players will feel cheated by not getting post-release content that they feel should have been included at launch.
"I appreciate that a major part of the excitement for these games come from which characters will appear in the roster, so I think fans could really enjoy DLC that could keep this excitement going," Sakurai said. "However, I think there might be criticism that we are cutting up content to sell characters one by one, or that we are adding things later that should have been there from the start."
"Creating a single fighter involves a huge investment, and we've already been giving it our all and investing a lot of work in the characters currently available," he added. "I think it's an incredible package in terms of the sheer amount of content in the game. But it might be that people may not understand and may think that I am not offering enough by just looking at DLC itself."
When Videogamer asked about making playable versions of Reggie Fils-Aime, Shigeru Miyamoto or Satoru Iwata, Sakurai rejected the fanboy notion. "I don't think the inclusion of these characters would be very interesting to a wide audience," he said. "For the amount of effort involved, I would actually prefer to add another roster character. As it takes a lot of work to add a character to the game, it's not a decision that can be taken lightly."
So far the only announced DLC for Super Smash Bros. is the playable Pokémon MewTwo, who will be a free download for those who register copies of both the 3DS and Wii U versions of the brawler. It's not been announced if there will be other options to attain the popular Pokémon.
Super Smash Bros. Wii U is due on 28th November in Europe and 21st November in North America.