Over on Resetera (via Nintendo Life), a user known as RandomlyRandom67 has apparently taken notice of a shipping manifest consisting of components for Nintendo. Of course, all the information is listed in the form of part model names.
Without getting too deep into the complexities of everything detailed in the post, we’re essentially told that the HGU0480 is potentially a new GameCube controller as it utilizes the TRW1230 motor, which is what allows the rumble feature for the GameCube controller. Of course, the TRW1230 motor can also be found in the Nintendo 64 Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) controller, but this type of peripheral doesn’t contain the LDOL circuit board that’s also part of the shipping.
This seems to indicate that Nintendo is gearing up to upgrade the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership to enable access to a collection of GameCube games. As of right now, games from the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, and Sega Genesis eras can be accessed with the purchase of the membership.
If this does happen, the Super Smash Bros. Melee would likely be one of the games made available to the membership considering that it ended up being the highest selling game on the GameCube. Additionally, the game is even still played competitively to this day.
The GameCube controller has largely been tied to the Super Smash Bros. series throughout the years. Ever since Super Smash Bros. Melee, Nintendo has always made it a point to have their consoles support GameCube controllers for the series’ longtime fans.
As such, the GameCube controller has been commonly used for Super Smash Bros. Melee on the GameCube, Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii, Super Smash Bros. 4 on the Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Switch. Technically, it’s even possible to play on the GameCube controller for Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64 through emulation such as the aforementioned Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership.
Though new GameCube controllers weren’t being created for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, older models of the Nintendo Wii had built-in ports specifically for this purpose. Of course, it’s important to point out that the Nintendo Wii was also backwards compatible with the GameCube.
However, Nintendo made it a point to specifically return the GameCube controller back to production along with new GameCube controller adapters for the Wii U specifically for Super Smash Bros. 4. As such, many players continued using GameCube controllers for years to come.
Initially, the Nintendo Switch was not designed to use GameCube controllers. Without any prior announcement, patch 4.0 for the Nintendo Switch enabled GameCube controller support.
Due to the discovery of this, Nintendo had to feign surprise that the GameCube controller was suddenly compatible, but the reality was that Nintendo was enabling this feature specifically so the developers could properly test Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which had not been announced by that point.
Masahiro Sakurai, the series creator, announced that he has already released the final scheduled video of his YouTube channel, though there are also plans for a special finale in the future. He also recently revealed that he was still creating games for the time being, suggesting that development on the next Super Smash Bros. entry may have already begun.
This is further supported by the job posting for Bandai Namco’s Studio 2 & Studio S. Needless to say, Bandai Namco was looking for designers experienced with action games played from a “side-view.”
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was also recently updated to version 13.0.3. While this doesn’t seem like that big of a deal on the surface, it does carry huge implications for the future of the series as it means that someone from Nintendo and Bandai Namco had to sit down to actually apply this update.
Of course, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has already confirmed that the Switch successor is slated to be announced before the end of this fiscal year, ending April 1, 2025. We expect Nintendo to continue the tradition in which a new entry in the Super Smash Bros. series is released for every console since the debut of the series on the Nintendo 64.
With all of this in mind, news surrounding the GameCube controller has always been a telltale sign that a new Super Smash Bros. title is in the works. We’ll just have to see what comes of all of this later on down the line.