A new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ICONART Metal Poster Bundle has apparently recently been made available to preorder on GameStop. This bundle, which comes with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game and a collectible poster depicting the Battlefield stage contained within a metal case, will go for $79.99 starting on November 18, 2024.
This is actually not the same as the GameStop Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launch poster, which showcased the Final Destination stage for the game. As such, the timing of the announcement for this new bundle is somewhat curious.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was released almost six years ago on December 7, 2018. Development on DLC characters concluded with Kingdom Hearts’ Sora on October 18, 2021, which was over three years ago.
Despite all of this, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is still being sold at full price even to this day. This is likely due to the fact that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the third best-selling game on the Switch with 35.14 million sales worldwide (newly reported) after Animal Crossing: New Horizons (46.45 million) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (64.27 million).
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch) with ICONART Metal Poster Bundle is $79.99 at GameStop #ad pic.twitter.com/8etaZ51MK6
— Wario64 (@Wario64) November 4, 2024
At this point, the Switch is seemingly near the end of its lifecycle especially when considering that Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed earlier this year plans for the Switch successor to be announced within this fiscal year, which would have to be before April 1, 2025 for Nintendo. Of course, rumors about this mysterious console do suggest that it will be backwards compatible with the Switch.
Earlier this year, new Spirits were added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in celebration of the game’s fifth anniversary. Additionally, the game was recently patched to version 13.0.3 just last month which addresses an issue that’s been prominent since launch.
Rumors also seem to be indicating that GameCube controllers are back in reproduction, which is supported by the fact that Nintendo UK filed a new trademark for the GameCube controller back in February of this year. Though it’s possible that Nintendo is simply gearing up for the inclusion of the GameCube library to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, GameCube controllers have typically been a telltale sign of a new Super Smash Bros. entry on the horizon.
Just last month, Masahiro Sakurai wrapped up his YouTube channel and revealed that he has actually been working on a secret game project since April 2022. Apparently, he whipped up the proposal for this unknown game back in July 2021 (while still developing Kazuya Mishima and Sora as DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) at “lightning speed.”
Details about Sakurai’s next game are extremely scarce at the moment, but it seems likely that it’s intended for the Switch successor. During his last video, Sakurai stated that it “should be announced sooner or later” assuming that they’re able to get it made.
Considering that the game has been in development longer than Super Smash Bros. Ultimate before it was announced, the holdup for the game’s revealing is likely because the Switch successor itself hasn’t been unveiled yet. Similarly, the developers for Yooka-Replaylee officially confirmed that the game is coming to “Nintendo,” heavily implying that it’s for the “Switch 2” rather than the Switch.
With all of this in mind, it would seem that some combination of Nintendo and GameStop want fans to have Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on their minds with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ICONART Metal Poster Bundle. A lot of signs seem to be lining up for a new entry on the upcoming Switch successor (whenever that gets announced).
Of course, it is important to note that Sakurai did state outright that he wasn’t thinking about a sequel to Smash Ultimate during an interview back in November 2024, several months after he had written that secret game project proposal. On the surface, this does seem to imply that Sakurai’s next game is for something not related to that particularly series.
However, if we were to assume that Sakurai did actually have plans to develop the next entry of the Super Smash Bros. franchise, there’s no way he’d be able to reveal such a detail in an interview like this. Because of this possibility, we can’t just simply take Sakurai’s words at face value.
Ultimately, we’re still playing the waiting game. However, it feels as though more signs keep appearing that seem to indicate a possible reveal in the very near future. It would feel strange that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate kept becoming relevant like this throughout the past year if nothing was truly in the works.
Be sure to let us know what your thoughts are about all of this in the comments section below.