Since its reveal back in March, Super Smash Bros Ultimate has been hitting milestone after milestone. Ahead of its December 7 release, the game has since taken the record for best “pre-selling” game in the series and sits as the most pre-ordered game for the Nintendo Switch.
This is hardly surprising, given the sheer scale of the aptly named sub-title. Not only is Nintendo bringing back all 63 fighters from the series’ past, but adding 11 more to the roster, bringing the total up to 74 playable characters in the base game alone. This is set to be bolstered with six additional DLC fighters, starting with Piranha Plant.
By August, it was revealed that nearly double the amount of stages in Smash 4 Wii U would be making an appearance, including 28 hours-worth of music from across different series from Nintendo’s expansive range of games.
Super #SmashBrosUltimate is punching its way into the record books! Thank you to all the amazing fans for your support in making this a fight for the ages! Be sure to have your #NintendoSwitch ready to experience the action when the game launches on 12/7.https://t.co/z26JLSHE3W pic.twitter.com/AqkeDlKYSb
— Nintendo Versus (@NintendoVS) November 23, 2018
Pre-order figures aren’t held in high regard like they once were, given that the sustainability of a game has become much more important. Still, this looks to set the upcoming entry on its way to remedy the consistent decline of sales since Super Smash Bros Brawl’s 13.29 million copies. Super Smash Bros for 3DS sold just 9.35 million, while Super Smash Bros for Wii U hit an all-time low of 5.34 million, although this could be due to the splitting of the two titles across handheld and home console platforms.
Without concrete pre-sales figures, it’s difficult to tell how Super Smash Bros Ultimate stacks up against the Switch’s biggest and best games to date. It’ll have to surpass 10.28 million copies sold to take third place from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 11.71 million to knock Mario Kart 8 Deluxe out of second and a respectable 12.17 million copies to take the crown from Super Mario Odyssey.
There’s not long now until Super Smash Bros Ultimate releases on December 7, with news of its success all but guaranteed at this point.
KitGuru Says: I wouldn’t put it past the platform fighter to assume one of the top three spots, given that it truly does seem deserving of the title “Ultimate”. Will you be picking up Super Smash Bros Ultimate?