Nintendo Explains Why Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Is Not A Port

Before Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was officially revealed, many in the community had the perception that the game was a port built on the foundations of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

In a Game Informer interview, Nintendo of America’s Bill Trinen explained why the game is completely brand new and not a port – there are changes to its core mechanics, new models, and new moves. Check out his full comments below.

You’re calling this a new Smash. What makes it more than a port?

Trinen: My first answer is – has there ever been a port of a Smash Bros. game?

3DS and Wii U?

Trinen: They were developed in tandem.

Sakurai considers them separate entries, right?

Trinen: Yeah. Every Smash Bros. game is a new game. I think for me personally what really defines it as a new game is just the core change to the core mechanics. When you change the speed like that, that cascades through character motion, through the speed at which the various moves are coming out, the animations and whatnot, and you have to rebalance every character in the game, so then as a player, when you come in to start playing the game, you’re having to re-learn every character in the game. Essentially when those core mechanics are new, then the game becomes new. Then, as you saw, in addition to changing the core mechanics you’ve got characters that have new models, characters that have new moves or dramatically changed moves. Changes to even the final smashes and the speed in which those happen to match the tempo of the game and things like that. To me, overall, once you’ve changed that core mechanic, you really are looking at a new game.