Like the Move to the Wiimote, when Sony tries to do something Nintendo allready did it just ends in failure. Thats my prediction anyway.

Sales and reviews will be verrry interesting.

First off, from what I know that Kaz quote isn't from the real Kaz Harai.

Second, if anyone thinks the only difference is "new skins", then they need to actually take the time to look into the games, it's characters and it's gameplay options.

Here are some. Taken from IGN and Destructoid previews.

Here is a breakdown of the (6) characters shown thus far. I am sure you will find differences to how characters differ in Smash Bros.

Parappa the Rapper: Parappa is small and fast; a short-range melee character. His moves come right out of Chop Chop Master Onion's kung-fu dojo, though you'll have to be right up on your opponents to connect with most of them. One of his most useful moves is also pretty funny: he brings out his Boxy Boy boom box (it arrives with the classic "Aw yeah!" hip-hop sample) to the play field, where it spews AP bubbles that can be picked up to charge super meters. Smart players were using the boom box to level up and use Parappa's skateboard super, which dashes through and knocks out anyone in sight. It's a total dick move, but it works, and wins matches.

Radec: Killzone character Radec isn't as cute as our favorite dog rapper, but he makes up for it with badassness. He's quite the opposite of Parappa, working best as a long-distance attacker, with projectiles and lasers that easily land hits on the opposite side of the play field. His level one super gives the player a reticule that can be placed over any character to direct a large-scale fire attack.

Sweet Tooth: Those wanting to play as a strong bully will want to choose Twisted Metal's scary clown hero. He's huge and all about space control, with attacks that can send you flying. Up close he hits really hard, so stay away if you can. I loved using him to shoulder check enemies to send flying across the screen. His level three special is flashy, bringing fire and parts flying out of the sky to his body to turn him into Mechatooth, armed with a machine gun that will easily mow all opponents down.

Fat Princess: No one picked the big girl in the first rounds, but I found that she was one of my favorites after trying her out. I fell in love after seeing her match opening animation, which has her instantly plumping up after downing a piece of cake. Princess has swinging mid-range attacks that are fast and reliable, and they provide good defense, as a lot of jumping and blind swinging can take place. She's surprisingly agile and has lots of power.

Sly Cooper: Sly is unique in that he has no defense at all. Instead, and true to his character, he can turn invisible by hitting the block button. This makes him quite a bit more sneaky, as he can get behind opponents to use his special moves in close range. His normal attacks glide him from platform to platform, and he can fly/attack diagonally, making him great at recovery.

Kratos: Anyone that has enjoyed any of the God of War games will feel right at home with Kratos, as he plays exactly the same in All-Stars. He's the best all-arounder of the initial line-up, with a mix of both ranged and close quarters moves. His spin attacks take up huge space, and his spear-based pokes will push you back. He's a beast.

Also, here are some gameplay tidbits.

- The team consists of members with extensive backgrounds in fighting and combat titles

- Either the left analog stick or the d-pad controls movement of your character.

- The right stick will let you perform throws, with different ones assigned to each direction.

- The X button jumps, and the other three face buttons are assigned to different attacks.

- L1 blocks and R1 picks up items.

- R2, executes a super move. While fighting, you'll build up a meter that lets you perform a super move that knocks out characters.

- Also, some attacks knock AP (action points) out of opponents, letting others pick them up to fill up these meters. There are three levels of supers, each one stronger than the last, and each requiring another filling of this meter. If you can manage to land hits and survive long enough, a level three super can knock out all other players, earning you points.

- Victory goes to the player with the highest number of KOs; knocking out a character adds to your score while being knocked out subtracts from it.

- So, there's nothing in the way of health bars here, as health doesn't really matter in the long run.

- Most of the matches I played were frantic free-for-alls that had us hitting each other in any way possible in an effort to get those meters filled up.

- get excited about the control, because it's outstanding. SuperBot really nailed it. It's fast, super-responsive, and never gets in the way of the crazy action. The in-air stuff is not floaty at all; jumps do what you need them to, when you need them to. I never had a problem blocking, platforming or recovering.

- While the game may look the same, it feels much different.

- You don't die from going out of the ring.

- Things in background can hit you and reduce your AP. In the LBP level, when Buzz asks you questions, you get KO'd if you try to answer it and you answer wrong.

- The glow around characters signifies your "Smash" power level.

- The game can be played locally or online with up to four players, which will no doubt be the meat of the experience for many players. But a single-player campaign has also been promised, one that will satisfy solo gamers while supplementing everyone else's experience. It's not only about online or only about single-player, but rather a combination of both. In other words: the best of both worlds.(Possibly meaning that if the next stage is against Kratos, it will pit you either against a CPU controlled Kratos or have your opponent be someone playing as Kratos online. Remember the Monk boss in Demon's Souls??)

- Tons of gameplay options, including stock lives, weapon drops, etc...

Biggest part of all is that there is plenty more for them to reveal.

How many characters in Smash have different functions with the block button? Last I checked they all have the default sphere aura that can be broken down.

@Euphoria14 Smash has different blocks moves you can activate, but as far a press block button no.

For example:
Pit's B-down activates his shield that can repel projectiles.

Lucario's B-down can counter attack physical attacks.

Many other characters B moves activate shields or use techinques such as Mario's cape different from the block as well and can use in different ways.

Meant to say they can be used in different ways. Here's Pit.

I don't understand why certain posters are getting defensive over people expressing their opinions on this game. I'll be getting it because I love Smash Bros gameplay and this will be a blast to play with friends using Sony characters. But come on this is one of the most obvious examples of a game HEAVILY borrowing off of another game I've ever seen. From what they've showed mechanics and everything are pretty much identical with a few VERY small changes.

That being said thats not a bad thing to me, but people shouldn't be getting upset with the people who are expressing their opinion that the game isn't original enough for them because to be honest there isn't anything remotly original about the game at all. Again to me and other people thats not a bad thing, but to others it is.

Also though I've got to say.......what is going on with Sony's fall 2012 linup, this and LittleBigPlanet Karting? Both of them are well, let's say very similar to two franchises Nintendo is known for. And the Last of Us and God of War are both going to be 2013 by the looks of it. I just honestly don't see Sony having a very good holiday season this year unless they really ad some big name games we don't know about because so far 2012 is looking like the worst lineup the PS3's had in a LONG time. Sony All Stars and LBP Karting aren't near enough to combat some of the other huge franchises that are launching this holiday.

I too expected Sony to go the MvC route. Oh well, it's not every major publisher hasn't done something like this before. Hell, even Nintendo has a Bishi Bashi clone.

CGI, @bold, that's why I made this thread. To keep the negative out of Gilga's thread, and bring it to a place of its own where people can freely talk about it.

I'm very happy with the participation my thread got so far, there has been alot of interesting discussion this far. The more we can keep the debate constructive, the farther people can go with finding peace with feelings of resentment. That way, when someone asks for example "Why do you think it copies so much?", people can answer knowing why themselves, above the feeling.

I find this kins of exercise important in building bridges between gamers, as long as people can understand the intent and rules of this thread this will help everyone, defenders and critics alike.

@Sal. I was in the middle of posting a super reply to yours exlpaining things when VGChartz went down... I'll try to salvage it but I'm not too hopeful, it's at my work computer

Its a clone, but it doesnt mean anything. Theres clones of original ideas all over gaming.

You judge wether its a game worth your money or not at launch. :)