*Before posting, pls at least read the reasoning behind this thread (under PROS) Thank You! 

Aside from being one of the best directs of all times to many (unless you flat out dont care for SSB), one of the biggest news of the direct outside of great announcements/feats/etc was the fact that SSB for 3DS is going to be released first.

Before i address my opinions on the matter i like to get out one thing... The idea kind of died down, but you do hear it time to time and thats "Why are they making a 3DS and WiiU version at the same time when WiiU is the one in a bad situation" or something very similar to that. Well for the small amount of people that dont realize WTF they are talking about, the WiiU's been out for a year and a couple of months. The announcement of both games were announced back at e3 2011, and began development in the beginning of 2012 (wayyy before WiiU's release/terrible performance).

Now that thats cleared lets get back on topic :)

3DS version of SSB is being released first. Lots of arguements saying Nintendo is retarded or ____ cuz the wiiu needs saving or just in general they want the wiiu version only. (Or Some who are fanboys that just want to doom nintendo and have no interest whats so ever on the matter).

The thing is yes, i have no doubt that the 3DS version will hurt the WiiU version of the game in terms of sales, BUT in terms of marketing strategy and financially/Sales for Nintendo Overall, its the much better/impact answer. I really dont think people look at the entire picture of the situation andbelow will explain why!

Here are my keypoints in why (all opinionated of course)

♥ Pros ♥

★Pricing: With 3DS Much Bigger Install base (40mil+ WW) vs WiiU (Almost 6mil), its guaranteed to sell alot better on 3DS. The thing is $40 will be most of which SSB fans will be paying for since majority of us gamers already have one by the time of the games release. Even though $60 is just $20 more, others will have to buy the entire system to play the game.

KEEP IN MIND as well that not everybody has money to spend. If released at the same time, some would hold off one version (or not get at all) and thats losing money and a game bought!

★Marketing: Aside from commercials/events/online/etc, with a release of SSB for 3DS first, its marketing itself and will potentially help out with better WiiU sales/SSB for WiiU sales in the future. Why? Cuz the definitive version will come out months after gaming on the 3DS version. Self advertisement in its own way!

★Upgrading: (well it ties in with the above sooo) People playing that 3DS version, some/most will be itching for that jump. Enhanced/Surperior version is already a good reason jumping from 3ds to WiiU games, but of course there are those Unannounced Exclusives Mode(s) as well. 

★Fanbase: Surprise Surprise, the SSB fanbase is mostly on Home Console cuz all 3 pre installments have been there. Wont be a big deal as some suggest with 3ds releasing first.

★Connectivity Feature: I cant say wat it is cuz its still a mystery and this is a minor point but i wanted to bring it to everybodies attention!

Things that some dont realized or missed!

★Time of Release: Summer time for 3DS is pretty good especially better than the other way around. Why? Cuz with the 3DS version "we again" wont be needing to spend as much money and its SUMMER! By doing a WiiU release in Winter its during holiday and can lead up to a better momentum than the Summer.

Also consider this. WiiU will have much more deals/bundles than in the summer which can overall hurt it in pushes HW. We all know games tend to do much better during holiday. Also MK8 will be out for awhile, and there's bound to be WiiU bundles for it or maybe SM3DW. This will easily make a better strategy for Japan (look at previous holiday sales for WiiU)

★SSB for WiiU To Be Perfect/Polished: Another reason is aside from a exclusive mode, the game can be polished and well made before releasing it to the public, as a game that comes out once per generation why feel the need to rush it. I gladly wait an extra month(s) with a game like this.

Better than rushed games that dont give you the entire package and in less than 2months offering dlc for $10-$20 (which i cant stand) like Lots of shooters or PSASBR.

                                                                 ↓↓↓↓↓↓IMPORTANT↓↓↓↓↓↓

★Sales of both Games (PROFITS FOR NINTENDO):

Scenario 1: Lets say if 3DS version was coming out the same time as WiiU version. This would most likely add a little more sales than the situation actually happening but 3DS sales would take a massive hit.

Scenario 2: If They were switched around then it can potentially cannibalized 3DS sales cuz most would see it as a waste of a game to play since its inferior to the WiiU version.

Scenario 3: With the way Nintendo is releasing the games is a much bigger impact overall.

Speculate sales in each scenario! (i'll put low sales just to give an example)

1. WiiU= 3mil   3DS= 3mil

2. WiiU= 3.5mil   3DS= 2mil

3. WiiU= 3mil   3DS= 5mil

This is personally how i see it depending on version releasees!

★★★Overall: Releasing the game later helps out with the development team (working on the best way possible), self marketing on 3DS version, Keep sales alive on both system, and WiiU holiday release is a much better date imo!

Your thoughts on my Fanboy Analysis? :p

WiiU, 8 million! 3ds 5 million! Life time (I know its stretching but oh well)

The only reasoning is that the gamecube version, with all its doom and gloom, managed to sell 7 million life time so Maybe the wiiU can to higher! Also the thing is that everyone that buy's a wiiU at this point will solely buy it for Nintendo games, and more specifically for SSB and MK8 so I think it has a chance, not a big one but a chance none to less

Also, handhelds and fighting games doesn't really go to well... People will buy the 3ds version but the wiiU is far for comfortable and much better expereince to play with compared to the 3ds

Plus who wouldn't want to play as Zero Suit Samus?

That guy who is calling her Sexist? lol

Lolll, touche!

But seriously, that guy needs to get his penis working again

Damn.. maybe i made this too long to read.?? Shitttt :-

I agree, OP...
I think the 3DS version will scratch the itch that the Wii U version will end up relieving in the long run...

thanks! I dont knonwhy so many argue that its a bad move (releasing wiiu version after)

These are all very good points, well made. I think a lot of people will have forgotten that Smash Bros 4 was announced for both consoles 17 months before the Wii U was launched, and only a few months after the 3DS launch.

I have to say that my initial reaction in 2011 to the news that it would be appearing on both 3DS and Wii U was that it was a bad move, because it seems a natural game to play on a home console. As it became clearer that the Wii U wasn't doing as well as it should, it seemed to me that releasing on the 3DS made it look more and more like a disaster in the making for the Wii U.

When Sakurai announced that the 3DS version was coming first, I thought it was a terrible idea as it could lure people away from buying a Wii U for it - but after some thought, now I think it is a clever strategy, for all the reasons listed in the OP.

Anyone who's been checking out the official SSB site on a regular basis might have noticed that generally, most of the daily screenshots have been from the Wii U. When they've introduced new characters, the majority of screenshots for each character have been from the Wii U, with only a couple each from the 3DS. Since the Direct, there have been more 3DS shots.

I think this staggered release has been their strategy from the outset - that they mean the Wii U version to be the main attraction with the 3DS as the taster.

Not only that, This little experiment suggests the strategy might not be as crazy as some people think - assuming this community is representative of Wii U owners in general.

Glad ya change your mind on the releases. Dont get me wrong, it looks bad at first but overall if flipped around 3DS sales would potentially lose millions imo. 

Im happy with summer release(3ds), cuz before the direct i expected both releases simultaneously and in Nov/Dec!