Destiny may be all the rage right now in the West, but overseas, Japan has a new obsession. This past weekend was the debut of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, and as expected, the game sold at an exceptionally brisk pace.
The handheld version of the game moved 1M copies its opening week in Japan. That pace is reserved only for a few select 3DS series including Monster Hunter and Pokemon. It’s already one of the fastest selling games in the history of the handheld.
Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, the game’s official name, is not quite as jam packed with content as the console version, but is proving to be a fun handheld experience all the same, and will certainly tide Nintendo fans over until the release of the Wii U version.
Nintendo still has yet to officially announce the release date for Super Smash. Bros for Wii U, though some have speculated about a possible November 21st launch. From the time the game was first announced, to the time it’s going to be released is exceptionally long, even by Nintendo standards, and it will be even longer if the game is indeed pushed to 2015.
I have faith that Nintendo will deliver the game by the holiday, as it’s too crucial of a time window for them to miss given how steep their competition is this fall from other systems, particularly a host of 3rd party exclusives like Destiny, Call of Duty and more that they don’t have on their system.
It will be interesting to see if the game makes the needle move for the 3DS, as though it’s not a traditionally mobile series, the first Smash Bros. installment on a handheld is pretty big deal for Nintendo, even if the Wii U version seems to be what most avid fans are clamoring for. Hopefully Nintendo will craft together a holiday 3DS/Smash package to put under trees this Christmas.
The two games will cross over in a few ways as well, such as character data transfer, but Nintendo also just revealed that you can actually use your 3DS as a controller for Wii U Smash. That means players can spend months playing on 3DS, then have their skills transfer directly to Wii U if they get used to that control scheme. But naturally, I think most will be eager to play on the recently revived Gamecube controller instead.
