Quote i find from a wikipedia like site since i'm too lazy to track down an article i read months ago...
"The inclusion of Konami-created character Solid Snake may seem as a conflict of the Smash Bros. paradigm; to only include characters from games made by Nintendo and their second parties (ie. HAL Laboratory), but Sakurai stated that Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima “practically begged†for Snake to be included in the next Smash Bros. game (which, at the time of said “beggingâ€, was Super Smash Bros. Melee, but production of the game was already too far in to make the addition viable). According to Sakurai, discussions for possible other third-party character additions such as SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog and Capcom’s Mega Man are underway, but nothing has been confirmed."
