Never underestimate the stupidity of post-2010 Nintendo.

True, a lot of their decisions have been harebrained, but even they're quite aware that Wii U is not Wii and would crumple completely from a holiday without a proper marquee title

Again, the positive of this is that the direct sold me on the 3DS version, between Smash Rush and the game releasing first. The negative is that the Wii U version better be something truly special to compensate. I do trust Sakurai to do what it takes.

You know... there are people that enjoy the warriors games, and there are people who enjoy zelda. It isnt crazy that these can overlap. It doesnt have to be extortion.

I don't think X can be considered a " big" holiday title, so maybe Nintendo will announce something at E3!

To be honest I was thjinking the same... Winter 2014 is only 10 days in 2014. and being the 21st December Sunday, there are no chance of being released this year or for holidays or before Xmas.... However, I hope Winter it is just a way to say Early December; Smash has to be the holiday title... has to be if they want to compete against all next COD or sxxt on other consoles....but we need another 1 or 2 games too... Yoshi Yarn or Animal Crossing U style for mass/kids -

Astronomic definition of "winter 2014" does not equal a commercial definition of "winter 2014".

There's obvious overlap between 2014 and 2015 when taking "this winter" (as in the coming winter) as the release window, but given they stated "winter 2014" and not "coming this winter", I would conclude that Nintendo are aiming for a November or December release. If they'd gone for the latter release window, I'd agree that there's a higher probability of a 2015 launch.

The game could still slip to 2015, but right now, I think a 2014 launch is the plan. The original argument of "winter begins December 21st" is a highly selective, and forced, argument. Commercial shopping seasons and distribution periods do not hinge on the shortest day of the year, they hinge on the most profitable time of the year, which, in the Northern Hemisphere, are the winter months of November/December.

Like I said, a 2015 launch is possible, but I don't think that's signified by "winter 2014".

Oh gosh yes! Please Nintendo do it! You are only one step now to delay ssb and release Zelda, there's nothing else!

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

^^ This. All of it.

In addition to the bolded, if it was more likely to be an early 2015 release, they would probably have called it Q1 2015 or similar.

Nintendo have stuck to their release date of 'sometime in 2014' for both Smash Bros games ever since the E3 2013 announcement. They're unlikely to change it to 2015 unless there's a delay.

I'm not sure how you theorize that it's not necessarily 2014. It says it is winter 2014, so how does the winter statment instantly become more important than the 2014 statement. If anything, this solidifies that it's going to be a holiday release. When a release date is in the early part of 2015 it is generally stated as early 2015, or first quarter 2015. Nintendo is not an ignorant company and they would undoubtedly recongnize that by them logistically saying 2014 and it ends up being released in 2015 (unless delayed) could be considered a direct lie to their customers.

Your statement means that a BLT sandwich definitively has bacon, but the lettuce and tomato are elective... 

Going by the official calender date of Winter won't mean anything. It will be out in time for Christmas. Nintendo does plenty of questionable things, but it isn't that foolish.