I do have one question for you clandecyon; it is about the guy who made the original predictions and later called everyone who believed him idiots or something like that.

Is there any proof that Sakurai or someone affiliated with him actually tampered with the posting in any way, or had any thing to do with the whole incident? Or is the only proof, "if you don't believe the possibility, then you are ignorant"?

sorry for saying that in a rude way.

Edit: I know that the possibility is there, and wouldn't be surprised if things like this actually happened, but is there anything to back this claim? 

 haha.  I don't quite understand that last remark, but I'm pretty sure it is "words of wisdom."  :-p

SilentWolf,

Nah, you aren't rude. There isn't "proof" either way, but the simple comment I was trying to make before the attempt by a couple of posters to beat me to death for even uttering it, which made me defend myself, (sorry, still a little surprised at the immediate reaction I got since I don't post as often as some) is that everything that was in his initial prediction that couldn't be easily tampered with seems to have been satisfied. Given his initial predictions, enough credit is there to suggest that he might have been telling the truth.

He said that both a new and old character would be revealed that week. They were (Diddy and Peach). He said that all but one original character would return. (true if Lucas is replacing Ness and Jigglypuff is announced). He said that all franchises from the last game would return but one. (true if Game and Watch does not get announced). He also said that there were 34 characters in all, 14 new and 20 old. We won't know this until the end.

Now, I don't think his predictions should have as much credit as these posts seem to suggest. I mean, how many characters there are (the only new info) doesn't really matter once we get to play the game or see the next update, but how quick people were to badger me for saying there is enough warrant to keep it in mind was very offensive when I was simply trying to contribute to the board for those who might want to keep updated on the possibility. 

People are too quick to judge when someone posts revealing info. Developers and insiders browse the most popular gaming forums all the time. Things like that DO happen despite all the fakes. The only way to know for sure if a person is truly legit is if his predictions come true, and for that we wait.

How do you explain the missing franchise icon among the 14 veteran icons if Game and Watch isn't returning? It's way too much to claim that it's coincidence that all the icons from 1-14 are veterans and past that are newcomers with no other breaks in the set of numbers. Assist trophies don't get franchise icons. Proof: http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/items/assist/assist03.html

Every franchise icon has character representation. Only one franchise among veterans is missing, and one number is left open in the veterans franchise icons.  It seems as close to confirmation of Game and Watch as you can possibly get without an update of him. 

^Kool.

I saw Bacon post his analysis on the icons, but I was too lazy to read.
Good to see a summary, essentially.

Yeah, I hope it holds true.  Franchise icons are very helpful tools for analyzing information about this game.  Hopefully the next newcomer we get has a franchise icon higher then Pit.  

Thanks for the info.

I still don't think that I can believe in this theory that Sakurai or someone affilitated with him was even involved in this whole event.  Like I said, I know that it is very possible, but I would rather have some proof that it happened.  Until then, I think that I will chock this one up to being a conspiracy and assume that Sakurai had nothing to do with it at all.

I only say this because there are enough conspiracies out there that could be true(The moon landing), seem off the wall(9-11 was done by the US government), and some seem just plain crazy(the Holocaust never happened; straight from our good friend Ahmadinejad) to warrent speculation against any possible conspiracy.

I'm new here. Can anybody explain how the franchise icon list is helping you guesstimate character announcements? Or provide a link?

Conspiracies will always bother me I guess. I'm a straightforward guy as I'm sure most of you know by now and I like evidence, solid numbers, and facts. Sorry about arguing with you clandecyon. I'm just a "by the numbers" kinda guy.

Rubang B, check page 66 of this thread, and look for I like bacon's post