>>717836475
Okay but think about this way: how many of those older characters even have a chance at this point?

Like we only got K. Rool back simply because he was THAT popular on the Smash ballot. Outside of special occurrences like that and also Sakurai's wacky surprise character i.e Piranha Plant, Duck Hunt, R.O.B, etc every game, it's pretty obvious Sakurai and Nintendo want to focus on what's most contemporary and "relevant" around the time the roster was locked down, and this is especially made apparent during the DLC where literally the only first parties that have a shot are the newer promotional ones like Byleth and Corrin that just missed the boat for the base game lineup. Looking at pic related, it's not that hard to see why people are more excited for third party shit.