The Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS details will keep coming from Nintendo ahead of the staggered release of both versions, even after all the excitement from E3.
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Today, Nintendo has revealed that Xenoblade's Shulk will be joining the battle as a playable character, an announcement that almost certainly confirms the leaked character roster and video footage. Shulk was one of several new characters shown off on what was supposedly the full roster, so this reveal helps answer the question of whether or not to believe the rest of the leaked information.
Nintendo's hand was perhaps forced by the information leak, and the developers may want to announce the bigger news as quickly as possible themselves. Whether a result of the leak or not, we now have official confirmation of Shulk in the form of the image above and a new challenger trailer, below.
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Here's Sakurai's announcement from the Miiverse Forums, as well:
"From Xenoblade Chronicles, Shulk joins the battle!! He's not the type of character that would usually appear in the Smash Bros. series, but we worked really hard to make it happen. We're very happy with how he turned out. This stage is Gaur Plain."
While I'm not sure what he means by Shulk not being a typical Super Smash Bros character (numerous Fire Emblem characters and Snake seem to make this no different), the character model looks fantastic. He seems to be an incredibly handy character based on the gameplay footage, with different attack styles and a lengthy melee reach.
The title will be out for 3DS on October 3, as Nintendo announced at the gaming conference, and this holiday season on Wii U. A specific release date for the console version will likely be forthcoming as winter approaches, but Nintendo still has plenty of time to make that announcement.
Several new characters and other details were revealed at E3 as expected, including the unveiling of Lady Palutena, Pac-man, the Mii Fighters and an appearance by Mr. Game & Watch, though he has not yet been confirmed as playable. Even after these major announcements, though, series director Masahiro Sakurai has continued to give us comparatively smaller details through the official site in the form of a daily picture update. The latest round-up of these posts can be found here.