Nintendo confirmed during their livecast that saw new titles like New Super Mario Brotherrs 2 and the 3DS XL that there will be Brawl. Specifically, the long-awaited sequel to Super Smash Brothers Brawl has officially started production since being announced at E3 2001.
Except it won't be handled by Nintendo. The production reigns were handed off to Bandai Namco, which caused some outcry from the fighting community. From Masaya Kobayashi, producer on the Smash Brothers port, "All the top creators from Namco Bandai are gathered here to create a never-before-seen dream team for this project. We will fully utilize our experience and knowledge in action/fighting game development, technical capability, and organizational strength."
The port to 3DS may be in development, but there's no set expectation for delivery or anything that could be shown aside from the hopes and dreams of countless dorm rooms waiting for a new answer to Mario Kart. This will also be the first time that Nintendo hasn't been hands on with the development of a Smash game. So there's a weird anticipation with what Namco Bandai can bring to the table. Will it be like a Tekken-Smash? Or something even stranger?
We'll find out in the next year.