No cross-platform play between 3DS and Wii U version of Super Smash Bros.

Despite being the first Smash Bros. game to make it on a handheld, Super Smash Bros. is leaving one record untouched. If you had hopes of playing the future handheld Smash Bros. game against your buddies who have the Wii U version, you're unfortunately S.O.L.

Director of the Smash series, Masahiro Sakurai, announced that there will be no cross play between the two games. Certainly not the best news, but Sakurai explains, they have a quasi-legitimate excuse.

As he explained to Joystiq, the lack of cross play is because each version of Super Smash Bros., Wii U and 3DS, each has its own variety of stages unique to the platform. While cross play has been eliminated, the two versions can still allegedly interact with each other. Sakurai said that players would have the ability to trade customized characters between the two versions.

Fans had hoped for the new Smash game to employ the cross-platform play mechanic, but in all honesty, it's not a large surprise Nintendo is going such a route, as it's fairly low utilized. The only Nintendo game known to support cross-platform play between the Wii U and 3DS is Monster Hunter 3.

A new Smash Bros. game was announced back in 2011, and Super Smash Bros. was officially unveiled at E3 earlier this week. A complete roster hasn't been revealed yet, but a recent trailer showed old favorites like Link, Mario, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Samus, Fox, Pikachu, Pit, and Kirby. These longtime fighters will be joined by the blue bomber Mega Man, the villager of Animal Crossing, and the Wii Fit Trainer. It's unknown which characters, if any, will return for the latest Smash game.

The game is the first of the series to be developed by Namco Bandai, so it's thought that some of the developer's classic characters could be possible candidates for inclusion as well; Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and others have all been suggested as possibilities.

The Super Smash Bros. is due for release some time in 2014.