It’s official: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is coming out this year.
Nintendo’s hugely anticipated fighting game is launching Nov. 21 in North America, just in time for the holiday sales market. It quells fears that the title, which previously just had a vague “holiday” date attached, might slip back to 2015. The 3DS version is already out and doing great, with 2.8 million copies now sold worldwide and demand exceeding supply in Japan.
Nintendo has a lot riding on the success of arguably its biggest Wii U title this year, and strong sales may help bring the gaming giant a happy holiday season. With disappointing hardware sales to date and Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 continuing to perform well, it’s now make-or-break time for the Wii U.
Nintendo first announced Super Smash Bros. for Wii U — the latest iteration of a franchise that the competitive gaming community has embraced — over three years ago. It’s supporting the launch of the game with a range of Amiibo figures based on some of its most popular characters, which make use of the Wii U GamePad’s inbuilt near-field communication technology.
Players can send their Amiibo figures into Super Smash Bros for Wii U. by tapping them on the GamePad. They can then train them up, battle alongside them, or pit them against their friends’ Amiibos. The Amiibo figures will also work with other upcoming compatible games, such as Mario Party 10 and Yoshi’s Woolly World. Skylanders and Disney Infinity have demonstrated the potential for game and toy crossovers, and Nintendo is hoping to get a piece of that action with Amiibo.
Super Smash Bros. players who want to use their favorite GameCube controller with the new game can get an adapter to make it compatible with Wii U. Nintendo is also releasing a new GameCube controller especially for the game, complete with Super Smash Bros. styling.