E3 2007: Smash Bros. Brawl: Online Or Not?

[Balls2TheWall]

Back in the dim and distant days of E3 2006, Nintendo announced the hotly anticipated Wii fighting game Super Smash Bros. Brawl. While Brawl provoked some serious froth for a number of reasons -- including the fact that Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima gave his blessing for series protagonist Solid Snake to punch it up with Mario -- the most exciting aspect of the game for many was the promise of online support, an area where Nintendo's remained painfully behind the curve.

It made for something of an unhappy surprise today when Nintendo announced a release date for Brawl and showed off the company's newfound dedication to online gaming... but not at the same time. In fact, the presentation included several online titles, but Brawl wasn't among them. While it's possible that Nintendo simply wanted to let gamers salivate over Mario Kart Wii and its addition of yet another Wii add-on to the system's growing arsenal of peripherals, it also makes us wonder if perhaps things aren't going quite as well with the game's online component as anticipated. As we think back, we also realize that none of the extensive weekly updates at the game's official site have made mention of its online gameplay, either.

Of course, an omission isn't the same thing as an actual change, but it did catch my attention.

[JeEzY]

and ill be so pissed if it isnt!!!!

[ozzsoad]

It caught my attention too, but then I thought about it. This game isn't exactly being promoted like most games would. The developers are keeping a tight lid on the project. Although they've been updating the official site five times a week with new information, I'd guess that they haven't released even 5% of what we can expect in the game. They're slowly building up more and more excitement amongst the public, why release all the good stuff at once? They probably wanted to save an official announcement for later.

Just because they didn't mention the game along with the other online games they talked about means very little. Hell, they didn't even mention Battalion Wars 2, which has been confirmed for online and is definitely a title core gamers are looking forward to.