Once in a while, major gaming events happen to line up and take place at the same time, resulting in a big day for the video game industry. October 5, 2021 will be one of those days. The primary reason is that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will announce its very last DLC fighter on October 5. Although fans of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate have held out hope that Nintendo will announce a third Fighters Pass, the Tuesday presentation focused solely on the last fighter suggests that the end is really nigh for Smash Ultimate. It's had a good run, so hopefully, the DLC series goes out with a bang.
However, not only is Smash Ultimate merely one of October 5's video game stars, but it's not the only fighting game making use of the date. The hotly anticipated Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl will release on a wide range of consoles on that day. It's only the latest in a long series of fighting games based on animated shows from the TV channel Nickelodeon, but notably, it's the first member of the Nickelodeon Super Brawl family of games to be released for consoles. Two very different moments of fighting game history will take place on October 5, which is a pretty charming coincidence.
Smash Ultimate and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's Significance
It's strange to think that Smash Ultimate's media presence is coming to an end. Since the game released at the end of 2018, it has sold more than 24 million copies, making it the best-selling fighting game in the industry's history by a long shot. In all that time, Masahiro Sakurai and his team have been hard at work developing a long line of Smash Ultimate DLC fighters, inviting remarkable characters from every corner of the game industry. Smash Ultimate has definitely drawn in a lot of new fighting game fans, leaving its mark on the genre and the Nintendo Switch.
In contrast, while Smash Ultimate seems to be just about done receiving new content, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's public life will just be beginning on October 5. The developers at Ludosity and Fair Play Labs have pointed toward plans to add many more fan-favorite Nickelodeon characters to the game. In other words, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is well poised as an heir to Smash Ultimate as a uniting and engaging fighting game that brings an industry together. It doesn't hurt that All-Star Brawl's designers are openly interested in supporting professional play, which in turn delights professional fighting game players who have been watching the game closely.
All-Star Brawl and Smash Ultimate Belong Together
It's very fitting that Smash Ultimate and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl have aligned on October 5. Smash Ultimate will announce its last piece of new content while All-Star Brawl's run of expansions is just beginning. Although Smash Ultimate will definitely still remain a major player in the fighting game scene thanks to its overwhelming popularity, it just seems fitting that Smash Ultimate begins to wane as the colorful and pro-play friendly All-Star Brawl is on the rise. The two games strike a satisfying balance by taking these actions on the same day.
In the end, it seems likely that both games will be remembered fondly by fighting game fans in distant future years. On the one hand, Smash Ultimate has already made a mark on history with its high-quality gameplay and an unbelievably long list of playable characters. On the other hand, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is thoroughly set up to succeed with its enticingly technical gameplay and its own squad of fan-favorite Nickelodeon stars. These two games make a natural duo, and they'll likely be compared and contrasted thoroughly in the coming months and years. Fighting game fans should make sure to clear October 5 on their calendars, because there's a lot of exciting content on the way.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now for Nintendo Switch.