Well, it finally happened, folks. Nintendo has joined the rest of the game developer community in its practice of shipping games that need to be patched before they can be played.
Earlier today, Source Gaming posted a translation of Famitsu’s interview with the director of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Masahiro Sakurai. While the man had a lot to say on the game —most of it about the World of Light mode, its theme song, and why Kirby is the opening cutscene’s only survivor— he also had an interesting tidbit for gamers who will buy Smash Bros. on release day.
According to Sakurai, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s first update will be available on launch day, but not everyone will need to download the patch. Apparently, the digital version of the game will ship pre-patched, but physical version owners should download the update before playing.
While Sakurai doesn’t clearly explain what the patch fixes, it probably is related to replay videos. As Sakurai stated, “This will also prevent your replays from going off-track.” “This” likely refers to the day-one patch. But what “going off-track” means could be anyone’s guess.
As a longtime Super Smash Bros. player, I have uploaded my fair share of replay videos, which mostly consist of impressive combos and hilarious K.O.s. Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U’s built-in capture program is flawed, as videos transferred to YouTube with the program feature low-quality audio and visuals. I noticed an immediate upgrade in video quality after I started uploading replays with a capture box. While I’m slightly disappointed Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s issue wasn’t ironed out before the cartridges were produced, I still look forward to a patch that lets me upload crisp, clear videos of my best matches.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is scheduled to release December exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
