Nintendo has dropped the bombshell that Namco Bandai is working alongside Masahiro Sakurai of Sora Ltd. on the next Smash Bros. title, tentatively known as Super Smash Bros. 4.

Details are scant beyond that unfortunately. The announcement was made during the company’s Nintendo Direct webcast by Satoru Iwata. It’s not clear if Namco Bandai characters will be making their way into the roster, but it wouldn’t be a stretch, we’d say.

Nintendo announced that the title was in development for Wii U and 3DS at E3 2011, but it went nary a mention at this year’s show. This is the first time we’ve heard news on it since. While not unprecedented, this is a rather bold move for Nintendo, as it’s not often it seeks outside help for in-house projects. It’ll be intriguing to see how it turns out. I just hope Nintendo keeps Namco far away from offering any input on the DLC front after seeing what happened with Ridge Racer Vita.

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