Speaking to Polygon about what it's like to choose which characters make the cut for Nintendo's popular fighting franchise, Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai said that "The amount of stress I feel, it's almost to the brink of death.
"Because it's not just a matter of me personally thinking this character or that character is going to be in the game; it's that we also have the game balance, animation, graphics and sound to think about in order to make that character fully fleshed out in that universe. I have to think about all of that when I go through this decision-making process."
Cutting characters is similarly challenging. "Whether it's a minor character or a character that is one of the most highly skilled and most played, if that character is removed from the game, the people who live for that character in Smash Bros. are going to have their feelings hurt," stated Sakurai. "I think we have to really consider that, so I take a very serious, hard look at that and have empathy for the players who look for these type of characters when we're making these decisions."
Mega Man, the Wii Fit Trainer, and Animal Crossing's Villager have been announced as additions to the roster. So far, so good. I'm still cracking up over the Trainer. Sakurai says the team narrows down candidates by asking questions such as: "What is the uniqueness of this character? What does this character bring into the Smash Bros. universe? What do they have that other characters don't? How do they complement or contrast other characters?"
Super Smash Bros. director says character selection is stressful 'almost to the brink of death' [Polygon]
via destructoid http://www.destructoid.com/smash-bros-director-talks-stress-of-character-selection-256531.phtml