Your 8-player Super Smash Bros. battles just got a bit more interesting.
Nintendo’s released an update today for its celebrated brawler, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U that adds 15 more stages to its hectic 8-player battle mode.
The Japanese gaming giant has only recently started issuing updates to its games — something other developers and publishers have been doing for years — but it’s making up for lost time with some decent extra content. The new stages are free as part of a 316MB download, and they won’t be the last additions to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Nintendo has also said it would add a stage based on its Miiverse social network and a 64-player tournament mode.
One paid-for addition is on the way, too, and that’s the Pokémon, Mewtwo. Available for free to gamers who bought both the Wii U and 3DS versions of Super Smash Bros., it’s eventually going to be paid-for DLC.
Nintendo isn’t charging for any of this extra Smash Bros. content , (beyond Mewtwo) and the games’ director, Masahiro Sakurai, has played down the possibility of adding significant paid-for downloadable content, saying, “Creating DLC would involve large additional costs and require the involvement of a lot of people.”
Nintendo’s other recent hot game, Mario Kart 8, did get paid-for DLC. The first of its two packs — containing new tracks and characters — was pretty well received, and the second pack is due out in May. Nintendo charges $8 for each pack (or $12 for both), adding sales value beyond the initial retail price.
The full list of extra 8-players stages is below. It’s split into regular stages and Omega stages, which offer a level arena without extra platforms and hazards:
Regular stages
- Mario Circuit (X)
- Luigi’s Mansion
- Pyrosphere
- Norfair
- Lylat Cruise
- Pokémon Stadium 2
- Animal Crossing – Town and City
- Animal Crossing – Smashville
- Wii Fit Studio
Omega stages
- Mario Galaxy
- Mario Circuit (X)
- Kirby: The Great Cave Offensive
- Lylat Cruise
- Pokémon Stadium 2
- Animal Crossing – Town and City