/*This post is incredibly bias, and in no way reflects weather Cloud should be released as DLC or not. It's great that more characters are coming, but I would rather see someone else join the fray aside from him. I also give my argument for my opinion below. If you disagree that's fine. This is not meant to insult Cloud as a character, nor the games he comes from which I, admitadley, have not played. This post is just my opinion.*/
Cloud was recently announced to be coming in smash 4 as DLC. Now, it's great to see more characters coming to smash, and I know that Nintendo probably intends to announce more characters in December as stated in the end of the Nintendo Direct, but I personally believe cloud wasn't the best choice for them to spend their time on. There won't be any hate here, but let me present my argument.
By Nintendo's perspective, it's not going to be as profitable. By putting a character in Smash you inadvertently promote the game the character comes from. Final Fantasy isn't a Nintendo exclusive, so they aren't helping themselves as much as they could be. Along with that, while the Final Fantasy games on Nintendo consoles are popular, they aren't as popular as other games. Because of this, some people might not buy Cloud as paid DLC. While the people who don't know about Final Fantasy and buy Cloud anyway, as many will still do, may enjoy him and purchase the game he comes from, earning them sales. But at the same time, they might buy non-Nintendo Final Fantasy games, and it's just more of a risk over all.
In terms of what we're receiving, there are better options. I'm not saying that Cloud won't be an awesome addition, I'm saying there are better options. While I'm sure there was demand for Cloud, there was definitely a far larger outcry for other characters. Logically, they should release the character with the most outcry behind it as that would earn them the most money, and give the fans what they want. With all of this, it appears that Cloud has a very intense moveset, like Ryu. This is a good thing, as it will represent his character properly and create a fun to play character. But it will also take a lot of time. Time they could be spending on other characters with more outcry.
Cloud is a swordsman. Is this an issue? Yes. Smash has many swordsmen already, and while some do operate differently (Link and Robin have a large focus on projectiles, Marth and Roy have sword sweetspots that play a factor, and Lucina and Ike are just kinda swords people.) they still have a huge presence already, and diversifying the lineup would be appreciated by many. Because it's likely that Cloud will be a mid-weight, characters such as the much wanted King K-Roll would be better as he his a heavy-weight, a minority in the cast.
In the end, I think Cloud will make a fine addition to the roster, and I'm looking forward to seeing where he places in the tier lists and how he'll be used in competitive play. Despite this, I won't be buying him. And although I'm excited to see his moveset, his announcement was overshadowed by the announcement telling me of what's to come.
Oh don't mind him, Jimmy. That's Nisovin. He's a Gnome!
-GIR