As mentioned in our Super Smash Bros. Brawl Index a few days ago, it seems that the latest buzz surrounding the game in question involves Capcom's presence in the game-- specifically, the distinct lack thereof.

Sure, some might say that putting this right here is something of a spoiler, but we prefer to think of it as keeping some people from being disappointed at the last possible second, that being well after they bought the game. But in any case, Kotaku seems to have gotten some word from people "inside" Nintendo as to why this is the case.

Remember back in 2005, when Capcom had this huge exclusive title for the GameCube that was sure to be a hit? Er, no... not Viewtiful Joe... no, not Killer 7, either, the other one... Resident Evil 4? "But," you say, "that came out on the PS2 as well."

Precisely.

In 2002, Capcom planned a series of five exclusive titles for the Nintendo GameCube, known collectively as the Capcom Five, which included the three listed above, plus two others-- P.N.03 and Dead Phoenix, the former of which did remain exclusive while the latter was cancelled.

At least two of those that abandoned ship for PS2 waters brought with them additional features in tow, including new modes with new playable characters.

As the story goes from the alleged Nintendo insiders, the decision to take Resident Evil 4 multiplatform (perhaps coupled with the rest, but that's simply our own conjecture) is what did it for Nintendo, and why Capcom characters such as Mega Man, or perhaps Leon Kennedy, star of Resident Evil 4, did not make it into production for the game alongside other third-party superstars Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Of course, that was in 2005... since then, Capcom has made more games with a Nintendo audience in mind, including Zack & Wiki, the Ace Attorney series, numerous Mega Man games, and even a Wii version of Resident Evil 4, plus Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. So maybe there are opportunities for second chances?

Of course, it'd likely be too late for Brawl... perhaps next time? Assuming nothing goes wrong between now and then. By the way... what systems did they announce Resident Evil 5 for, again?