There's probably going to be a female trainer (with 4th generation pokémon I think).

MAJOR SPOILERS!

Guys, I want you to take a close look at the characters featured in this Best Buy Ad.

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/08/DSC00454.JPG

Then, get down on your knees and weep in pure joy.


EDIT:  Or maybe it's fake, and then I'll just feel like a big turd.

Well, let's hope it's true.

Personally I don't believe it to be so but hey, stranger things have happened... today's update being a shining example.

It looks really fake to me. Notice the sharpness of the Sonic compared to the other characters.

Guys, I did some research and it looks like this ad might be real - depending on your definition of real.  It looks like it was made by some guy at Best Buy and maybe he just doesn't know what he's doing.  Even if Sonic is in the game, he already flubbed up by putting him in the ad.

There's a second ad out now too with:

Birdo, Rayman, Baby Bowser, Captain Falcon, and a Pirhana Plant

I was staring cluelessly at the finger before I realised he could be somewhere else in the picture.

This article mentions a specific EB games in Woodbridge, NJ that distributed the ad.

http://news.filefront.com/sonic-appearing-in-smash-bros-brawl/

The ad looks kind of fake, but it's interesting that they would mention a specific EB games.

So I had a thought - why don't I just fucking call and ask them?  I'll look like a huge geek but who cares?

...

So I called and they didn't seem to know anything about the ad and couldn't verify either way.  The ad might not have been in the hands of the clerks there, who knows.  Results are inconclusive, but it's pointing more towards "false".

Those Sonic images were taken from other sources and are not original like the pictured confirmed Melee characters.

Even if this is true, that doesn't necessarily mean the ads are "fake".  It just means that they were made by taking pictures and slapping them together.  The articles are already reporting that these are mockups made by the store - not by Nintendo.  So without access to original Nintendo art, they wouldn't have any other choice but to take pictures from other sources.  Pre-orders are a huge deal.

So I'm still not convinced either way.

EDIT:  Okay, I think this article best explains what is going on here.  The ads are real, but they may not be accurate.  They're just careless Gamestop and Best Buy mockups.  It's not a confirmation, but it helps.

http://www.sonicstadium.org/sonicnews/315/

That's what makes the updates so much fun.

Well the next update's up...
Devil's definitely something that will fuck with our heads, I just wonder how it will work out on auto-scrolling levels.

I'll tell you this: that Brawl add from the EB is NOT an official piece of GameStop marketing.  Someone from the store either mocked that up, or found the image online and posted it in the store.

You're right.  It was originally fan made, but someone from EB took it (maybe thought it was official) and put it in the store as an ad for reservations.

However, this doesn't explain the Best Buy ad.

Interesting... I just noticed Snake is not on the characters page. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Neither is Meta Knight. It's just the order he's updating his site.