The Japanese Nintendo YouTube account briefly attached Wednesday's Nintendo Direct broadcast with a Super Smash Bros. tag, prompting speculation that a new iteration of the series for Nintendo Switch may be revealed during the stream. Now, it was almost immediately removed, but a moment is all it takes to spark interest in fans of the series. Could a Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo Switch announcement be forthcoming?

Let's frame this rumor in some well-grounded perspective. As far as rumors go, a YouTube tag is perhaps one of the least reliable sources to base any speculation on. YouTube itself can automatically slip tags it deems related to a title or channel onto a new video, though the publisher can still review the tags before publishing the post. Keeping that in mind, the appearance of Super Smash Bros. is likely to be an accidental publishing without a thorough review of the video's tags. But there's a chance its inclusion wasn't initially an accident.

There's additional evidence to consider, with two other tags having also been attached to the video – although they too were quickly removed alongside Super Smash Bros.. Those two tags were for Mother, known in West as Earthbound, and F-Zero, each with related Nintendo Switch rumors. Those three tags (Mother, F-Zero, and Super Smash Bros.) are a rather odd combination of Nintendo I.P. for the video to include, especially given the pre-existing rumors that GameCube iterations of the latter franchises and the Japan-only GBA title, Mother 3, are en route to Switch.

The YouTube tag itself was spotted by the eagle-eyed Twitter user known as Nibel, where he posted screenshots of the apparent blunder prior to its removal:

This isn't the first time Super Smash Bros. has been rumored for a Nintendo Switch release, either. An updated port of the franchise's Wii U iteration (which would presumably be like the updated Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Switch) was rumored well before the console even launched. Whether the rumored title is a port or an entirely new game, a reveal of Super Smash Bros. for Switch is entirely possible – if not inevitable.

Fans will see for themselves what Nintendo has up its sleeve during its Nintendo Direct event tomorrow at 3:00pm PT. Both Nintendo Switch and 3DS games are meant to be discussed, with only Super Mario Odyssey's appearance officially confirmed. Other rumored titles include Fire Emblem Warriors and new Switch ports from Platinum Games, although only time will tell what the publisher has planned for the 45-minute presentation.

Source: Twitter - Nibel