Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai has explained why Mewtwo wasn't released as paid DLC, and what Nintendo plans to do with future Smash Bros. DLC.

"As for why Mewtwo isn't paid content from the start, releasing that character is an experiment meant to act as a foothold in content distribution; thus it's simply meant as part of the service we're providing to gamers."

"Creating a single fighter involves a huge investment, and we've already been giving it our all and investing a lot of work in the characters currently available in the game, and I think it's an incredible package in terms of the sheer amount of content in the game. But it might be that people may not understand and may think that I am not offering enough just by looking at DLC itself."

"...What I can say now about paid DLC is that we aren't working on anything at the moment. We've put all our efforts into making the actual game. Creating DLC would involve large additional costs and require the involvement of a lot of people."

In an email interview with IGN, Sakurai said:Before discussing Mewtwo, he clarified:Sakurai added that while the fighter roster is a huge part of what makes Smash Bros. exciting, keeping that excitement alive through paid DLC might be met with criticism that Nintendo is "adding things later that should have been there from the start."Last month, Nintendo announced that those who purchase both the Wii U and 3DS versions of Super Smash Bros. can download Mewtwo for free in both versions of the game around Spring 2015. You can read our Super Smash Bros. Review in progress right now.

Brian is an associate editor at IGN. You can follow him @albinoalbert on Twitter