IGN recently got a chance to sit down with Masahiro Sakurai to talk about the upcoming release of Smash Bros. 4. The interview goes over a couple interesting topics including the introduction of new third party characters to the roster, the new Wii U control scheme, and the overall game system. However, the biggest news is the expected release date, which IGN states as 2013. This hasn’t yet been confirmed by Nintendo but it certainly seems plausible. You can read an excerpt of the interview below. Check out the interview in it’s entirety over at IGN.

We’ve already seen how a number of games plan to integrate the Wii U’s GamePad, but we’ve yet to hear how the fourth instalment of the all-star brawl ’em up will do the same. While Sakurai wasn’t ready to reveal everything, he explained to IGN that the company was looking into ways that worked specifically with Wii U’s new hardware, explaining “The GameCube controller is not the only way to control Smash Bros., so we will look into ways that fits the Wii U.”

Previous entries in the series have offered a fairly robust selection of control schemes, so it makes sense the next game will do the same. But while Sakurai admits the company needs to adapt to incorporate new controller options, he’s adamant the rest of the game doesn’t need to change to remain fresh. Having had three very successful entries in the franchise, the former Project Sora boss feels the series has found its target audience, meaning introducing gimmicks would hinder rather than help the brand.

“The game system itself is complete, so we don’t want to make it 3D or introduce complicated controls just for the sake of it,” he said. “However, I am thinking of ways we can introduce a slightly different, fun experience all the while keeping the usual frantic game play.”