in my eyes, rivals 2 will be the real test of "will smash fans play something that is every bit as good and polished as smash, or is the IP the actual glue keeping them there"
each time I play the beta tests I'm super, super impressed with the level of quality. it's fast-paced yet all the animations have the right weight to them, the characters are as unique as they've been since the original, and it's easily the nicest looking of any non-smash platform fighter. there's no compromise here, neither the scrappiness of nick brawl 1/2 nor the busted-ass cynical design of multiversus
I could see this one having a lot more success than either of those, provided that smash fans are willing to play something that isn't a crossover-fest. it remains to be seen