Nintendo, the widely popular Japanese video game developer, is well-known for its many series that usually feature cute or anthropomorphized protagonists, such as Pokemon or Super Mario Bros. While its games might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I’ve always loved their preocupation with making games fun and innovative.

One of their most popular games is the Super Smash Bros. series. The game is based on a simple concept: what if your favorite characters from video games could battle each other? The formula of great characters that many are fans of combined with the ability to destroy your friends in multiplayer by controlling them created a widely marketable game. Even if someone was a fan of only one or two of the characters on the roster, they could be interested in getting it. The game was so popular with fans that the second installment Super Smash Bros. Melee, widely considered to be the best, is still used in many professional gaming tournaments.

Nintendo took this strategy to a whole new level for the fourth and newest game in the series, aptly named Super Smash Bros. 4, which comes out for the 3DS this Friday, Oct. 3. Needless to say, I am super excited. The game was announced at the E3 gaming conference in 2013 with a teaser trailer, starting with the familiar logo and featuring popular returning characters such as Mario, Metroid’s Samus and Link from Legend of Zelda. Next, the trailer announced two newcomers to the battle: the Animal Crossing Villager and Megaman. This would mark the beginning of a drawn-out, clever marketing strategy in order to build hype for the game.

Just announcing the game itself was enough to garner attention from the gaming community, specifically Nintendo fans. The announcement also revealed that this would be the first Smash game to be on both a console and a handheld. Previously, you’d have to have a console if you wanted to play. While the Animal Crossing newcomer got me interested, the fact that it was coming out for 3DS sealed the deal for me: I wouldn’t have to get myself an expensive new console to play the game.

Nintendo then started building hype using what is a pretty fantastic marketing system. Since one of the main draws of the game is the famous characters representing the stars of different series, Nintendo decided to release trailers for each newcomer. The best part is that these videos were randomly released without much advance warning, and no one knew who would be in the trailer until they watched it. Gamers kept paying attention to Nintendo’s social media for hints on when the next video would be dropped, and when it was, they would watch attentively to see if any of their favorites or predictions would show up. This kept potential customers thinking about Smash in the back of their minds (or the front of their minds, in my case).

In addition to keeping attention on the game and building hype since June 2013, the characters announced represent a variety of series. In addition to Nintendo veterans, some characters from other developers’ games were announced, such as Pac-Man or Robin and Lucina from one of my personal favorite games, Fire Emblem: Awakening. Even if someone does not like Mario, there are plenty of other games represented that could lure in a fan.

Also, the gender diversity of the roster allows both men and women a variety of options to play as their own sex. The original Smash game for the Nintendo 64 system had seven male characters, four “agender” animal-like characters, such as Jigglypuff the Pokemon, and one woman character. That one woman also happens to wear a robot suit constantly. In Super Smash Bros. 4, there are 20 male characters, 14 “agender” characters, eight female characters and four characters that let you choose what gender version you want to play as. That means that the series went from one playable female character to 12 options of female fighters. About half of gamers are female, so it’s important to see representation in popular games.

The final part of Nintendo’s strategy is that the 3DS version of the game coming out on Friday is only part of the story. The version for the WiiU is slated to release during the holiday season of 2014. Those who can’t afford the 3DS version now can wait and suggest it as a great gift idea to relatives and friends, or it might push them to ask for the newer, fancier WiiU version. It should help boost sales of the WiiU console as well, because the easiest way to play with your family is to have a console set up to a TV. Plus, Nintendo fans will have had the 3DS version for long enough to justify throwing down money to get the WiiU edition.

Overall, Nintendo’s strategy was well thought-out in my opinion, and I am pretty much in a constant state of excitement for this Friday. Here’s to my weekend devoted to honing my battle skills.