A new screenshot has revealed a new character for Super Smash Bros. 4, though the "new" character is most likely just a different skin option for an already confirmed character in the game.
Producer of the series, Masahiro Sakurai, recently posted a picture of the Wii Fit Trainer on his MiiVerse feed alongside her male counterpart, who has yet to appear in any of the trailers of pictures of Super Smash Bros. 4.
"Pic of the day. The trial version of Wii Fit U is available now! We'd like to share this pic to commemorate the occasion," Sakurai captioned the photo.
The picture featuring the male Wii Fit Trainer also appeared on the official website for Super Smash Bros. 4. However, the new character was not added to the official roster of the game, meaning the male Wii Fit Trainer is not a separate character entity for the game, and most likely plays a secondary role.
So if the male Wii Fit Trainer is now a full character, then what's his role in the game? He will probably be available as a costume option for the Wii Fit Trainer, meaning players will be able to swap between the male and female version of the character. This would explain why the two versions of the character are on screen together, because two players picking the same character would have to make their characters distinctive in some way.
Another less likely possibility is that the male Wii Fit Trainer is an assist trophy character for the game. These characters appear when players pick up an assist trophy, and they perform certain actions to help or hinder characters.
Perhaps this hints that new skins will be available for all characters in the game, and will lead to greater customization. For example, instead of a pallet swap for characters such as Mario or Link, players could choose different versions of the character to appear based on their appearance in different games. Maybe Mario could even have a costume that mimics his early 8-bit design. This would allow the feeling of a bigger roster while allowing players many different costume choices when Super Smash Bros. 4 is released on the Wii U and 3DS.