In the English version of the Nintendo Direct on November 6th, 2019, during the showcase for Fatal Fury's Terry Bogard in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Smash Bros. creator Sakurai Masahiro showed off a number of the cameo characters who would appear in the game. He then went out of his way to point out that Mai was not among the list of characters and explained the reason why:
"By the way, you may have noticed that a very important character from the Fatal Fury series was not included. Yes, Mai Shiranui. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is for good boys and girls of many different ages, so we decided not to feature her. Please forgive us."
The original Japanese version of the same Direct has Sakurai use similar wording, but also explicitly calls out CERO as the reason for her omission, as her appearance would compromise the game's rating of CERO A (equivalent to the ESRB's "E for Everyone").
The internet quickly reacted to this announcement with a flurry of memes, quipping that Mai was "too hot" for Smash, and riffing on the lengths Smash will go to preserve its content rating. This includes remarks on other characters notable for their sex appeal but who are present in the game in some form, such as with censored outfits compared to their original material; these include Mythra and Pyra from Xenoblade Chronicles, Bayonetta, Palutena from Kid Icarus, and Zero SuitSamus from Metroid.
