The link does make an exception to the notion that because something is popular, it now sucks. It could be argued that SSBU isn't as good as it could be. I do have my own opinions about SSBU, and while I'll share them, I don't wish to invest time in argumentation.
1. SSBU is popular. It outsold SSBM and even SF2. Where does this popularity stem from? I think it's mainly due to the larger roster. Watching reaction videos from people like ZeRo, ESAM and MVD, Nairo, and D1 tells me new characters is important to them. They'd ask who the new character would be. Why is this a problem? Well, it's not really a problem. I personally think this is what the series has become. Remove that and what does the series offer? I can't think of much.
2. World of Light has its criticisms. It's not really an adventure mode. It's more like SSBM's Event Match with an attempt at a story. So far, post-SSBB adventure modes have been lacking. Sure, it's a step up from SSB4's Smash Tour, but it's nothing special. I personally preferred playing against others, rather than continuing with WoL. I only bothered completing it with the true ending because I just wanted it to be completed. Beyond that, I wasn't interested. Unlike SSBB's Sub-Space Emissary, I haven't replayed WoL again. Its replay value is subpar.
3. The mechanics in SSBU feel incomplete. Hitboxes not matching animations is my biggest gripe with the game. In spite of also correcting the buffering system so that when you land after buffering in the air, you won't roll . . . well, it's still there. It's as if the developers didn't actually correct anything.
4. Online isn't that great. I don't think I have to say much regarding that.
Of course, that link goes on to provide examples on how popularity can affect a work in different ways. Not every example is black and white, and this goes to show that popularity doesn't inherintly make a product worse nor better. I've yet to see a good reason why Ultimate has suffered because of it, and while it can always be argued that it can be better, what can't be? Some things don't turn up exactly as we want them to. I want to say a couple of things as well in response:
1. If we remove the reaction videos we are left with a cast of video game icons, big and small, on a title with gameplay good enough to stand on its own, at least that's what I can think of it. I certainly wouldn't oversimplify the franchise to the mere concept of people reacting to character reveals.
2. Like everything else, WoL isn't exempt of criticism. I personally liked replaying it but a lot of this stuff is subjective so it would be pointless for me to say more.
3. They do need to fix the buffering system by the time they are done supporting this game. I don't however see a constant issue in hitbox detection from my personal experiences. In Brawl, I vividly recall Snake having invisible hitboxes in Brawl and I also remember the phantom hits in Melee which were dumb but I haven't encountered the same kind of jank in this game. I've seen some tourney matches where some times weird stuff happens but it doesn't look like a widespread issue that is easy to replicate. Others might have experienced something different from me though.
4. True. But it's considerably better than it was upon release thanks to updates at least from my experience. When I go online I get my rules 90% of the time; when I don't it is usually something reasonable like playing on FD instead of BF and two stocks instead of three. Only once in a blue moon the game throws me into a match with items or such. I also have very little lag because I got a connection of 50 Megas with fiber optic cable.
Of course, other people may have recurring problems due to several factors like the region they are in.
Never said Smash was bad for being overly popular, bro. Smash being overly popular IS a bad thing because it opens Pandora's box. Byleth being added is lame and desperate. Nintendo shouldn't see Smash as a savior of sequels that releases after.
Smash is.. being milked, bruh. Uniquely. Its not an all godly perfect nothing can go wrong IP you may see it as embodying.
Smash includes many icons from Nintendo games and the industry in general. It is only natural that that it has the attention it has now. How do you even control something like that? For some works, popularity may even come by accident.
And how is Nintendo using Smash as a savior of sequels? I don't know what you mean by that. However, I would argue that Smash's popularity can work in favor of certain franchises. In the past, it helped bring attention to Fire Emblem before it finally came to the west. Dormant franchises that haven't had a game in a long time like F-Zero, Mother and Ice Climber also get exposure from it. This actually worked for Kid Icarus as it got a new game using the character appearances that were established in Brawl.
And of course it's being milked. Selling games is a business, if there is a solid hit in the market that brings in the numbers they are going to use it to their advantage. This isn't always detrimental as you imply because it depends on how you do it, and history has given us examples of how this can be done in the right way or the wrong way. Or would you needlessly kill a product just for the sake of some vague sentiment?
I'm just still unconvinced on how Smash's popularity has been bad for it in recent years. I say that the series's popularity has had a hand in keeping it strong for years. You may use Byleth as an example of blatant advertisement, but that's not really the norm. For every Byleth and Corring, we've gotten a Megaman, K. Rool, Ridley and Banjo & Kazooe.
Its not an all godly perfect nothing can go wrong IP you may see it as embodying.
Nobody in this thread has ever implied that. Heck, I doubt that there is a single person who likes Smash that genuinely thinks that it can't do wrong. Smash isn't perfect. And that's the one thing I can wholeheartedly agree with you on.