After seeing all these Japanese posters ads and all the people talking and asking about Shulk and Xenoblade, as a Xenoblade/Monolith/Tetsuya Takashi/RPG fan I cannot help but feel really happy for Shulk's inclusion in Smash. The guys behind Xenoblade have been around since the times of SNES and worked in masterpieces like Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross and Xenogears even before Monolith existed, and as Monolith they worked on many other ambitious RPGs like the Xenosaga trilogy, the Baten Kaitos bilogy and Xenoblade. Also, for Nintendo, Xenoblade is one of their most ambitious and expansive games ever, probably one of the most ambitious RPGs ever in concept too, so for me it was natural to see Shulk as a representative of one of their biggest new series. I see all of this as a homage to their career and contribution to gaming as a studio.
Also, Shulk is one of those bold and exotic additions to the roster that each Smash pushes forward for recognition. In the original it was Ness, in Melee were Marth and Roy, and in Brawl were Ike and Lucas. Cool characters that few people know about but with such interesting looks, fighting styles and universes that foster the players' interest in them. We probably wouldn't have seen Fire Emblem around here if it weren't because Marth and Roy.