We're not talking about "people you could approach on a random street." People who have an interest in this game/will buy this game are, yes, you guessed it, PlayStation owners. They know the characters.
Really?
How many people do you think have purchased a PS3 and know what Parappa is? It has been 10 years since it had a release on a console, and not everyone buys something just because it's on a console they own.
Do you think many people outside of Japan knew who Marth was before SSBM? I would be curious to know what percentage of people that purchased Melee knew who the Ice Climbers were or what percentage of people that bought Brawl knew who Pit was. I'm not saying that as some kind of negative against them, but it's just the case. If you're not out there constantly, people aren't likely to know you. Sweet Tooth was in just as bad a place until they released the recent Twisted Metal, but how much of an impact did that realistically have in reaching people unfamiliar with the franchise?
You addressed Patrick's comment, and I'm very much inclined to agree with him. Just because people who post in a thread on GAF about a game they are interested in doesn't equate to, "Well, that settles it once and for all. People know who these characters are!" There are obviously more and more people making their way into the hobby of playing games, and I think it highly unlikely that the majority of people that own a PS3 know who many of these characters are. I don't think they have the same kind of exposure, recognizable factor, or resonate with owners of Sony consoles that you seem to believe they have.
A game that can draw from almost all of the PlayStation's history, made by a team with the credentials SuperBot has (including several high level competitive Street Fighter players), that people are reporting is lots of fun to play and has controls that are really tight, is something I'm extremely interested in. As are many, judging by the size of the Battle Royale thread.
Is this directed at me? I didn't say anything at all regarding whether it would be of high quality, play well, or be something you're personally interested in, so I'm unsure as to if this was meant for me.
I'm familiar with every single character I've seen in the screenshots, I enjoy the smash brothers games, but I'm personally disinterested in it. I own a PS3, I use it regularly, and I just don't care. That's not why I'm backing patrick's statement, but yeah.
Modern Sony is so boring in comparison to its de facto heroes from back in the day. 
