If there’s one thing everyone knows about Nintendo, it’s that when it comes to esports, they’re not usually the friendliest. Since the release of Super Smash Bros., it has become one of the most popular esports in the globe. The Nintendo GameCube game Melee was released. People who wish to play Smash nowadays can choose between Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Nintendo Switch. The community is large and dedicated, but it has often battled to gain Nintendo’s backing. It has hosted unauthorized tournaments of both games for years, but it is not rare for them to be shut down.
Fans of the Super Smash Bros. series have long been frustrated by Nintendo’s lack of support, but that may change in the near future. Nintendo said on Thursday that it has teamed with esports group Panda Global to hold the first official Super Smash Bros. tournament in North America. What’s the true surprise? This circuit will not only support Ultimate, but will also support Melee.
Is this a sign of a probable shift in Nintendo’s stance on esports? Maybe! Nintendo could start permitting some of its most competitive games to host formal esports competitions and give them the attention they deserve. In many respects, esports is free publicity for the games itself, so there’s no real drawback to permitting these competitions, especially when fans of the game would be hosting their own anyhow.
After all of this, we’ll have to wait and see how long Nintendo continues to support tournament circuits like this before concluding that the company’s position has shifted. Nintendo has a history of supporting causes and communities before abruptly abandoning them. Reggie Fils-Aimé, then-President of Nintendo of America, played Super Smash Bros. not long ago. Hungrybox, the Wii U’s Melee winner, will disclose Ryu’s inclusion in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Of course, that moment of public outreach didn’t result in official endorsement from Nintendo until this round.
The mercurial nature of Nintendo is part of what makes it so frustrating sometimes for communities like the Smash Bros. community. They just want to play their game and know Nintendo’s stance on it. Hopefully, this is a sign of positive change within Nintendo.
