The Smash World Tour tournament series finally returned to LAN action in 2022 but now Nintendo has forced the company to cancel just weeks before the finals.
Smash World Tour finals were set to kick off on December 9 in San Antonio, Texas, but now the organizer has revealed that Nintendo contacted them and informed them that the event could not go on as expected.
“Nintendo expects us to only operate with a commercial license, and that we would not be granted one for the upcoming Championships, or any activity in 2023,” the tournament host’s statement read.
Fans slam Nintendo and Panda after Smash World Tour cancelation
This news set Twitter alight and fans did not hold back when discussing how frustrated they’ve been over Nintendo’s treatment of the competitive Smash scene.
“It’s crazy how many times this community naively puts their trust into Nintendo only to get beat down again and again and again and again,” one commenter said.
“This is actually depressing man… They truly are the worst company for trying to stop a fan base that loves their games legally!” another fan chimed in.
LD from Beyond The Summit has also revealed that Alan Bunney from Panda (another tournament organizer) sent messages to other TOs that hinted that this would happen if they didn’t participate in the upcoming Nintendo-licensed Panda Cup.
“Alan spent several months basically running a protection racket telling TOs including BTS “it’d be a shame if your event got shutdown for being unlicensed” in an effort to scare them into signing onto the Cup.”
Allegedly, this “directly contradicted conversations with Nintendo.” Having taken this issue up directly with Nintendo, the publisher responded by saying they’re only “looking to shutdown IP infringement related to game mods, not the unlicensed Smash World Tour.”
“They reminded us that Nintendo’s goal was not to gatekeep or trap the community, and that license guidelines would be accessible and clear.”
In reaction, Smash pro Sparg0 has threatened to boycott that event altogether: “Unbelievable how hundreds of people will be affected by this. Most likely skipping Panda Cup.”
“I will never attend a publicly licensed Nintendo or Panda Circuit event ever again,” AidenCalvin said on Twitter. “This is so extraordinarily disgusting and disheartening.”
In a longer statement shared on social media, he called out Nintendo for not only a lack of support over the years, but for directly ‘impeding’ the scene’s “ability to succeed and grow. They have done absolutely nothing substantial to help the community at any point.”
“I personally won’t ever watch, support, or attend a panda organized or broadcasted event ever again,” ex-Beyond The Summit creative director Ken Chen said.
“Literally the only tourney I still wanted to play at. Very sad news,” T1 star MkLeo added.
There’s no telling what this public pressure will amount to, but there were calls ranging from writing letters to the company all the way to taking “a principled stance against them”, so it’s definitely a situation to keep an eye on for any fans of the franchise and the esports scene.
About Post Author
