The competitive community reacts to surprising new tournament guidelines from Nintendo
27.10.2023 - 21:31
/ destructoid.com
/ New
/ Nintendo
Nintendo recently got competitive fans of its various franchises riled up after releasing a list of strict guidelines for community tournaments.
The gaming giant posted their new tournament guidelines on their respective websites in Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. on Tuesday. Since the announcement on October 24, fans have taken to the streets (of Twitter) to express their dismay.
After looking over the guidelines, it is clear that several facilitate fiscal policy. Some of the other guidelines put emphasis on the number of players who were allowed to participate.
Here are a few of the guidelines that stood out to fans:
According to Nintendo, these guidelines regulate “not-for-profit, small scale community tournaments involving games for which Nintendo owns the copyright.” For larger scale tournaments, organizers would require a license from Nintendo. Otherwise, organizers would need to follow the newly implemented guidelines.
Regarding the Nintendo Community Tournament guidelines
Almost none of the competitive Smash/Splatoon tournaments are considered "Community Tournaments" based on the definition given. We have for-profit tournaments, which are fully permitted via licensing pic.twitter.com/eGuUbTSqWa
For organizers who already have a license from Nintendo, the guidelines do not apply. Those tournaments may continue and be for-profit events.
Amid the release of the guidelines, several tournament organizers and players have taken to Twitter to express their concerns for the future of Nintendo competition.
Alex Jebailey, tournament director of CEO which hosts Smash competitions, released a response. Jebailey urged the Smash community to apply for licenses in November, in hopes of ensuring smoother sailing. Via Twitter, Jebailey said, “I’m confident all established events are fine,” while acknowledging the current state of the Smash community saying that he knows they’re “up in a flux right now.”
Nintendo released some strict guidelines for tournaments without an official Nintendo license.
That's extremely concerning, especially for Melee events.
I'm scared for my lifehttps://t.co/axwOHefLQb
TempoAxe, one of the top Super Smash Bros. Melee players in the world, expressed his displeasure and major concerns after seeing the new guidelines. He took to Twitter on Tuesday, saying “I’m scared for my life” and that these new guidelines are “extremely concerning, especially for Melee events.”
Arevya, an advocate for disabled gamers and popular content creator, also took to Twitter the day of the guideline announcement over notes about Nintendo accessories. In a long series of threads, Arevya discussed the importance of accessible gaming gear for gamers with disabilities like herself. “I have NEVER been more