Nintendo shuts down Smash World Tour, one of the biggest tours in eSports with little to no warning.
Organizers of the Smash World Tour have stated that Nintendo will be shutting down the Smash World Tour. This is very sad news for fans of the Super Smash Bros franchise as the tournament circuit, which began in 2020, was a chance for fans from around the world to share their appreciation for one of Nintendo’s most successful IPs.
Super Smash Bros. is arguably one of the most influential titles for both Nintendo and the world of eSports. The franchise has seen frequent success over the years, with the most recent entry, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, selling over 29.53 million copies as of November 2022. It only makes sense that competitive events such as Smash World Tour would come to be. Despite its short lifespan, Smash World Tour has become one of the biggest eSports events, garnering over 6400 live worldwide events. For 2022, the tournament organizers had planned to have the biggest prize in the franchise’s history. Sadly, due to the shutdown, fans would not be able to see it
The announcement of the tournament’s shutdown came on 24 November 2022, the day before Thanksgiving. The organizers for Smash World Tour said that they were told by Nintendo that they were no longer allowed to operate and thus had to cancel the 2022 world championships as well as future events for the tournament. This came with no warning, and organizers had to rush to inform both partners and sponsors of the event, as well as fans and competitors.
In a statement shared on their Twitter, event organizers say that this is but one of many frustrations caused by Nintendo. Since the event’s inception, the organizers had struggled to maintain consistent communication with the company, and in the months leading up to the event, had a very difficult time trying to get in contact with Nintendo. They stated that poor communication was a common occurrence with the gaming company. Despite the difficulty of communication, they had assumed that the relationship between them and the company was on good terms, especially after many positive conversations before the cancellation. However, this was not the case, and the organizers of the Smash World Tour were told that they had failed to acquire a license and would have to cease operations entirely.
Despite the news, fans are still hopeful that the tournament scene for Super Smash Bros. will flourish. However, trust in Nintendo to foster a healthy relationship with fans of the IP is expectedly low.
