Modernization [Fri 2nd Dec, 2022 11:30 GMT]: We heard earlier this week that unofficial Smash Bros. tournaments and the next round will be canceled with immediate effect after receiving a cease and desist notice from Nintendo.
This tournament was expected to cost a huge amount of money in cancellation fees, and seemed to be a detour for the brand that had previously been on good terms with Nintendo licenses.
Today, in a statement to IGNNintendo gave some explanations as to why it chose to withdraw the SWT license and end the event. While the statement centers around Nintendo’s assessment of the [SWT’s] unlicensed activities,” he also states that this was not a last-minute decision, claiming that he had previously notified the regulators of the license withdrawal.
Perhaps most importantly, the statement notes that Nintendo never requested the 2022 tournament be closed, citing “the impact on players.” Therefore, the statement claims that “the decision to cancel SWT 2022 was and remains their own choice.”
These prompts can be found in the following excerpt:
Nintendo’s decision was based solely on our assessment of the proposals made by SWT and our assessment of its unauthorized activities. This decision was not affected by any third parties such as Panda Global. Any partner we license must meet our high standards when it comes to the health and safety of our fans. It is also important that the Partner adhere to brand and intellectual property guidelines and act in accordance with professional and organizational best practices. We use the same approach to independently evaluate all partners. If we discover that a partner is doing something inappropriate, we will work to correct it.
When we notified SWT that we would not license their activities in 2022 or 2023, we also told them verbally that we did not ask them to cancel the 2022 Finals event due to its impact on players. Thus, the decision to cancel SWT 2022 was and remains their own choice.
Nintendo’s statement can be read in full IGNdetailing the company’s decision to continue working with the tournament’s official host, Panda Global, after SWT claimed it was threatened by its CEO.
We’ll be sure to keep you all updated as soon as another statement is issued.
The original article [Wed 30th Nov, 2022 00:45 GMT]: unofficial Super Smash Bros. The “Smash World Tour” series has announced the cancellation of the “upcoming Smash World Tour” tournament as well as the 2023 round. The event is known for having “the largest prize pool in Smash history at over $250,000” and was set to have a prize pool of “over $350,000.” ” Next year.
After seemingly positive talks with Nintendo, Smash World Tour allegedly received notice from the video game company that it “could no longer play” future events without an official license. The event organizer claims it stands to lose “hundreds and thousands of dollars because of Nintendo’s actions” but is “open to continuing the conversation”.
“Without any warning, we received a notification the night before Thanksgiving from Nintendo that we were no longer able to operate. This was particularly shocking given our rhetoric with Nintendo over the past 12 months. Since then, we have been working around the clock to take the appropriate steps logistically, as well as To prepare this statement with appropriate legal guidance.”
“…last Wednesday evening (November 23), we had our most recent call with Nintendo. Our Nintendo rep opened up telling us that they were being asked to communicate the news that from now on, Nintendo only expects us to operate with a commercial license, and that we will not have on one for upcoming tournaments, or any activity in 2023. We also received this in writing.”
“…it felt as though Nintendo simply didn’t want the Smash World Tour to continue to exist. At this point, we now felt like we’d been on edge this whole time.”
In the same statement, Smash World Tour described its history with Panda Global (the officially licensed Smash Tournament host) and how the CEO of Panda (who was “under evaluation” by Nintendo) told other organizers about SWT being “shut down” while threatening those same events with Closing if they don’t “join the Panda Cup”.
You can read the Smash World Tour’s extended statement at the link below:
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