Exciting Updates: Nintendo Unveils Game-Changing Rules for Community Tournaments!

Highlights

Nintendo has released new guidelines allowing organizers of small-scale community tournaments to host events without needing an official license from the company.

The number of participants for these small-scale tournaments is limited to 200 for in-person events and 300 for online events, with organizers not being allowed to charge spectators for online events. However, the competitive gaming community expresses concern and dissatisfaction due to the requirement of an official license from Nintendo for large-scale events.

Nintendo has recently released updated guidelines for small-scale community tournament organizers, granting them the freedom to launch and host competitions without the need to obtain an official license from the company. Revered for its iconic games such as Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda, as well as its innovative gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Wii and Switch, Nintendo has established a reputation within the competitive gaming community for being challenging to negotiate with in regards to securing licenses for large-scale tournaments. A notable example of this occurred in 2022 when the Smash World Tour was forced to shut down for failing to acquire the necessary official license from Nintendo.

In order to distinguish small-scale, individually organized community tournaments from larger ones, Nintendo has introduced a new set of guidelines for community tournament organizers to follow. According to these guidelines, small-scale community tournaments can be hosted without an official license from Nintendo. However, these events are limited to 200 participants in-person or 300 participants online. Additionally, organizers are not allowed to charge spectators a fee for online events. Small-scale community events are not permitted to generate commercial revenue, except as allowed by the guidelines, and the prize value cannot exceed $5,000.

Nintendo has also stated that organizers are still able to host large-scale events, such as the annual competitive Super Smash Bros. convention Riptide, but they must obtain an official license from the company. Initially, these guidelines were published on Nintendo of Japan's website and later translated into English, causing confusion among members of the competitive gaming community.

The competitive gaming community did not react positively to Nintendo's new guidelines. Axe, a professional player of Super Smash Bros. Melee, expressed his concerns on Twitter (now known as X). He stated that he was worried for his safety, particularly in regards to Melee events. Arevya, a gaming streamer, also pointed out on the platform that the new guidelines would hinder gamers with disabilities, like themselves, from participating in Nintendo game events as they require accessories to play.

Nintendo still has a lot to do to repair its relationship with the competitive gaming community, as evidenced by its new community tournament guidelines.

Source: Nintendo/ Nintendo Support Page