The Japanese company has always refused to offer cash as a reward for the best tournament participants.
Nintendo has traditionally declined to reward tournament participants with cash money in the presence of company titles, a policy that not only remains and will remain, but has now been backed by the current CEO of Kyoto firm Shuntaro Furukawa .
Nintendo thinks it's a strength, not a weakness
In statements to Nikkei, Furukawa has wielded that the reward with other types of prizes (such as money determined to redeem Nintendo products, but never raw) is not a weakness for the company in the electronic sports scene nor does it wobble its presence in them; In fact, he believes that this vision helps them to guarantee inclusion in the championships and encourages them of antagonistic feelings.
Shuntaro Furukawa | Eugene Hoshiko (AP)
"The world of electronic sports is one where players compete in big stages with broadcasts in which everything revolves around big cash prizes," he says. “And it's true that viewers have a good time that way. It is one of the great attractions of video games, ”he continues, without denying the effectiveness of that way of exploring the competitive factor of the video game by its very nature.
“But there is no sense of antagonism. In order to make our games enjoyed by as many people as possible, regardless of experience, gender or generation, we also want to make our events an enjoyable experience for a wide range of audiences, ”he argues. Furukawa ends his explanation by saying: "Being able to have a different view of other companies, without these large amounts of money as a reward, is our strength."
To put the situation in context, in the past EVO 2019 the winner of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament took about $ 21,000, the total amount corresponding to the amount collected by the organization; Nintendo did not participate with any type of percentage added. In the case of Street Fighter V, the prize amounted to $ 70,000, while in Samurai Shodown it was $ 47,000 for the winner. In both cases, Capcom and SNK contributed a certain amount, respectively.
