After the cancellation of the Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament created by fans, Nintendo does the same with the Splatoon 2 that it had planned for this month.
Nintendo decided to cancel the live broadcast of the Splatoon 2 tournament this past weekend. It is not the first time, since last month the same thing happened with a Super Smash Bros. Melee fan tournament. Due to Nintendo’s current hardware, Melee cannot easily be streamed online, but this is not something that applies to Splatoon 2, which is why fans and gamers are confused about the reason for the cancellation. Below we explain, in detail, all this matter that has ended up leading to a general malaise in the community and a tournament created by fans with a prize based on donations.
10am PT. Top 4.
The top four NA teams in Splatoon will face off in a grassroots invitational! (No unexpected executional challenges here.) #FreeMelee #SaveSmash #FreeSplatoon
Prize pool starts at $ 1,000; donations welcome throughout the stream!
🎥: https://t.co/sSZoWiIz6J pic.twitter.com/DDnZCiEOJx
– EndGameTV (@EndGame_TV) December 6, 2020
The Nintendo affair and the cancellation of online tournaments
The Big House, who ran the Super Smash Bros. tournament, released a statement last month in which they stated the following: “We at The Big House are heartbroken to share that we have received a cease and desist from Nintendo of America, Inc. to cancel our next online event. We were informed that we do not have permission to host or broadcast the event, mainly due to the use of Slippi. Unfortunately, all of our competitions are affected. We are forced to comply with the order and cancel The Big House Online for both Melee and Ultimate. Information about refunds will be detailed shortly. We apologize to all those affected. “
Regarding Nintendo, these were their official statements: “Nintendo appreciates the love and dedication that the fighting game community has for the Super Smash Bros. series. We have partnered with numerous Super Smash Bros. tournaments in the past and have hosted our own online and offline tournaments for the game, and we plan to continue that support in the future. Unfortunately, the upcoming Big House4 tournament announced plans to host an online tournament for Super Smash Bros. Melee that requires the use of illegally copied versions of the game along with a mod called “Slippi” during its online event. Therefore, Nintendo contacted the tournament organizers to ask them to stop. They refused, leaving Nintendo with no choice but to intervene to protect their intellectual property and brands. Nintendo cannot tolerate or permit piracy of its intellectual property. “
Official Splatoon 2 tournament hosted by Nintendo
As we can see, the main problem of the matter was in the use of the mod called Slippi, a “third-party tool developed by a team of Melee enthusiasts with the aim of smoothing the online experience of NetPlay, a homemade mod that allowed you to play using a stable Internet connection ”, as detailed on their website.
Still, what’s the problem with the Splatoon 2 tournament if you don’t use these kinds of mods? The official response is unknown, but some players have pointed to the massive complaints that are appearing on networks under the hashtag #FreeSplatoon and #FreeMelee, relating them to the termination issued by the Japanese company.
