Nintendo Community Tournament Guidelines: Difference between revisions

The '''Nintendo Community Tournament Guidelines''' are a series of regulations raised by [[Nintendo]], placing restrictions on the operation of unlicensed, not-for-profit, small-scale [[tournament]]s, run by individuals, involving Nintendo games and media, including competitive ''Super Smash Bros.'' tournaments. The guidelines were first published on the Nintendo of Japan website in Japanese on October 24, 2023, and were released on the company's European and American websites the same day, as well as the Australian one on October 25, 2023; they went into effect on November 15, 2023. The announcements were quickly spread on social media shortly following their publications and recieved mixed reception, with many in the competitive ''Smash'' community being critical of the guidelines due to the controversies surrounding Nintendo's past involvement in the competitive scene,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025054555/https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-shocks-competitive-fans-with-strict-new-community-tournament-guidelines|title="Nintendo Shocks Competitive Fans With Strict New Community Tournament Guidelines"|publisher=IGN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025054905/https://kotaku.com/smash-bros-ultimate-switch-nintendo-tournaments-1850955614|title=New Nintendo Rules Cause Massive Smash Bros. Fan Freakout|publisher=Kotaku}}</ref> while others believe them to be a positive step forward in regulation.

Despite these issues, some welcomed Nintendo's involvement due to the belief that the community cannot regulate themselves without direct oversight. The decentralized nature of administration has allowed to bad actors into the scene undetected, which has led to behavior and actions like substance abuse<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Smashbro_Z/status/1062501637724418048|title=Z on X|date=November 14, 2018|publisher=Twitter}}</ref>, and murder investigations<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dexerto.com/smash/smash-player-banned-from-tournaments-for-allegedly-murdering-his-mother-1861165/|title=Smash Bros player banned from tournaments after being arrested over mother’s murder|date=July 1, 2022|publisher=Dexerto|author=Dylan Horetski}}</ref>, as well as a wave of [[sexual misconduct allegations]] during 2020, and the aforementioned attempts and regulatory bodies have never worked out. Furthermore, some in the community felt that Nintendo's involvement would become an inevitability if the tournament scene continued to grow bigger, as companies for other competitive video games have published guidelines for their tournament scenes since 2019 in response to their significant growth,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.capcomprotour.com/community-license/|title=Capcom Pro Tour Community Licence Guidelines|publisher=Capcom}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ea.com/games/fifa/compete/fgs-21/community-tournament-guidelines|title=FIFA 2021 Tournament Guidelines|publisher=Electronic Arts}}</ref> especially with Nintendo releasing the competitively oriented {{Uv|Splatoon}} games.

The guidelines were immediately met with division upon their release. Detractors viewed them as another reflection of Nintendo's anti-competitive stance, in a similar manner to its attempted cancellation of Smash World Tour 2022 a year prior, and would lead to the curtailing of local and regional tournament scenes. The ''Melee'' scene in particular feared that the guidelines would have a significant blowback on running events, as the Japanese website only allowed organizers to apply for licenses to host [[Nintendo Switch]] games<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026171716/https://twitter.com/DarkGenex/status/1716834246336389485|title=DarkGenex on X|publisher=Twitter}}</ref>. Furthermore, the ban on hardware and software mods led to fears that online tournaments using [[Project Slippi]] (such as [[Coinbox]]), as well as the usage of [[box controller]]s and [[Universal Controller Fix]], would be banned.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025173934/https://www.reddit.com/r/SSBM/comments/17flrb6/nintendo_of_america_has_also_posted_tournament/?rdt=41334|title=Nintendo of America has also posted tournament guidelines in line with other regions|publisher=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025174708/https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/17flsmd/nintendo_of_america_has_also_released_tournament/?rdt=39871|title=Nintendo of America has also released "Tournament Guidelines" in line with other regions|publisher=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025174825/https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/17f7juj/nintendo_of_japan_releases_general_competitive/?rdt=52400|title=Nintendo of Japan Releases General Competitive Guidelines|publisher=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025175003/https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/17fejbi/nintendo_of_europe_releases_community_tournament/?rdt=40582|title=Nintendo of Europe Releases Community Tournament Guidelines|publisher=Reddit}}</ref>

Other concerns include tournaments having a hard limit on the amount of revenue they can earn and sponsors effectively being forbidden will lead to some no longer being able to financially break even, a prohibition on food and drink vendors potentially being illegal under certain circumstances, and the ban on inappropriate content being a catch-all that means Nintendo can go after anyone for any reason regardless of how well the other rules are being followed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026172100/https://twitter.com/LegalizeWuhu/status/1716859957235089567|title=wuhu on X|publisher=Twitter}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026172553/https://twitter.com/TheWadsm/status/1716891910105948623|title=wadsm on X|publisher=Twitter}}</ref>

Many community members (including {{sm|Hungrybox}}) did a live read-through of the guidelines on stream.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vei4rEn6P_4|title=Nintendo's new guidelines WILL destroy tournaments|author=Hungrybox|publisher=YouTube|date=October 25, 2023}}</ref> Montana State Representative {{iw|wikipedia|Zooey Zephyr}} (and competitive ''Smash'' player under the tag {{sm|Cazcom}}) posted a tweet criticizing the new regulations, saying, "Imagine Bicycle Playing Cards insisting your home poker games be played a certain way or they'll sue you."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025175508/https://twitter.com/zoandbehold/status/1716970531843444853|title=Rep. Zooey Zephyr on X|publisher=Twitter}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025175650/https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/17fsb9r/representative_zooey_zephyr_is_on_our_side/?rdt=38517|title=Representative Zooey Zephyr is on our side|publisher=Reddit}}</ref>

The same reaction occurred outside of the ''Super Smash Bros.'' competitive community,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNjxtvLu-EQ|title=Nintendo Hates Competitive Super Smash bros.|author=Mightykeef|date=October 25, 2023|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=October 29, 2023}}</ref> as the guidelines applied to any intellectual property owned by Nintendo; whether released on Nintendo Switch such as ''{{iw|inkipedia|Splatoon 2}}'' and ''{{iw|inkipedia|Splatoon 3}}'', ''{{iw|bulbapedia|Pokken Tournament DX}}'', and ''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Kart 8 Deluxe}}'', or on unsupported Nintendo hardware.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UChZ6djX7tM|title=Nintendo Is Killing Tournaments|publisher=YouTube|author=Steve Bowling|date=October 24, 2023|accessdate=October 28, 2023}}</ref> [[YouTube]] commentator {{sm|Omni}} said this case "looks like the end" for any non-profit tournaments, soon after he uploaded a video reading the guidelines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025175508/https://twitter.com/InfernoOmni/status/1717214585059488036|title=Omni on X|publisher=Twitter}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVgx2A6tasc&t=994s|title=Cheesecake Factory Drama|author=Omni|publisher=Youtube|date=October 25, 2023|accessdate=October 28, 2023}}</ref>

Supporters of the guidelines, however, believe they were a necessary and inevitable measure given the community's issues with safety and security that led to events such as the aforementioned cancellation of Smash World Tour 2022 and the sexual misconduct allegations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025175508/https://twitter.com/Miss_JoyCon/status/1717166241230577751|title=NVR <nowiki>|</nowiki> Deathspade @ BLM on X|publisher=Twitter}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025175508/https://twitter.com/JonComms/status/1716852740096241914|title=Jon Cartwrighton on X|publisher=Twitter}}</ref> YouTuber {{sm|Technicals}} notably reacted with pride, claiming it was "his perfect victory",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025175508/https://twitter.com/Technicals_/status/1716910625996308689|title=Technicals on X|publisher=Twitter}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025175508/https://twitter.com/Technicals_/status/1717269947154391041|title=Technicals on X|publisher=Twitter}}</ref> which caused strong reactions from the community. In addition, many tournament organizers within the Japanese ''Smash'' community reacted with less skepticism. Within hours of the announcement, many prominent Japanese TOs came up with several solutions on how to deal with the guidelines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/SchoolFromSean/status/1716835523468410904|title=Sean from School's Tweet on Japanese TOs|publisher=Twitter}}</ref>

Alex Jebailey, the founder of [[CEO|CEO Gaming]], responded positively to the guidelines,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Jebailey/status/1716951653310427451|title=Alex Jebailey on X|publisher=Twitter}}</ref> noting that it finally gives [[tournament organiser]]s direct paths to obtaining licensing. That in mind, he inferred that large-scale established events should have no issues going forward. This reaction accompanied a video on the topic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtIJ5gc88kI|title=New Nintendo Community Guidelines and how they affect the Smash Scene. My thoughts!|author=Alex Jebailey|date=October 25, 2023|publisher=YouTube}}</ref>

Shortly after the announcement, organizers behind {{Sm|GENESIS X}} and {{Sm|Battle of BC 6}} announced they would continue as scheduled.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025192123/https://twitter.com/genesis_smash/status/1716875076262592532|title=GENESIS on X|publisher=Twitter}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/battleofbc/status/1717662395512873367|title=Battle of BC 6's announcement|publisher=Twitter}}</ref> In additional, organizers behind the {{Trn|Umebura|series}} and {{Trn|Sumabato|series}} series announced that they had secured licenses for their events, with Sumabato head {{Sm|Nojinko}} notably announcing that he had secured licenses for the next ten Sumabato events within a day of the guidelines releasing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/UMBRHP/status/1717778634327699961|title=Umebura announces their license|publisher=Twitter}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/nojinko_ike/status/1717198138266763528|title=Nojinko's announcement|publisher=Twitter}}</ref> These announcements led many to have cautious optimism towards the new guidelines.