Merely days before one of the largest fighting game tournaments in the world begins, the organizers behind EVO revealed that Nintendo of America was stopping them from streaming live footage of Super Smash Bros. Melee. On Shoryuken.com, they made the following announcement:
Regrettably, we’ve just been informed by Nintendo of America Inc. that we do not have permission to broadcast Super Smash Bros. Melee for Evo 2013. In light of this, we must make the following changes to the schedule.
- Smash has been removed from the stream schedule and replaced with a mix of Persona 4 Arena and King of Fighters XIII
- Smash Finals have been moved from Sunday to Saturday, 2:00 PM
- Persona 4 Arena Finals have been moved to Sunday, 10:00 AM
- King of Fighters XIII Finals have beem moved to Sunday, 12:00 PM
Our apologies to Smash players and fans.
This came as a huge shock to many in the fighting game community, especially considering how old of a game Melee is. Super Smash Bros. Melee was added to the EVO roster after winning the "Fan Vote" donation drive for Breast Cancer research. The Smash series was never one to get much attention in the hardcore fighting game community as well, so the Melee tournament was thought to bring in a large amount of viewers.
Though many people are rightfully upset at Nintendo of America, high profile players and organizers in the FGC are trying to get those in their community to express themselves calmly.
— Alex Jebailey (@CEOJebailey) July 9, 2013
.@NintendoAmerica Hi my name is Mark. I'm a big fan. Please consider supporting the #FGC and allow #EVO2013 to stream Smash. Thanks!
— Mark Julio (マークマン) (@MarkMan23) July 9, 2013
The fighting game community isn't giving up hope, though. EMP's TriForce, FGC figure and hardcore Nintendo fan, told the community that the issue was being worked on. He urged fans to remain calm, but to continue to spread the word about Smash. Let's hope this works!
Update: Smash is back! Word from Shoryuken.com is that Nintendo has given permission and things will go according to plan. What a fast turn of events!
