Splatoon Esports Tournament Series Launched In Japan, As US Receives Transformers Splatfest

Splatoon has legitimately become eSports, as Tokaigi Game Show has revealed a major tournament series in Japan.

Tokaigi (the Nico venue) just announced a huge tournament series for Splatoon and Puzzle&Dragons. Over $1 million in prize money,>40 events.

— fubarduck (@fubarduck) August 19, 2015

本日行われた「闘会議新プロジェクト発表会」にて「スプラトゥーン甲子園」の詳細が発表された。9月13日から全国8都市で行われる地区大会を経て「闘会議2016」で決勝戦が行われるとのことだ。 全国の腕自慢は4人1組のチームで参加されたし！ http://t.co/9MJJGYGxpp

— Splatoon（スプラトゥーン） (@SplatoonJP) August 19, 2015

The tournament will also be for Puzzle and Dragons, and will have over $ 1 million in prize money. Eight cities will hold 40 events, in Fukuoka, Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka, Miyagi, Hiroshima, Kagawa, and Tokyo. It all culminates in the grand finals to be held on January 30 and 31 in 2016.

The tournament series is being hosted by Kadokawa and Toukaigi / Nicovideo parent company Dwango, and starts September 13 in Fukuoka. No word for now if Nintendo of America or Nintendo of Europe is planning to double down in a similar way, but fansite Squidboards just wrapped up their first tournament and are launching their second one soon, simply named Messfest.

To put this in perspective, Nintendo’s Splatoon tournament is similar in scope and scale to the Capcom Cup for Street Fighter. Nintendo seems unsure how they are to approach eSports for their games yet, but if the recent NWCs are any indication, they are more than aware of fan demand. Perhaps the Toukaigi tournament serves as a beta test for an American Splatoon tournament, which will definitely be bigger in scope.

.@Transformers is coming to #Splatfest! Battle as Team AUTOBOTS or Team DECEPTICONS for 24 hrs starting 8/28 9 PM PT! pic.twitter.com/jPw4TlAeQo

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 18, 2015

American players don’t have a Nintendo hosted tournament to look forward to yet, but there’s a little something exciting coming up too. On August 28, Nintendo and Hasbro are teaming up for a special Transformers themed Splatfest. Choose to play either Team Autobots or Team Decepticons for 24 hours, and your Inkling will play wearing a shirt showing his or her allegiance.

Update: we have additional information on the series, which apparently translates to Splatoon Koshien 2016.

The events start here:

o   Fukuoka (September 13)

o   Sapporo (September 26)

o   Nagoya (October 11)

o   Osaka (November 3)

o   Miyagi (November 15)

o   Hiroshima (November 22)

o   Kagawa (December 13)

o   Tokyo (January 30)

The tournaments will have four on four Turf War matches, and there are no weapon limitations. If any of the tournaments have too many applicants, they decide on players via lottery.

If you’re fortunate enough to get in, you’ll get a commemorative wristband. Lastly, the final event this coming January is called Game Party Japan.Are you looking forward to the Transformers Splatfest? Or do you hope Nintendo launches a Splatoon tournament series in the West soon? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.