Update #2 [Tue 6th Dec, 2022 04:05 GMT]: Panda Global has now released its own statement – revealing that Alan Bunney is no longer CEO. The Panda Cup Final has also been postponed due to safety concerns for staff and contractors. The full disclosure can be found below:
Refresh [Fri 2nd Dec, 2022 11:30 GMT]: Earlier this week we heard that the unofficial Smash Bros. championships and the upcoming tour will be canceled immediately upon receipt of a cease and desist notice from Nintendo.
It was expected to cost the tournament a lot of money, and it seemed like a turnaround for the brand, which had previously been on good terms with Nintendo licenses.
In today’s statement IGN, offered some explanation as to why Nintendo chose to revoke SWT’s license and stop the event. While the statement revolves around Nintendo’s “valuation.” [SWT’s] Unlicensed activities”, which states that this is not a last-minute decision and claims that the organizers were notified in advance that the license would be revoked.
Perhaps most significantly, however, the statement suggests that Nintendo never wanted the 2022 Championship to be cancelled, citing “the impact it would have on players”. Therefore, the statement claimed, “the decision to cancel SWT 2022 was and still is their own choice.”
These claims can be found in the following extract:
Nintendo’s decision was based solely on our assessment of the proposals submitted by SWT and their assessment of their unlicensed activities. This decision was not influenced by any outside party like Panda Global. Any partner we license must meet the high standards we demand regarding the health and safety of our fans. It is also important that the partner adheres to brand and IP guidelines and behaves in accordance with professional and organizational best practices. We use the same approach to independently evaluate all partners. If we discover that a partner is doing something inappropriate, we will try to correct it.
When we informed SWT that we would not be licensing their activities in 2022 or 2023, we verbally stated that we were not asking them to cancel the 2022 final event due to the impact on players. So the decision to cancel SWT 2022 was and still is their own choice.
Nintendo’s statement can be read in full IGNSWT details the company’s decision to continue working with Panda Global, the tournament’s official host, after claims it was previously threatened by the CEO.
We will be sure to update you all as and when another statement is made.
Original article [Wed 30th Nov, 2022 00:45 GMT]: Informal Super Smash Bros. The Smash World Tour has announced the cancellation of “both the upcoming Smash World Tour Championships” and the 2023 tour. The event is known for having “the largest prize pool in Smash history at over $250,000” and next year’s prize pool was slated to be “over $350,000”.
After apparently positive talks with Nintendo, Smash World Tour received notice from the video game company that it “can no longer operate” future events without an official license. The organizer of the event claims it will “lose hundreds and thousands of dollars due to Nintendo’s actions” but is “open to continuing the conversation”.
“Without warning, we received notification from Nintendo the night before Thanksgiving that we would no longer be able to operate. This was particularly shocking given our conversations with Nintendo over the past twelve months. Since then, we have been working around the clock to take the next steps.” . logically, as well as prepare this statement with the necessary legal guidance.”
“…last Tuesday (November 23rd) we had our most recent call with Nintendo. A Nintendo representative opened up by letting us know that going forward, Nintendo expects us to work with only one relationship: the commercial license and the upcoming Championship in 2023 or that we will not be licensed for any activity. We have received this in writing.”
“… It’s like Nintendo just didn’t want Smash World Tour to exist. At this point, we feel like we’ve been screwed over all this time now.”
In the same statement, the Smash World Tour detailed its history with Panda Global (the host of the officially licensed Smash tournament) and how Panda’s CEO (who is “under evaluation” by Nintendo) told other organizers that he was “shut down” when SWT was threatened. The same events that are closed if they “don’t join the Panda Cup”.
You can read Smash World Tour’s lengthy statement at the link below:
