The EVO has not yet made its big announcements (see you on March 9 at 2 a.m. in mainland France to hear them, since they will take place on March 8 at the end of the afternoon in the USA), that already a first clap of thunder sounded. Smash will not be present at the 2022 edition.
Explanations
In their press release, the organizers announce that this will comes from Nintendo. If it is true that the story between the Japanese publisher and esports is more about the big toxic relationship than the perfect idyll, Nintendo has nevertheless taken a step towards its community by announcing in November an official circuit co-organized by the structure Panda Global esports. If the details have not yet been communicated, there is still a significant chance that this circuit will take up more of the traditional codes of competition on Smash, rather than the ideas of the Japanese company which tends to add random by allowing objects. The decision not to participate in EVO might seem like a step backwards, but nothing is less certain.
Indeed, the EVO now works in partnership with Sony, the manufacturer of Playstation consoles. Without necessarily saying that the latter would like to sabotage the competition on the platform fighter, it is coherent to imagine that Nintendo does not want the event of a competing company to be sublimated by their own game. This refusal therefore seems for once more linked to a history of rivalry than to Nintendo’s reluctance to see its games and its brand image associated with esports.
What future for the EVO?
This decision may well be only the tip of an iceberg that will go down in the history of the FGC. Although historically set on consoles, COVID-19 has reshuffled the cards in how to play fighting games. With the forced cessation of offline tournaments, online has logically taken on increasing importance. If there are no concerns about the future of offline events, the various communities impatiently awaiting their return, the game support could be brought to evolve. Input lag (the time between when the player presses a key and when the command is taken into account by the game) is indeed better on PC than on consoles, and the pandemic has helped this collective awareness. For those to whom this concept seems a little obscure, see what happens with an input lag of 8 frames (note that in this example Ken’s jab goes out in 3 frames and Ryu’s RH in 5, explaining why the jab beats the RH despite it being saved after).
picture credit: Ask a Game Dev tumblr
With this awareness and this difference in input lag, the supremacy of home consoles is called into question. More and more players want to see competitions run on PC rather than consoles, although this seems unfeasible at present, largely due to the higher cost of a computer, which would force tournament organizers to invest much more in their machine park. EVO’s partnership with Sony is generally a good thing, and could allow this event to enter another dimension. The case must still be followed closely, because Microsoft is probably monitoring the thing. If the EVO meets with great success, it would not be surprising if the PC and XBox manufacturer decides in turn to finance a big tournament, but this time on PC. And if the game environment is better, it could eventually challenge EVO’s supremacy.
esports
This weekend was the Glitch-Infinite, one of the biggest Super Smash Bros. tournaments. Ultimate. The French distinguished themselves there in many ways.
If the USA has the EVO, France has the Stunfest as a historical event around fighting games. The Rennais festival has announced its 17th edition.