It’s official, thehe Smash World Tour, the Super Smash Bros Melee and Ultimate worlds, which were to be held from December 9 to 11 in San Antonio, will not take place. The organizers announced, this Tuesday evening, that they had not reached an agreement with Nintendo to have the right to use the license officially, and therefore not being able to offer this final phase of the international circuit. A official statement points the finger at the Japanese publisher: Until now, this tournament was organized thanks to an agreement in principle from Nintendo, without an official operating license.
Without any warning we received, the day before Thanksgiving, a notice from Nintendo telling us that we do not pwe can’t keep the event going
A decision which was strongly criticized in particular by the participants and players of the event. In the process, Nintendo brought its point of view in IGN and revealed the reasons for its refusal to exploit, based on “our assessment of the proposals submitted by the SWT and our assessment of their unlicensed activities, nothing else.”
Between the lines, Nintendo considers that the organization does not respect its standards related to the security of the fans. But above all, the Japanese group explains that the decision to cancel this event was made solely by the organization and not Nintendo, denying accusations that he lobbied to end the circuit finale. A statement that did not pass with the fans either, believing that Nintendo plays on words since without licensing, SWT had no choice but to close…
Failing agreement, SWT organizers have announced that 2023 events are also canceled. Within the SWT, many believe that this decision on the part of Nintendo would be linked to the partner chosen at the end of 2021, Panda Global, to organize the official circuit of Smash Bros in 2022, accusing the company of sabotage by giving false information to partners.
Nintendo also denied these comments, saying “the decision was not influenced by any external party such as Panda Global. […] Nintendo remains open to partnerships with other organizations and will continue to offer licenses for major tournaments outside of the Panda Cup”. In the meantime, pre-registrations for SWT tournaments will be refunded.