Super Smash Bros Ultimate players were surprised to learn that Nintendo is finally going to start using a competitive ruleset used in esports tournaments for years at an official event.
Nintendo’s relationship with the competitive Smash scene is certainly a rocky one, given the company’s history of shutting down events, but it seems like the big N is trying to make amends.
While the big Smash tournaments have their own rules that disable items, limit the stage pool, and other modifications for competitive integrity, Nintendo has continued to embrace Smash’s party game side… until now.
At GamesCom, Nintendo will be hosting an invitational tournament featuring Germany’s finest, such as Samus main Marcel ‘quiK’ Romagnuolo, and the event will be using competitive rules.
I forgot to mention that we are using a competitive ruleset
— quiK (@quikssb) August 18, 2023
Smash fans thrilled as Nintendo implements esports rules at official tournament
The GamesCom Invitational is scheduled to take place on August 26, and according to quiK, Nintendo has decided to break from tradition and instead use a competitive ruleset.
While Nintendo will be hosting the tournament, Vermilion Squad will be organizing and running it.
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Despite this still being a relatively small event all things considered, that hasn’t stopped Smash players from getting excited about its possible implications, especially with Smash 6 hinted at by Sakurai.
Action geladene Kämpfe, strategisches Können und präzise Technik – das ist kompetitives Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 🥊Dieses Jahr auf der @gamescom wird der beste Spieler der D/A/CH-Region auf der Nintendo-Bühne beim #SSBU gamescom 2023 Invitational gekürt!Mehr Infos folgend.. pic.twitter.com/MKcNhcVIa8
— Vermilion (@Vermilion_Squad) August 18, 2023
“Pretty huge in my opinion, not only for the German scene but for the Smash scene in general. Competitive rules (3 stocks, 7 minutes, legal stages) in an official tournament is crazy,” one user commented on Reddit.
“It’d be easy to be cynical here, but this is a very good thing to see. Hopefully, it’s a sign of good things to come,” said another.
It will be interesting to see if a new Smash game implements the competitive ruleset as a possible default, especially if the game has much better online capabilities on a new Nintendo console.
Whether we get Smash 6 or a long-requested Deluxe Edition of Smash Ultimate, one thing is for certain and has been for a while: players want a competitive ruleset built in.