Nintendo says 'nuh-uh' to EVO streaming the Smash Bros tourney.

Because hey, who needs a community built around your game right? Wouldn't wanna, ya know...support that sorta thing.

Sarcasm aside, why Nintendo? Why do you continue to make such baffling ridiculous decisions? I didn't even plan on watching any of it and I'm annoyed. Someone with some sense needs to be put in charge of running that place.

UPDATED: SMASH IS BACK (thanks @fluxwavez)

Stop the presses Nintendo used their brains and showed some common sense. Awesome.

I'd be real interested to know if it was because of discussions with EVO or if it was the public slamming them. I would bet both.

Is this a result of the same policies they've put in place regarding YouTube videos? I know the FGC doesn't necessarily have the best reputation, but I really can't believe they wouldn't want this coverage. This also looks like a bit of a slap in the face to all of those gamers that fought so hard to get Smash Bros into EVO.

Th worst thing is that Nintendo kicks it own fans right into their balls who actually paid a ton of money to charity just so it will be at EVO. I think it was like 90k or so cant remember. Sorry Nintendo you do not deserve any space on this market anymore. You are so separated from your fans and the real market that it is not even funny anymore.

@chaser324: It must be right? Why else would they even consider this? Poor form Nintendo.

This was my first thought.

This seems like such a dumb move on their part. I do not see what possible harm streaming SSB would cause Nintendo.

This is awful news. The fans of the game raised over 90K for cancer and are hugely passionate about the game. So Nintendo wants to come down and put a stop to some of it's most loyal fans at the biggest time for melee ever? A game they kept relevant for over a decade. Fuck Nintedo on this one. I find it very insulted they could do this.

Amazing way to promote the upcoming game. Also it provides a lot of positive buzz, not that Nintendo needs that seeing how the WiiU sells like warm bread. Oh wait, I just said the opposite of what is true, didn't I?

This is the stupidest shit ever.

Eh, don't be so hard on Nintendo, guys. They'll catch up to game streams in another 10 years.

It is an amazing way to promote a dead console. Seriously what the hell is Nintendo thinking? Not even Microsoft is so stupid to kick their only fans left so hard into their balls...

Best thing is to call Kotaku, IGN so that everyone will know how stupid Nintendo is.

just shows you why Nintendo is still seen as a shit hold company that does not know what the people want. Just feels the company is in a mire of bullshit that prevents them from seeing anything. Good luck Nintendo!

Play the game, do not watch the game. Obviously.

I was kind of looking forward to seeing some higher level ssb play and now its out the window. Im pretty sure there will be no one on nintendos side as to why they needed to block this stream, im sure many people IN Nintendo are confused by this as its a SURE fire way to say "hey guys, remember how awesome super smash bros still is, just a few more months and it gets better" Its literally free marketing.

I was super excited for this. Mega bummer week so far...

Even though it doesn't make a lot of sense.

I would assume that's pretty much it. No one can make money off Nintendo games except for Nintendo.

That's was what I was wondering too. I've gotten to the point where I'm not even surprised anymore when Nintendo does something like this. How is a company that big so far behind everybody else?

I thought the recently U-turned on the Youtube copyright thing?

It's depressing that the first and maybe only time Smash is at EVO, nobody will get to see it. After all the efforts the fans of that game made for it to be there and Nintendo pulls this.

Man, I'm sorry but fuck Nintendo.

@video_game_king: the best

Nintendo does not want to have anything to do with people anymore.

Guess why MLG got rid of Smash? Oh yeah, this shit.

https://twitter.com/JakeKulinski/status/354727295874895874

The worst thing about all this is that it doesn't hurt anyone except for Smash fans. EVO probably won't take too big of a hit over this, and they've already shuffled their things around.

Nintendo could've promoted the hell out of the new smash with Melee being at EVO. This is just the worst possible outcome. What the fuck?

@darji I think they are thinking something like this "What is this strea-ming thing? Has this something to do with this Intornet I hear about? Better not allow it, who knows what this might be. Dum di dum back to designing new Mario Outfits....hmmm how about a DOG? Genius!"

Nintendo is just......fucking weird. Sometimes in an amazing way. Sometimes in this way.

You know, to some end I kinda understanding not wanting to stream narrative games. It's patently ridiculous but I can understand the logic behind it because, hey, if you can watch the game start to finish who would actually buy it?

But to keep a FIGHTING GAME from being streamed? Where the whole point of it is infinitely playability? Where the whole community of the genre is built around the idea of creating celebrity experts who show the depth and finesse necessary to excel at the game? This just stinks of stubborn-minded suit-think that tries to apply blanket rules.

I know it's becoming almost passe to kick dirt into Nintendo's eyes, but they're increasingly making it hard to root for them to succeed with asinine decisions like this. And this is Nintendo we're talking about. Most of us were raised to inherently root for them. Another baffling misstep in an increasing number.

Now hold on a minute. What if an underaged child is watching the stream and they meet somebody else watching that stream who pretends to be another underaged child and is ACTUALLY a child predator?? These are the things nobody but Nintendo thinks about! Wont anybody else think of the children!?!?!1

IT really does not make sense for Mario and co as well. These are not story driven games at all. They are all about the gameplay nothing else. But I am really sorry for all these people who donated so much so Smash can be at EVO and get attention there and I am also awfully sorry that Skullgirls did not win as well.... These peopel really needed and wanted this attention.....

I think the problem is is that those passionate fans will be passionate no matter what. Nintendo continues to defy logic and fight tooth and nail against the direction that the industry is moving, but there is still a group of Nintendo fans that don't care and will love them no matter what. Eventually they will catch up to the times, but it probably won't be for a few years. Until then, they can exercise their rights and stop and streams and clips from appearing online, and at the same time give a middle finger to the people who are passionate about their games (which I'm sure some would argue they have been doing for years now)

@thesoutherndandy: That's a good point. It was probably a child predator who donated the 100K to get the game to EVO in the first place.

Triforce is trying to reach people at Nintendo. I wonder what will happen if no one is listening to the number one Nintendo fanboy in this fighting community. He is always the first in line waiting for weeks to recieve his new Nintendo console. I wonder if they will lose him now or not.

This isn't the first time Smash is at EVO. But for some reason this time, just DAYS before the tournament, Nintendo decide to say "nope" to streaming.

It's impressive. On one hand, they like to thank their fans for their support or what have you, but on the other they'll say "fuck off" to passionate fans who donated $95k to charity to see the game played at one of the most exciting competitive gaming events of the year.

It's really smart.

@abendlaender: exactly. You can't be too careful these days. Welp time to go burn off my fingerprints.

Nintendo is tone deaf and at this point I don't care what happens to them. They consistently just don't get it and let stupid pride get in the way.

Nintendo line of thinking is probably thinking, "Wait, streaming? That's a thing on the internet right? Where people steal stuff? That means they're stealing our game!"

Nintendo really need a kick up the ass, like the ones Sony and, more recently, Microsoft got. Though with Nintendo's fanbase being so devoted I doubt it'll ever happen unfortunately.

and you'll need to trade friend codes to watch them, otherwise you can only watch live streams of places you walk past

They wont be there anymore in 10 years if this goes on.

Apparently there are people on Miiverse defending this (of course people will defend Nintendo decisions no matter what). Oh, and Twitter as well.

Also, Lord Knight won't be able to participate in the top 8 of P4A because of the schedule change. Might affect others as well:

Steve ロードナイト@P4EVO ‏@LordKnightBB 12m

i scheduled a flight home at 7am sunday because i thought the final would be friday. so, i cant play in top 8, sorry.

The question is, who decided on this? This certainly doesn't sound like a decision that NOA PR would approve of. Their legal team? The Japanese legal team? I can't imagine everyone in the chain being against EVO streaming coverage.

I dont think its as crazy or backwards as its made out to be, but its a real shame they didnt come out with this decision before the contest ended. Parhaps it would have let a more exciting game take the stream.

The one who decided the youtube stuff as well. Or the one that got rid of Smash at MLG. It is probably Nintendo Japan since no one else has to say anything in this company.

@ Lyisa Yes it is. Other companies like 2K , Square, Sony and co are giving away copies for free to lets players and streamers so they can promote this stuff basically for free. Evo is a huge event and with a game like smash brothers in Development no sane person would not allow to stream this on the biggest FIghting Tournament every year.

Dude, c'mon...

Smash Bros. isn't a real fighting game. It's always puzzled how people have taken this fun party game and have tried to strip it down into serious competition by removing items and such. It's silly and defeats the purpose of the actual product: a bunch of Nintendo characters hitting each other on crazy stages with dumb weapons.

@fluxwavez: Oh shit, I forgot the P4A finals were originally on Friday. That's a huge bummer.

Buh

was my first reaction.

Where do you get that? I've never heard of Let's Players getting free games specifically for Let's Plays.

This is bannans insane dumb...adjetives.

First of all wouldn't there be some kind of loopwhole because this is competition or am I just talking out my ass (highly likely) either way it's shit like this that makes me pissed at the US copyright system. I'm not even a Melee fan but ya know what I havent seen competitve play of that game in YEARS and it would be a fun look back. Guess I won't get to do that now.

Are you seriously defending their decision?

Regardless of Nintendo's call on the EVO streams, competitive Smash is terrible.