This year has been full of surprises, including the fact that Nintendo has seemingly set itself up as the biggest gaming villain of 2020. A Super Smash Bros. cancellation controversy pivoted the company into villain status last month, as #FreeMelee began trending on sites like Twitter. Since then, it's only gotten worse for Nintendo (and Smash players). Here's why fans are so mad at the company right now.
It all started in November, when Nintendo ordered a Cease and Desist against The Big House, an annual fan Smash Bros. competition. The Big House was hosting the event remotely this year, due to safety measures concerning the COVID-19 global pandemic. Nintendo ordered the C&D as a direct response to The Big House using a mod known as Slippi to host its Melee tournaments remotely.
Nintendo's action was seen as both negligent and even hostile toward the Smash Bros. community, and it's only gotten worse. An anonymous source posted a thread online, detailing the multiple ways Nintendo has actively kept Smash Bros. from becoming a viable competitive esport. Afterwards, several Smash players came forward to corroborate some or all of the details posted online. Not long after, #FreeMelee and #SaveSmash began to trend on social media.
Why Nintendo Is Fighting With The Smash Bros. Community
It's unclear why Nintendo has been so persistent in its fight with the Smash Bros. community. The Melee mod that caused the first incident was a way for players to enjoy the game during a pandemic, so the Cease and Desist was seen as a direct attack on fans. Since then, Nintendo has started targeting Smash modders on YouTube, and having their videos removed completely. It's some of the boldest attempts by the company to quash any mods within the fandom to date.
All of this has worsened in December, as Nintendo announced its Splatoon 2 Open Tournament stream, and then promptly cancelled it in retaliation to to teams using #FreeMelee-related names. While teams and players used this to show their solidarity with the Smash Bros. community, Nintendo wasn't tolerating it. It's turned into a bit of a PR nightmare for Nintendo, but the company doesn't seem too bothered by it yet, at least publicly.
Between pulling the plug on beloved fan tournaments, targeting modders, and allegedly keeping the game from becoming a viable eSport, there are a lot of reasons Smash Bros. players are mad at Nintendo right now. It's unclear when - or how - these problems will be resolved. For now, it's driving a huge wedge between the Super Smash Bros. community and the company responsible for making the game.