After it was announced that Nintendo had forced The Big House to cancel one of the largest Super Smash Bros. tournaments due to the usage of a third-party mod, a statement from Nintendo has been released explaining why they chose to issue a cease and desist. This cancellation caused an uproar from gamers in and outside of the Smash community, but Nintendo won't waver on its stance to cancel the event.
The Big House is the longest-running annual Smash Bros. tournament that usually takes place in person with hundreds of attendees and competitors. However, due to COVID-19, The Big House chose to move the tournament online as it would not be able to host such a large event in person. The online competition planned to host both Melee and Ultimate tournaments, but Melee does not support native online multiplayer as it was released on the Nintendo Gamecube. As such, The Big House intended to use a third-party mod called Slippi that would allow players to compete online.
Due to the possibility that some competitors could be using Slippi to illegally emulate the game, Nintendo issued a cease and desist order. Venn's Games Editorial Director Patrick Shanley posted a statement he had received from Nintendo as to why the company chose to cancel the event. In the statement, Nintendo explains that it had reached out to The Big House prior to the cease and desist order and asked the team to stop using Slippi as it requires the use of illegally copied versions of Super Smash Bros. Melee. Nintendo states, "They refused, leaving Nintendo no choice but to step in to protect its intellectual properties and brands."
Nintendo has every legal right to step in and issue a cease and desist order as Super Smash Bros. Melee is its intellectual property. However, that doesn't mean Nintendo's decision to do so was the right call. Super Smash Bros. Melee was released 19 years ago and has since received little-to-no attention from Nintendo outside of digital ports to the Wii and Wii U. Nintendo has also never hinted at releasing a version of Melee that supports online battles. Instead, Nintendo forces players to play newer Super Smash Bros. titles regardless of Melee being the favored title in competitive formats.
Gamers could assume that – of all years to allow an online competitive Melee tournament – Nintendo would allow the usage of Slippi given the circumstances. This is the largest Super Smash Bros. tournament of the year at the end of one of the most difficult years in recent history thanks to COVID-19. A worldwide pandemic is forcing a countless number of people to stay indoors for extended periods of time, and Nintendo is concerned that competitors might pirate a nearly 20-year-old game. For all the good that Nintendo can create, it can really make decisions that are extremely out of touch with the gaming community.
Source: Patrick Shanley