nintendo switch

super smash bros

It’s almost that time.  The time we’ve all been waiting for.  The debut of Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo Switch is just a few short months away.  On June 11 and 12th, Nintendo will host a Smash Switch tournament at E3, where invited players will compete.  At the same time, Nintendo’s Splatoon 2 World Championships will take place.  This will feature top teams from Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan.  But this isn’t new for Nintendo.  Previously, they threw a Smash invitation tournament at E3 before the debut of Super Smash Brothers 4 on the Wii U.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime presented a trophy to winner Gonzalo “Zero” Barrios, who beat out Super Smash Bros. champion Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma in the finals.  This year, we are still trying to find out if Smash’s Switch iteration will be a new game, a port of Smash 4 or some combination of the two.  The teaser trailer featured Splatoon’s 2’s Iklins, indicating there will be some juicy new content.  What we don’t know is whether it will be compatible with Nintendo’s GameCube controllers.  Which is the way the professionals prefer to play.  In a press release, Nintendo is saying “We’re looking forward to watching some of the best players in the world test their skills against each other in these two uniquely competitive games”.  That said, Splatoon 2’s World Championships are open to anyone over the age of 13 in qualified countries.

What’s interesting is that we don’t have a lot of good information around when these releases are coming.  Earlier this month, Nintendo announced that Smash’s release on the Switch will come “sometime this year”.  The single-player expansion for Splatoon 2, Octo, also has a vague release date of “Summer, 2018”.  Which means, no one has any idea. With the Super Smash Bros. Invitational coming in June, that probably means that Nintendo is planning on releasing some information around the game before then, maybe even some of the roster, new stages, and hopefully a release date. That is if it’s not already out by then.

The tournament at E3 is invitation-only, so don’t expect to sign up and have a chance to get your hands on the game in Los Angeles this summer. At this point, the tournament will be a good way to build hype around Smash and give fans something to look forward to while we sit here trying to figure who those characters are silhouetted in front of the Smash logo.  I know the company has to build hype, but at the same time, it’s not really fair to not give any kind of details.  People want to know.  I think that by giving a little bit more information, you’re going to get more people checking out the games.  Instead, you’re leaving a lot of people confused – wondering if they should even invest their time and money into the game.

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