Arabella Asis Games 10.25.2023 03:Oct AM EDT

Fans Express Concerns With Nintendo's New Tournament Guidelines

Competitive fans were left in shock after Nintendo announced its new community tournament guidelines which will be effective starting November 15.

(Photo : PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)
JAPAN-COMPUTERS-GAMES-NINTENDO-economy-earnings A logo of Nintendo is pictured at its store in Tokyo on February 1, 2021 as the company announced a gain of 2.51 percent. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP) (Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)

Nintendo's Community Tournament Guidelines

The new guidelines were first posted on Nintendo Japan and the U.K. websites wherein new rules will applied for "not-for-profit, small-scale community tournaments involving games for which Nintendo owns the copyright." Following some confusion with the tournament community, Nintendo America followed through with the announcement.

While community tournaments are still allowed, organizers must secure an official license first from Nintendo. In addition, in-person tournaments can only have up to 200 participants while 300 participants can join for online tournaments. Meanwhile, the price cap in the U.S. is $5,000. Organizers are also required to publicly disclose all the accounting related to the expenses of the event promptly.

"We want to ensure that fans who are doing so are engaging with our games, characters, and worlds in a way that positively supports other fans, players, and Nintendo," the company wrote.

Nintendo Community Bursts With Reactions

Shortly after the announcement, many fans poured their concerns over the new guidelines. For instance, Melee pro Axe described it as "extremely concerning, especially for Melee events."

Nintendo released some strict guidelines for tournaments without an official Nintendo license.

That's extremely concerning, especially for Melee events.

I'm scared for my lifehttps://t.co/axwOHefLQb
— Tempo🌩️| Axe (@TempoAxe) October 24, 2023

Meanwhile, some were calling out Nintendo's stand on the participant cap. Some fans shared their fear to the extent that some are implying that tournaments might just go back to the old days when competitions were held underground. In addition, some also voiced their concerns about the restriction of using devices that are not licensed by Nintendo. Streamer Arevya shared that many disabled players need third-party accessories to play their games.

but the reason why it is, is because MANY disabled gamers (like myself) use third party accessories to be able to game.

This can be anything from controllers you can use with your feet, tools to make the game work with a straw you can blow in to move your character,
— Arevya - Gaming is for EVERYONE 💕♿️ (@arevya) October 24, 2023

Meanwhile, Nintendo is firm that the company has the right to take legal actions or cancel any community tournaments that are likely to violate the guidelines. The company will also take measures such as banning individuals from hosting tournaments if proven guilty of a violation.