The big N has issued a statement explaining why it has broken up with the organizers of the Smash World Tour.

Earlier this week, we reported that the 2023 tournament had been canceled alongside the Smash World Tour finale scheduled for next week, as Nintendo terminated its agreement with the organizers, who blamed Panda Global, the company behind the official Super Smash Bros. tournament. Panda Global’s CEO has said that the Smash World Tour will not be held this year. The situation is not so subtle, and what Nintendo wrote in a statement sent to IGN continues to keep the case murky:

“This decision was not influenced by external parties such as Panda Global. Any partner we grant a license to has to meet the high standards we require regarding the health and safety of our fans. It’s also essential that a partner adheres to brand and IP guidelines and conducts itself according to professional and organizational best practices. We use this same approach to assess all partners independently. If we discover that a partner is doing something inappropriate, we will work to correct it.

The decision to cancel the Smash World Tour 2022 was and still is, their own choice. Nintendo cares very much about Super Smash Bros. fans and its community, and we hope to continue to hear their passionate feedback. We are committed to working hard to bring joy and fun to the community through tournaments while also ensuring our partners and we are operating in a positive and responsible manner,” Nintendo wrote.

Interestingly, they did not mandate the cancellation of this year’s finals (“it was their decision”), so there are question marks around the Smash World Tour organizers. It’s true that the big N pulled the rug out from under them, but couldn’t they have gone all out to organize the final so that at least the relationship between the organizers and Nintendo could have ended positively?

Source: Gamesindustry