Nintendo releases full statement about Smash World Tour cancellation, SWT and Panda Global respond
Updated on December 2, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. PT: Panda Global has released an official statement on the Smash World Tour situation. You can find it at the bottom of our story below.
More developments have unfolded in the week's major story regarding the Smash World Tour 2022 and 2023's (SWT) cancellation. Nintendo has released a full statement on the matter, further detailing their rationale behind the decision to not grant the tournament circuit a license to operate.
According to Nintendo, the company's decision was solely based on the proposals sent in by SWT, and they reiterated that they did not order for the 2022 finale to be cancelled. In light of the new statement, the organizers behind the Smash World Tour have also released another response to Nintendo's claims.
Nintendo released their statement through IGN, and in it we learn more about why the license wasn't granted to SWT. They also note that no outside parties had any influence on their decision, despite some of the claims from SWT about Panda Global's involvement.
"Nintendo’s decision was solely based on our assessment of the proposals submitted by the SWT and our evaluation of their unlicensed activities," Nintendo explained in their statement. "This decision was not influenced by any external parties such as Panda Global. Any partner that we grant a license to has to meet the high standards we require when it comes to the health and safety of our fans. It’s also important 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 independently assess all partners. If we discover that a partner is doing something inappropriate, we will work to correct it."
The company went on to say that they let SWT know verbally that they were not requiring the tournament circuit's finale here in December be cancelled due to the impact it would have on everyone involved. "Thus, the decision to cancel the SWT 2022 was, and still is, their own choice," says Nintendo.
Nintendo rounds out their statement by stating that Panda Global will continue to be one of their key partners, noting that they are open to partnering with other organizations and will continue offering licenses for major tournaments outside of the Panda Cup. They close by saying that they care about the Super Smash Bros. fans and community very much and hope to keep hearing feedback.
Early this morning, the organizers behind the Smash World Tour responded directly to Nintendo's latest statement. Their overall take right now appears to be one of confusion, though SWT states they are standing behind their first follow-up on the matter.
"We are struggling to understand why Nintendo contacted us at all last week if they truly wanted us to continue operating," begins SWT's statement. "We are struggling to understand why they would not simply reach out to us after our event, rather than rush to meet with us before the Thanksgiving holiday break, just two weeks before our Championships event.
"Regardless, we stand by our first follow-up (linked here), and would like to reiterate that we received our notice in writing from Nintendo. We also received a direct response to our questions in our call about if we could continue to run the upcoming Championships and the 2023 Tour with the 'unofficial' mutual understanding that we would not be shut down. We were told directly that those 'times are over.'"
SWT went on to reiterate that they asked Nintendo directly during their call with the company if they understood the impact of cancelling the 2022 championships and the 2023 circuit. "In response to this question, Nintendo responded that they were 'confident that from A-Z, all consequences have been evaluated in making this decision,' specifically acknowledging that fallout scenarios included 'some positive, some negative, and some really negative,'" their statement read.
After expressing concern about what this means for other tournament organizers and the implications it has for unlicensed events, SWT shared their largest concern with Nintendo's latest statement. The legendary game developer's continued support for Panda Global raises red flags for the organization after SWT previously accused Panda Global and its CEO Alan Bunney of improper conduct in regards to other tournament organizers, detailing various instances of Panda trying to get other events to join the Panda Cup by telling them that the Smash World Tour was going to be cancelled.
At the time of writing this, neither Panda Global nor Bunney have released official statements on the situation.
The Smash World Tour 2022 championships and its 2023 tournament circuit remain cancelled at this time, and the organizers urge Nintendo to reconsider their approach with the Super Smash Bros. community.
You can read Panda Global's official statement below.
— Panda (@PandaGlobal) December 2, 2022
