The fighting game community was surprised yesterday afternoon, when the return of the Evo tournament was announced. Not only was the silence about what awaited us for the long-running fighting game competition broken, but we also learned that Sony Interactive Entertainment and RTS had jointly acquired the organization.
Of course, this has raised a lot of questions from struggling gamers, especially those who are wondering about the future of games that aren’t on Sony consoles – such as Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Following the announcement, Nintendo has released a statement on the matter, and from its sound Smash at Evo still does not look like a lock.
Speaking to IGN, a Nintendo spokesman said the company enjoyed its time at past Evo events and wished good luck to the tournament organizers. “We will continue to evaluate Evo,” Nintendo said, looking ahead to opportunities for Super Smash Bros. offline and online tournaments.
Super Smash Bros. series. was officially represented at 10 different Evo events. Starting with Super Smash Bros. Melee in 2007, we continue to see Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate get time in the spotlight at every Evo event with just a handful of exceptions.
Between 2010 and 2012, Super Smash Bros. would be absent from the post-Evo 2009 event, where a Brawl tournament took place, but was not part of the official tournament. However, Smash returned strongly in 2013, where Melee was added to the dossier through a donation campaign and campaign to select the final title of the event.
Interestingly, despite the fact that Sony has purchased Evo, the event organizers are still open and able to work with games that do not appear on PlayStation consoles. Mark “MarkMan” Julio, the head of Evo’s business development, reassured fans on Twitter yesterday that the exclusivity of the console should not be as important as the fans initially feared.
“It’s also very important to note. @EVO is still open to all platforms,” Julio wrote. “PlayStation and RTS teams allow us to continue to work with our community to support fighting games.”
Evo already proves that this statement is true in the official program for the upcoming Evo Online, which contains several games that allow players to play on both PC and PlayStation consoles. Although the organization of the tournament certainly seems open to have Super Smash Bros. at a future event, Nintendo’s initial statement is less certain that this will happen.
Currently, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is probably not considered for Evo anyway due to its overall online experience. Once we start seeing the return to offline tournaments, however, the question of Smash’s Evo status will become much more relevant.
The next Evo Online is scheduled to take place over two weekends: August 6-8 and 13-15, and admission will be free. Street Fighter 5 Season 5, Tekken 7, Mortal Kombat 11 and Guilty Gear Strive will all be featured in the official lineup and will feature open tournaments.