Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Leagues Announced

Two Super Smash Bros. Ultimate leagues were announced at the Nintendo Live broadcast in Kyoto on November 23rd (or 24th, depending on where you live).

Both of the leagues announced will be limited to Japan and cover a different region, there’s a West Japan league and one for East Japan as well. They are notably the first ever official Smash Ultimate leagues created by Nintendo, and the leagues will be on the lookout for players who do well in a 18-years-and-younger-only Smash Ultimate tournament at JUMP FESTA 2019, and said tournament will take place on December 22nd and December 23rd, 2018.

Beginning sometime next January, the East Japan league’s events will be streamed on Niconico and the West Japan league’s events will be streamed on OPENREC. There’s also one last major detail, and it may disappoint many of you reading: the ruleset has items set to on.

Author’s Note: Are you like the author and wish items were not on? Do you think we could see more official leagues for regions outside of Japan? Please let us know in the comments below!

 

This is groundbreaking. I get the feeling we're understating the importance of this, considering what Nintendo is doing with Splatoon.

Now if only they could set up an official amiibo league, instead of having to hack it together through email and old Android phones...

 

Hahahahaha Items ON hahahaha

 

No items, Fox Only, Final Destination
then i'm all set

 

ITEMS ON LUL

 

10 bucks says Smash Meter will be on too given the recent tournament trends. Hopefully Nintendo will leave non official leagues well enough alone and won't crack down on them, given howa lot of players will still prefer items off tournaments.

 

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Leagues Announced
if only this was a thing in america why nintendo why

 

*Sees article*
"Finally! Nintendo is supporting the competitive community!"
*Sees that items are on*

 

There’s also one last major detail, and it may disappoint many of you reading: the ruleset has items set to on.

Hahahahaha Items ON hahahaha

ITEMS ON LUL

*Sees article*
"Finally! Nintendo is supporting the competitive community!"
*Sees that items are on*
View attachment 180159

Yet...

the leagues will be on the lookout for players who do well in a 18-years-and-younger-only Smash Ultimate tournament at JUMP FESTA 2019, and said tournament will take place on December 22nd and December 23rd, 2018.

The target demographic for these events are pretty intentional, all things considered. The audience/competitors we usually have for competitive Smash here in the West is older than this. What I mean by this is that younger players in general prefer to play with items on versus older players (who have probably been around since 64 and/or Melee).

Regardless, this is HUGE for the Smash scene in general. If Nintendo is willing to take a step and encourage a large range of Smash fans in Japan to compete under these official leagues, imagine what could be done outside of Japan. There's lots of potential for the Smash scene to be viewed in a much more positive light than it is now, and Nintendo- practically the biggest video game company in the world- has the power to do that. The promotion and advertisements for Ultimate are absolutely nuts right now, which has garnered a lot of interest in the game. A lot of eyes are gonna be set on the game as many people become curious about what its gameplay entails. I think Nintendo is making the right move by keeping items on because it makes the matches much more exciting to an average spectator (by that, I mean someone outside of the Smash scene who has never played a fighting game before), which will then in turn draw them into the game and its community.
Of course, not everyone here wants items to be on in competitive tournaments (myself included), but here's to hoping that in the long-term after everyone has gotten the chance to see everything Ultimate has to offer, Nintendo will start promoting the Smash scene outside of Japan and use a ruleset many will agree to compete under.
That better have items and FS meter off...

TL;DR- Give it time, root for Nintendo, and have hope that they'll will do more things like this in the future for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate because we certainly need this.

 

In America, most league players will be over 18.

 

In America, most league players will be over 18.

I don't understand what you mean. This is for Japan, not America.

 

I don't understand what you mean. This is for Japan, not America.

IF they did it in America. Reading comprehension.

 

IF they did it in America. Reading comprehension.

Ah, I gotcha. Couldn't tell because you didn't quote my post.

 

So what is actually a league? Does this just mean they're running their own tournaments? Or working with existing tournaments? Is there more to it than that?

 

Well, weird that they got items on, but couldn't they just limit it to a few special ones?

 

Well, weird that they got items on, but couldn't they just limit it to a few special ones?

The entire point of them creating these leagues is obviously to give skilled players a reason to use items. Like, that's the whole reason they ever did this. This is their way of creating an incentive to use items and all the other content. If skilled players already played with items on, they wouldn't have even bothered creating these leagues.

They're clearly bothered that competitive smash, which is basically the face of the game to the FGC and thus the outside world, keeps the vast majority of stages and item banned. That makes the game look so much less diverse and content filled than it is. Probably makes them feel like they did a lot of wasted work.

So they went through great efforts to do what needed to be done to remedy that. Omega and battlefield versions of stages, hazards toggle, non-random final smash acquisition (final smash meter). They clearly want all the content to be used as much of the time as possible.

Don't get your hopes up that they're going to limit the items much, if at all, since that would go against the whole point of this league.

 

The entire point of them creating these leagues is obviously to give skilled players a reason to use items. Like, that's the whole reason they ever did this. This is their way of creating an incentive to use items and all the other content. If skilled players already played with items on, they wouldn't have even bothered creating these leagues.

They're clearly bothered that competitive smash, which is basically the face of the game to the FGC and thus the outside world, keeps the vast majority of stages and item banned. That makes the game look so much less diverse and content filled than it is. Probably makes them feel like they did a lot of wasted work.

So they went through great efforts to do what needed to be done to remedy that. Omega and battlefield versions of stages, hazards toggle, non-random final smash acquisition (final smash meter). They clearly want all the content to be used as much of the time as possible.

Don't your hopes up that they're going to limit the items much, if at all, since that would go against the whole point of this league.

I'm a little torn on this, but I see where Nintendo is coming from. Items are often banned because they inherently create unbalance and add a factor of luck and RNG (for moreso than usual anyway.) to matches. Still, I don't think most Smash players, casual or competitive, hate items. Most top players still play casuals on occasion and goof around with the silly things that can happen on banned stages and with items turned on. As for Smash meter, it's obvious that it's am move intended to give Smash players a more familiar fighting game experience that allows the use of super moves a la most traditional fighting games. Sounds like the non Nintendo competitive scene will have it turned off, but from what I've seen, most people aren't opposed to the idea of trying it in tournaments, or even having it legal if it's refined a bit (nerf it in 1v1, make the meter fill a bit more slowly, nerf particularly powerful Final Smashes so that they don't kill to incredibly early, etc.). So, I like what Nintendo's doing with these leagues. It appeals to a different crowd and could potentially have a fun meta to view that's alternate to the one we often see over and over again. Goodness knows I and a lot of other people often wish the most accepted meta would have some fun once in awhile. Stop being so stringent, try some different stages once in awhile, etc. As stated above, my only hope is that Nintendo's endorsed leagues and the unofficial but widely accepted leagues can co-exist. I hope Nintendo doesn't try to make this the only acceptable league to play and start cracking down on having Smash at big events like EVO. Let the two different leagues co-exist and Ultimate could have a really long competitive lifespan.

 

The entire point of them creating these leagues is obviously to give skilled players a reason to use items. Like, that's the whole reason they ever did this. This is their way of creating an incentive to use items and all the other content. If skilled players already played with items on, they wouldn't have even bothered creating these leagues.

They're clearly bothered that competitive smash, which is basically the face of the game to the FGC and thus the outside world, keeps the vast majority of stages and item banned. That makes the game look so much less diverse and content filled than it is. Probably makes them feel like they did a lot of wasted work.

So they went through great efforts to do what needed to be done to remedy that. Omega and battlefield versions of stages, hazards toggle, non-random final smash acquisition (final smash meter). They clearly want all the content to be used as much of the time as possible.

Don't your hopes up that they're going to limit the items much, if at all, since that would go against the whole point of this league.

I personally find it really interesting, but I also think, that this would make the outcome somewhat random all the time? Like if someone gets a strong pokemon or assisst trophy for example, he instantly has a huge advantage over the enemy, and so the players would just wait for the items. In my opinion that could get really unfair. But lets see ^^

 

Well... Never expected this...

 

Items on, eh? Might actually watch this if I get the chance.

 

Items on, eh? Might actually watch this if I get the chance.

Same, very weird, but also veeery interesting

 

It's got my interest.

 

Wrote this on Reddit already, just copypasting and editing.

I want to bring this up even though we don't know yet but...

Having an "official Smash League" sponsored by Nintendo and everything in Japan might create a disparity where people who participate in it think, that is what competitive Smash should be since "it's official".

If it doesn't follow a similar format to what the rest of the world uses, then we suddenly have this weird items on Smash league that gets supported by Nintendo while the competitive scene that's done all the work to keep Smash as a competitive game alive for the past 17 years gets told to continue to fund their own prize pools both internationally and in Japan.

Which is fine obviously, I didn't expect anything from Nintendo regarding tournaments, but that's such a weird move. I really hope people in Japan realize that this is just Nintendo's league and not what most people want out of a competitive game because losing your grand finals to a bobomb spawning in your face...Isn't fun. RNG isn't fun in competitive environments. I don't wish to be a purist about this, but there are tons of incredibly powerful "YOU WIN" items and Final Smashes that just don't show skill. If only weapon-type items were on like the beam sabre, or the fan (and there were no fan-infinites) then...Okay, fine. I can see some skill being involved within the randomness.

But with some Assist trophies and Pokemon being what they are, I can't see this being an interesting competition and, at most, a fun spectacle akin to watching people play Mario Party or something.

Which is fun, but arguably not a very good way of gaging who's good at Smash, is it? And if it's just this "We want people to play with items and FS Meter because it'll be fun" event, then cool. But it'll confuse a lot of players over in Japan into thinking that this is "officially the best way to play" when - and AGAIN: Not trying to be demeaning - the players of Smash have had the opportunity to play with items on, and have decided against it for aforementioned reasons.

Not trying to be a negative nancy but I don't see the point behind this. Seems like a weird, uninformed and oddly random first step by Nintendo/Sora to further competitive play, which actually won't help that, and might actually divide already vocal Casual vs Competitive players even further. But we'll see. Maybe it'll just be a fun item event thing Nintendo does and that's it.

As has been said before, I highly hope Sora doesn't suddenly think they struck gold and forces EVO and other Majors to play with "The League rules" or not at all. That'd blow and be incredibly weird. If they can coexist I don't mind this, but it's a weird move IMO.

 

That just makes sense. Items are a core part of Smash Bros.

But based on their invitationals. Items will turn off the deeper into the tourney we are. And they might adjust rules and ban stages as they evolve.

 

Nintendo's idea of "competitive smash": items on, 18 years and younger, Japan only. Yep.

 

that is yeet, It'lll be like the overwatch league

 

this is being set up by nintendo what did you guys expect LUL

 

Well okay, but items on? C'mon Japan smh. Otherwise I'm all for it. 3 stocks, no items.

 

Exactly, they should just have it open to everyone 16 and above or something, and of course no items smh

 

18 years or younger? Missed that boat.

Also missed the boat on being Japanese. Damn.

 

that is yeet, It'lll be like the overwatch league

Don't be so pessimistic

 

Don't be so pessimistic

I like the overwatch league #TorontoDefiant

 

wait till they put meter on

 

wait till they put meter on

I don't see why they wouldn't put that on, if items are activated lol

 

Ofc Items should be on, coming from someone who barely ever plays with them on, and meter will be on too haha

rip tournyfags

 

18 and under. That's the craziest part to me. That teen tournament they ran before was such crap. It's almost like Nintendo prefers for you to have no skill. So much time and energy has been put into this game and they're going to limit their only leagues to being the weakest talent pool possible. It's not the kids' fault either. If you don't allow adults then the moment a talented player turns 19 they are forced to "retire" lol

 

Items on... FINALLY!

 

If you were to ask my opinion on items, I think items like the Home-run Bat, Banana Gun, Mr. Saturn, Fairy Bottle, Rage Blaster, (<- this one interests me) Green Shells, or even Death's Scythe are fine since they're either not easy to kill with, don't have much impact, or actually make it fair for whoever's losing (especially that Rage Blaster); but stuff like the Hammer, Starman, and sometimes the Heart Container actually give an unfair advantage to whoever happens to be close enough to it to get it when it spawns which certainly isn't what we want here. As for Pokeballs, well, since there's always a chance of getting something lame like Exeggutor or Goldeen, as well as something strong like Mimikyu or Bellossom, it may be more consistent if they use Master Balls instead to ensure that whoever gets it is actually lucky rather than having a chance to make them unlucky instead. Assist Trophies are also somewhat inconsistent, but at least some of the stronger ones can either be avoided or KO'd depending on who they are.

 

imo having items on is pretty dumb, but if I'm understanding this right they're aiming to target the league for younger players who might be on the more casual side. Hopefully it's a positive step in the right direction in the long term though and fan feedback to this might help influence later leagues/tournaments

 

I'm just gonna say it now, having Items on is gonna be a lot more interesting to watch the same old tourney ruleset I had to endure watching for years... Not saying it's bad, but it would be nice to see something different for a change