New Nintendo Community Guidelines: will this put an end to tournaments and content creation?

Nintendo is notorious for its tight regulations and community guidelines. Previously, the Japanese gaming giant had been under a lot of scrutiny due to its unreal policies that ruined community-led tournaments and events. However, the newly issued guidelines present the ruination of community-led projects on a far greater scale.

Nintendo may be one of the leaders in the gaming industry, but despite its scale, the company lacks in many sectors compared to its competitors. Among them is the lack of consideration for community-led events and tournaments with Nintendo IPs. And with the new guidelines, the issue has become more severe than ever.

Nintendo has recently released new guidelines for community tournaments involving its games, which are defined as “Community Tournaments”, the guidelines set strict rules around the number of competitors allowed, limit how much events can charge for entry, and set detailed restrictions on how in-person events can be run.

The new guidelines come into effect on November 15, 2023, and are unlikely to be popular with the competitive scene. The guidelines prohibit the use of Nintendo game logos, character images, game images, music, or sound effects for community tournament promotions.

The guidelines also require participants to abide by the rules of the event and games and avoid using inappropriate player names or team names. Participants must respect everyone, including other participants, spectators, organizers, and management staff. They would to need to refrain from any discrimination, abusive language, or offensive or inappropriate behavior.

Nintendo has also stated that the event will have:

• No unofficial controllers (e.g., BOXX and Smashbox).
• Must post finances online.
• Must pay back entrance fee if tournament goes in the green.
• No alcohol.
• No non-Nintendo consoles or games.
• No mods.
• No overlays.

The new Nintendo community guidelines have sparked negative backlash and frustration among fans and tournament organizers. Fans have taken to social media to voice their displeasure with the new rules, with hashtags like #freeSmashBros and #freeSplatoon resurfacing online in protest.

Concerns have been raised about the impact on the competitive scene, with some fans claiming that the guidelines threaten to kill Smash Bros. esports as they exist today.

There are also concerns about the impact on smaller grassroots tournaments, as the guidelines set strict rules around the number of competitors allowed and limit how much events can charge for entry. Disapproval of the strict rules and limitations has been expressed by fans and tournament organizers alike. Some fans have called for Nintendo to reconsider the guidelines.

According to the Nintendo Community Tournament Guidelines, Nintendo reserves the right to take legal action against or cancel any community tournaments in its sole discretion. Any tournaments that violate or are likely to violate these guidelines or community tournaments that Nintendo otherwise deems inappropriate.

Nintendo may also take measures such as prohibiting individuals who violate these guidelines or engage in other inappropriate acts from hosting tournaments in the future.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated gaming section, so be sure to follow them as well.

Feature image source: Nintendo

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.