Nintendo is not exactly known for supporting the competitive scenes built around their games, but when mass allegations regarding sexual misconduct (in many cases involving minors) pop up around one of them, you’ll be sure to hear from them.<\/p>\n
Following several days of prominent figures in the Smash Bros community being outed as predators, including pro player Nairo having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old<\/a> or Nintendo Ambassador and commentator D1 accused of sexual assault<\/a>, the company spoke about the dire situation the scene currently finds itself in.<\/p>\n In a statement given to IGN<\/a>, the company directly denounced all those accused within the Smash community, showing their support to those that are coming forward.<\/p>\n “At Nintendo, we are deeply disturbed by the allegations raised against certain members of the competitive gaming community. They are absolutely impermissible. We want to make it clear that we condemn all acts of violence, harassment, and exploitation against anyone and that we stand with the victims.”<\/p>\n The company’s ties to the competitive Smash scene are thin and have generally been met with negativity from the community.<\/p>\n One of the most egregious examples happened at this year’s Evo Japan, where Smash Ultimate was the only title without a monetary prize pool, instead the winner took a Switch Pro Controller as a reward for beating some of the world’s best players.<\/p>\n This was due to the fact that Japanese laws dictate that any tournaments with a prize pool above ￥100,000 (around $900) were not allowed<\/a>. Caveats and loopholes have been found over the years, but Nintendo has remained stoic in their stance.<\/p>\n As things stand, it seems Nintendo might steer away even further from making any established partnerships with the Smash competitive scene.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lockdown: Why has EVO Online been cancelled? (06.07.2020)<\/a>Nintendo condemns cases of sexual misconduct<\/h2>\n
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