Nintendo's President Discusses eSports, Promises To Hold More Tournaments

During Nintendo’s 81st Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, President Shuntaro Furakawa was questioned about a number of matters. Covering a wide range of matters, one investor questioned Nintendo's plans for eSports and the general competitive scene moving forward.

While Furukawa acknowledged how competitions could allow players to“share the gameplay experience with a broader audience”, he also revealed more tournaments will be held in the future, though he didn't specify when and for which games.

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Nintendo's President Discusses eSports, Promises To Hold More Tournaments

More specifically (credit to Nintendo Everything's translation), Furukawa replied by stating:

We believe that formats like e-sports where players compete against each other in front of many people are a way to share the gameplay experience with a broader audience. Nintendo has a history of holding game tournaments, and while this was before the pandemic, we held the final stage of the national elementary school Smash Bros. tournament and the Splatoon Koshien 2020 Kinki Regional Tournament during the Nintendo Live 2019 event in Kyoto in October 2019. We felt those tournaments were well-received, not only by the audiences onsite, but also those watching online.

Game tournaments can motivate people who own the game to keep playing and they can generate interest in Nintendo games and characters in people who do not own the game. We will continue to hold game tournaments and other such events going forward by carefully monitoring the situation surrounding the pandemic.

While Super Smash Bros. Ultimate remains a hot choice for many players, we have seen Nintendo attempting to branch out with games like Splatoon 2, an initiative likely to extend into the upcoming Splatoon 3. As always, we'll keep you informed when we learn more.