Nintendo wanted to remove Smash Bros. from EVO entirely, organizer says
Super Smash Bros. Melee's triumphant return to the stage during this weekend's EVO 2013 fighting game tournament was in greater jeopardy than originally thought, according to statements made by EVO organizer and co-founder Joey Cuellar during a recent episode of Live On Three.
"They were not only trying to shut down the stream, they were trying to shut down the event, the smash portion of the event," Cuellar said. "It's their IP, they can do what they want and they didn't present us with any options to keep it open."
Cuellar added that after negotiations, EVO was able to reach an agreement with Nintendo that allowed Smash to be kept at the tournament, but not broadcast to the rest of the Internet. "We're not going to press it any further, it's their IP," he added, relaying his attitude at the time. "We respect Nintendo's decision to protect their IP, and we're going to comply with their legal department completely."
Of course, that compromise was quickly revised after the fighting game community's reaction to the announcement. Cuellar said that no efforts were made on his end after the initial agreement with Nintendo had been made, so its decision to allow streaming for Smash had to have been in response to other, outside factors. "We're super grateful to Nintendo for letting us do it," he said.
