Nintendo reportedly abandons Smash 4 amid controversial tournament rulings

Nintendo has reportedly left out Smash 4 from its most recent tournament guidelines after deeming not enough players would be interested.

Nintendo once again caused waves in the Super Smash. Bros. competitive scene after releasing restrictive new tournament guidelines in late October 2023.

Essentially, this new ruleset limits the size of events to just 200 people, 300 entrants for online tournaments, caps registration fees, and much more.

In a similar vein, Nintendo recently unveiled a new Liscensed Tournament Application form for Tournament runners, albeit with the exclusion of Smash 4. Now, a longtime member of the Melee community may have shed light on the strange omission.

Nintendo leaves Smash 4 out of official license application

Super Smash Bros. Melee player, commentator, analyst, and occasional tournament organizer Tafokints claimed to have spoken to a Nintendo rep about Smash 4’s abscense from the official Licensed Tournament application form.

According to the Smasher, “In response to Smash 4 not being on the licensing agreement list, the Nintendo rep responded that they did not believe that Smash 4 would ever reach 200 entrants or reach a prize pool of over $1000 USD.”

Should fans take a look at the form, even games like Smash Bros. Brawl and Smash 64 are included in the list, despite them being less popular in the modern competitive Smash space compared to Ultimate and Melee.

In response to Smash 4 not being on the licensing agreement list, the Nintendo rep responded that they did not believe that Smash 4 would ever reach 200 entrants or reach a prize pool of over $1000 USD

— Tafo (@tafokints) November 16, 2023

Many members of the community expressed confusion through social media, where some even pointed out Nintendo was underestimating the game.

“Yup. That’ll never happen. Especially not in the year 2023,” said one Reddit user who linked a Super Smash Con bracket showing Smash 4’s 1v1 Singles pool garnered 344 entrants in August 2023.

Others joked that the game’s exclusion could be used to in some humorous situations.

“Smash 4 resurgence time,” joked one fan, while another said, “Major TOs have the opportunity to do the funniest thing.”

In all likelihood, the “Other” category listed on the form would still include Smash 4 in the application process. Still, it’s interesting that this oversight seemingly slipped through the cracks.