The rumors and speculations that surrounded EVO Japan 2019 has finally ceased, as the official EVO Twitter account announced six main titles that will be featured in next year’s fighting-game tournament.
Referenced from the official EVO’s tweet, Tekken 7, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, Soul Caliber VI, Street Fighter V Arcade Edition, The King of Fighters XIV and Guilty GearXrd Rev 2 will be the headliners for EVO Japan 2019. However, Nintendo’s flagship title Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was noticeably absent from the list, which raised some concern among the fans on Twitter.
Twitter user @KingKRoolthegr1 replied back to @EVO saying, “Where is Super Smash Bros Ultimate?” The user continued, “Please delete this post and add Super Smash Bros Ultimate.”
“I’m with everyone else. Why no Smash or DBZ,” said user @pea_eyed. “How do you leave out one of the biggest fighting games this year,” as similar responses continued to flood the comment section.
The latest entry to the Super Smash Bros. franchise sold over 1.23 million copies within three days in Japan. Compared to its predecessors’ launch week, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate currently holds the series record, as Super Smash Bros. for 3DS (also commonly referred to as Smash 4) sold 944,000 units, followed by Super Smash Bros. Brawl with 820,000 copies sold.
When you put Smash Bros. Ultimate’s glowing success into perspective – it’s very questionable as to why it’s not one of the main titles in EVO Japan 2019.
Hours after the headliners were announced, EVO Global Business Development Manager Mark “MarkMan” Julio made a statement, that touches upon the reason why select games will not being included in the main event.
“Not every title was included in the main event that we originally hoped for. We couldn’t get approval from the publisher/owner. As unfortunate as this may be, we will still be supporting the communities and events at Evo Japan 2019 — more information on that later.”
Based on Julio’s comment, Nintendo is completely at fault here, since the company didn’t approve for their title to be playable at the tournament.
This is a major missed opportunity for Nintendo, considering how popular Smash 4 was in EVO Japan 2018. During last year’s event, professional smasher Leonardo “MKLeo” Perez fought Yuta “Abadango” Kawamura in the grand finals. The livestream managed to accumulate X spectators, along with a floodgate of comments, from viewers that tuned into the epic match.
Once the tournament was finished, YouTube user YEET Smash uploaded a compilation video, that featured the best moments of Smash 4 top-eight winners/losers brackets.
If Smash Bros. Ultimate secured a spot in EVO Japan 2019, then Nintendo would greatly benefit from all the free marketing from the major upcoming event. Potential buyers would feel more inclined to purchase the game, after seeing how enjoyable and hype it can be, from a competitive point of view.
All hope isn’t lost, since Julio mentioned that the EVO team will be coordinating with the various gaming communities, so they can support the other titles that weren’t included. Although Smash Bros. Ultimate may not get the spotlight that it deserves, at least there’s a chance that it will be featured in the side tournament.
Are you disappointed that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate won’t be present in EVO Japan 2019’s lineup? Please leave your comment down below on your thoughts regarding this trending topic.
[Source: Twitter (1) (2)] [Via: VG Sales Wiki; Smash Wiki; YouTube]
Brandon Tanis
Brandon is a gaming enthusiast who enjoys reporting news and information that pertains to Nintendo. He goes out of his way to own the latest consoles/handhelds, so he can play exclusive games that appeals to him. Given the amount of time, energy, effort, and resources he invests towards gaming; Brandon will try the best within his powers to provide great game related Q&A, FAQs, hints, and tips.
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