“The Big House” Online Smash Bros Events Cancelled Due To Nintendo Cease & Desist

“The Big House” one of the longest running Super Smash Bros. tournaments, has cancelled their upcoming online events due to a cease & desist from Nintendo.

According to a post from the organizers on Twitter, the cease & desist was issued due to the use of a mod called Project Slippi, which allows them to “automatically save replays, use live match mirroring, implement rollback netcode, and open up online matchmaking” for Super Smash Bros. Melee. As a result, they were forced to cancel the tournament, which was planned to be held in December.

Following the announcement, Nintendo released a statement of their own clarifying why they took action, confirming that it was the use of Slippi that triggered cease & desist.

Nintendo appreciates the love and dedication the fighting game community has for the Super Smash Bros. series. We have partnered with numerous Super Smash Bros. tournaments in the past and have hosted our own online and offline tournaments for the game, and we plan to continue that support in the future. Unfortunately, the upcoming Big House tournament announced plans to host an online tournament for Super Smash Bros. Melee that requires use of illegally copied versions of the game in conjunction with a mod called “Slippi” during their online event. Nintendo therefore contacted the tournament organizers to ask them to stop. They refused, leaving Nintendo no choice but to step in to protect its intellectual property and brands. Nintendo cannot condone or allow piracy of its intellectual property.

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