News has just surfaced where Nintendo Japan has shared a letter announcing the cancellation of Nintendo Live Tokyo and the postponements of 4 events including the Splatoon Koshien 2023 National Finals due to serious threats against Nintendo employees, staff and spectators.
The official letter can be found here.
The company states the reason was due to dangerous threats made against Nintendo Employees and Staff in Japan who were to participate in the upcoming event. Due to the cancelled event, 4 other events including Splatoon Koshien National finals as well as a Mario Kart Tournament have been postponed to a later date. Japan isn’t exclusive to the consequences as both World Championships for Splatoon 3 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe have been postponed as well.
The company also shared that the threats made against Nintendo Personnel had them forcefully decide as they did not want to risk the safety of anyone, employees and spectators who were to attend the event. They’ve also shared plans on when the postponed events will take place and that the company will seriously look to prioritise safety and hence will have better security for all.
The dates of when the 4 events will take place will be announced later after confirmation and will be shared via the official company pages on X/Twitter and the official websites.
It is an unfortunate incident to have a big Nintendo event cancelled due to such a reason, and fans are not happy nor is the company itself. The safety of fans and participants is still one of the most important aspects which is why they will now have to look to the next year for Nintendo Live. The event is one where Nintendo shares and features many of its newest titles and products as well as brand-new announcements, so they will look to relocate most of their event news to another platform. Professional players who were looking to participate in the Splatoon and Mario Kart Tournaments will have to revise their schedules as well, not just for the tournaments in Japan but the World Championships too. This isn’t just a blow to the company but to the people who are avid fans of Nintendo.
The company will be looking to contact local authorities in Japan to backtrack and pinpoint the individuals responsible for the threats as it would be the reassurance needed to announce and hold the postponed events afterwards.
It has not been confirmed yet, but it may have something to do with Nintendo’s previous changes to Community Event Guidelines that were frowned upon by many as very unpractical. The remarks by unknown entities could be due to the unfavouring, but the actual news could be shared later. Only time will tell.
It is very regrettable to have such things happen where the use of social media and communication is resorted to threats and menacing remarks, with no true benefit for any party. Nintendo Live events are looked upon positively by many as one of the key events by Nintendo to showcase their works and products in the videogame industry. It isn’t too big of a matter that the event is cancelled, but it is a more important matter that people who do give dangerous remarks are punished accordingly.
Viewers can check the official Nintendo Japan website for more.
