Disclaimer: Please try to ignore the '2008' join date. Brawl's impact on the community and its consequences have made it so that I now just skip 90% of 2008 join date posts, simply for the sake of preventing the corruption of my language and grammar skills/wasting my time. Hopefully, this post will fall within the 10% minority.
Question: How many of you actually made an income playing Melee? I'm not talking about the inconsistent upper placement that was able to pay for gas and a sandwich. I'm not even talking about the 1st place finishes that helped pay for any tournament-traveling hotel expenses you've had during the past 5 years, the big wins which payed for your summer vacation plans, etc. That's all just ****s and giggles. That's enjoying Smash as a past time, as a hobby, or god forbid, as a means of developing a rep that you probably couldn't get any other way. I want to know who are the real Smashers, the supposed pros, who's actual future hangs in the balance. Don't interpret that to mean I have sympathy for them; I don't, they're really ****ing good. I am simply searching for the select few who can actually be described as being "professional" Smashers. Now before you either blindly answer this question, or tell your few 'pro' acquaintances to post here to make it appear that this argument actually matters, think for a good 5 to 10 seconds, take a deep breath, and reply with your argument if you truly care. In short, when you money match someone, is the money itself the primary initiative to win, or does it serve mainly as a veil to compete, an added boost, used as a certificate of legitimacy while your main intentions are to experience tremendous pleasure when you beat an opponent at their best? That stated, let us now look at the two possible answers:
If you answered NO: Hopefully this is the majority of you, whether you choose to respond or not. This ranges from being the party game enthusiast to the experienced, articulate Smash Boards member who is highly esteemed for their arguments and contributions....but still don't place well at major tournaments (with 'well' being defined as actually making good money). I use money as a means of OFFICIAL competitive legitimacy for a few reasons, most notably because a player can win every single tournament they happen to attend, but it only means so much when the tournaments they went to were small and their per tournament earnings were never over $100 (that's just a guesstimate, definitely not the defining threshold). If you fall anywhere within these stated extremes, please ask yourself the following question:
Why am I so concerned with the Brawl v. Melee debate?
I'm sure the most common retort I'll hear would be somewhere along the lines of "Because I have played smash for years and its competitive nature has been a major hobby/part of my life. Just because I don't make a lot of money doing it doesn't mean it isn't important to me." Or, perhaps it could be "As a 2008 join date member, you (Vaul) cannot possibly understand what this community is all about. We've spent YEARS turning the Smash metagame into what its become today and have developed a common bond amongst one another that even transcends the actual game of Smash itself. Just because it doesn't mean much to you, it doesn't automatically determine that it doesn't mean much to us."
These are really, really sweet and heartfelt. Srysly. I can't argue with that. But, I can address them.
If the first probable retort is most like yours: Do what you want. I know this argument has been reiterated countless times by those partaking in Brawlphilia, but really, please think about it. To briefly state the obvious (I swear my arguments will become more original), no one is stopping you from playing S64, Melee, or Brawl. You and your flock of birds of feather can fly together (zing). If your claims don't go beyond your personal and subjective views on the superiority of Melee or the promise of Brawl, then what's your point? By *****ing and whining at each other, what are you trying to accomplish? Do you feel that your being attacked and must defend yourself? Are you trying to be as vocal as possible so Nintendo just might possibly hear you? Are you trying to convince the community to not fall into the fad and stick with Melee/to adjust smoothly into Brawl and embrace it since Brawl is the future and Melee is dead? More specifically, by saying Brawl is inferior....what the **** are you trying to prove aside from whats been stated above? If you're trying to pursue one of the said goals....good luck buddy. If your doing it just because you feel the need to vent and whine about your "complete disappointment with looking forward to Brawl for, like, YEARSS", then I am truly, truly sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, there's nothing we here at the Community can do regarding Brawl's gameplay. That, and we really don't give a **** about your personal complaints and immaturity regarding a video game. The same applies to your opinion of me. If you don't give a ****, don't respond.
If the second retort is more probable in your case (sorry this is going a bit slow, by the way), then yea, I can sympathize. But I can't empathize with those who are seriously worried about the division of the Smash community and who believe that a community which plays two different games can't possibly work/would be the near equivalent of Smash Armageddon. I know people often forget this sometimes, so I'm going to do a favor to all of those with their panties up in a bunch and tell them this: No matter how much you've let Smash consume your life and no matter how much perspective you may have loss......Smash is a video game. Let me say that again. Smash is a ****ing video game. This isn't a decision between whether to continue to use petroleum or invest in renewable energy, to allow women to vote or not, to legalize more drugs or enforce laws further. This is Melee vs. Brawl. A video game vs a video game, or more like which video game we should choose to play with eachother. You thrust your arguments and spew your data and facts for why one is superior to the other, but how many of you actually vote? And for the inevitable responses of 'these big picture arguments have no place in a video game forum", then perhaps, but that still won't change the fact of how unbelievably ignorant you are.
But staying to the topic, would two separate communities really dismay you that greatly? This isn't your father fighting against you in a civil war, this is a friend who likes one video game designed for parties more than the other video game designed for parties. If this **** keeps on going any longer, then perhaps that will be the best course to pursue, because as Samurai Panda said, this argument is deterring new players from the Smash scene in general. If you don't care about a large group base, all the more power to you. If you do care that your community supporting a better video game is dying for no real logical reason, then, not to come off as condescending or anything, but boo****inghoo. This eventually happens to all video game communities; *****ing and whining can't stop it. I'm not saying you should stop playing Melee, by no means absolutely no. You can still enjoy its gameplay forever and always. But if you're trying to resist the tide that is change and bring others to your cause...your pretty ****ed. Plus in no way will Melee disappear from the community scene for years to come. Compared to my involvement with the Populous: The Beginning community (never even heard of it have you?), you guys are pretty well off.
To sum up those who answered No, many of the more vocal and polarized debaters are being excessively melodramatic. Don't barrage me with your petty tears and how much Smash means to you. You are most likely only part of the competitive scene because you want to prove/test yourself at how good you are doing what you like best. Did Overswarm win anything from that first huge Wi-Fi tournament which was actually useful and tangible? He quotes himself saying how bad he felt losing in Melee and won't be 'that person' in Brawl. Okay. Great. Insecurities aside, are you playing Smash for a reason other than you enjoy Smash and want a good rep? If you aren't, then I have no problem with that and you are certainly succeeding with that stated policy. But if it doesn't extend anything beyond the sensation one derives from 'competition' itself, then what does this whole argument matter for? (I'm only using Overswarm as an example because of the quote; I have nothing against him and do not mean this to sound hurtful in any way). This same question applies to the other side of the debate: If your livelihood and general well being doesn't rely on whether Brawl or Melee is used, why are you arguing with a one-track mind for Melee over Brawl? If it's because you find Melee more rewarding and it makes you all happy and tingily inside, no one is taking that away from you. It may SEEM that your once happy go lucky lifestyle is now under siege by Brawl and the Noob Army, but please, be realistic. Ignore how defensive Brawl is. Dismiss its legitimacy as a fighting game because "there aren't any REAL combos, they can easily be airdodged and DI'ed out of. There's no skill and I'm Yuna so its true" ('Seriously, how many competitive Smash players can there really be in ****ing STOCKHOLM?? I guess there's enough to allow your self-esteem to ride on it' - Vaul 2008). If you're truly rational, you should not give that much of a **** about Brawl and stick to your guns. For you, Melee is here to stay and always will be. And as I stated earlier, I wouldn't worry about losing a Melee fanbase anytime soon. Populous the Beginning. Enough said.
If you answered YES: All personal preferences and opinions aside, your stances on the issue are the only ones which truly matter in determining whether Melee or Brawl is OFFICIALLY used for competitive play in large tournaments. This is your skill we're talking about, you're money, and you're life. You alone can decide what professionals will do. Anyone else who argues that even though their not pro but still find good competition to be very important to them, then let them do whatever the hell they want. They're concerns about losing players for tournament play are understandable, but really, they are merely complaining about giving up something they're worked so hard to attain. Perhaps they have not truly experienced disappointment in their actual lives. Yet no matter, for they are just playing for fun and making a name for themselves; this is truly what it all boils down to.
Now don't get me wrong, I ****in love video games. I probably enjoy Smash just as much as you do. I too find great pleasure in beating a good Pikachu to a bloody, yellow pulp using DK's merciless fists. Competition is fun AND its good for keeping the game going for an extended period of time. That said, do what you want to do. But don't preach to others and flame them if they don't happen to share your views. It's not constructive, it's whining. For those who answered yes, just remember that Brawl currently has the larger and fastest growing fanbase, hence this game will be where the money ends up despite the lack of technical skill and intensity. Im not qualified to claim which is better for official competitive play (this is a competitive web site afterall, those seeking competition should just pursue where the competition actually is). Since you are most likely the ones who have defined competitive Smash as we know it, developing the game on an individual scale in the endless pursuit to overwhelm the competition for the greatness that is victory, truly you are the best (if only) qualified personnel to make an official decision. Everyone else can do what they want and STILL find the initiative, namely money and competition, to encourage them to continue playing their video game.
God speed my friends. God speed.
