How do you see the future of competitive SSBM?

[ProMeleeFighter]

Hello, wanted to ask you as you see the future of competitive SSBM: tournaments, KDD ... etc.
Another question, do you think that next year will again SSBM on the EVO?
Thank you.

 

[Comatose]

I can't remember where I saw this but I remember reading something about the EVO staff expressing interest in having melee back next year. I mean, it not only had a large number of entrants, but broke the EVO record for most viewers on stream! With that many viewers, and that much interest, I can only see the community growing. The only problems I foresee are the lack of discs, cubes, and controllers that will inevitably befall the community.

 

[lordvaati]

I see it doing quite well in the future, especially since some people on the outside(yours truly included ) are looking forward to the next game.

my only thing is though: if the big N does release remakes/eShop downloads of GC games by then(one of which would most certainly be this) would that be the one they used since it would run on HDTVs? and on the subject of Nintendo, due to the positive response of Melee at EVO, promotion of the upcoming Smash 4, and Iwata's plans of trying to connect to the western audience, would they try to become a true EVO partner next time?

 

[Naota21t]

Evo is pretty much a lock at this point if you ask anyone just due to stream numbers.

The growth of the community is dependent on what nintendo does and the direction people take this game in the meta. I feel the community is overall getting extremely technical and that's going to bring out a lot of different approaches at the game.

 

[Pi]

our game is money for evo
evo is exposure for our game

 

[KishPrime]

It's only a lock for Evo if Nintendo changes its viewpoints on some very long-held core beliefs. It is possible that Evo was a turning point for Nintendo. It's also possible that Legal and PR get on the same page and realize, oh crap, we screwed up on this one so let's nail the next one way earlier before there's any momentum behind it.

We can't say. As long as Nintendo is unclear on this, the ultimate potential of the game is capped.

 

[crush]

i hate to say it but melee will probably die out within the year. after melee dies smash four might last a couple months but after that competitive smash will pretty much be dead

 

[MikeHaggarTHAKJB]

i hate to say it but melee will probably die out within the year. after melee dies smash four might last a couple months but after that competitive smash will pretty much be dead

LMFAO HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA

 

[Naota21t]

As long as CA is around melee will always be alive.

 

[pokemongeof]

The future looks bright for melee! With 64 still being around, imagine how much further melee will get. Although Smash 4 will be hype. i don't think it will be enough to destroy the melee community. We've gone too far to forget the 2001 phenomenon. With EVO and more in the future, Melee will be livin!

 

[KrIsP!]

i hate to say it but melee will probably die out within the year. after melee dies smash four might last a couple months but after that competitive smash will pretty much be dead

I wholeheartedly agree with crush. We were the first game to survive a decade but no other game has survived 13 years, surely we can't do that.

Seriously though, nothing will happen until smash 4 comes out, then people decide which game they want to play based on gameplay and community. As for Evo I think it's up to nintendos stance, I think they'll ask for melee back and then take smash 4 for one year.

 

[lordvaati]

we're the 3rd, actually.

these 2 also hit the decade mark.(though MvC2 is probably dead now.)

 

[KrIsP!]

What I meant was without a decline. The community for those games don't stand out over their sequels the way we are with brawl, pretty much even.

 

[Hax]

Fox and Falco

 

[JKJ]

i hate to say it but melee will probably die out within the year. after melee dies smash four might last a couple months but after that competitive smash will pretty much be dead

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Does_not_compute

 

[SacaSuMoto]

On the local level it should be fine, I do not think people mind going to locals with 10-30 people. This is because the hosts are usually melee players themselves and/or doing it for the locals more than anything else.

I feel like on the National level... melee will be drained for all it's worth. National tournaments are expensive for the hosts, the price goes to the players, and the players also have to pay for travel and housing which can get pricey. If there are consistent number of supposedly national tournaments... then the number of entrants will start to lessen. Which might result in the hosts not thinking melee is worth the effort, if the numbers (money) aren't there.

edit: (We are already being exploited with all these designs for T-shirts #mang0nation)

 

[Double Helix]

I am pretty sure that Mr. Wizard said that in order for Melee to come back, Nintendo has to want it back. I don't really see how this game will die anytime soon. I know that in America it won't anyways, because we have at least a few areas that have a lot of people that play. As far as the national tournaments costing a lot, we may just decrease the number of nationals. It would be pretty cool if we could expand internationally though because a lot of Europe doesn't seem to have big scenes (though I could be wrong). As long as there are people to play against and a metagame to advance Melee should be fine, because honestly, I think that, with the exception of Fox and MAYBE Falco, low-tiers have a LOT of development to go before reaching their potential. Mewtwo, Yoshi, Ness, Pika, and Link seem to be having huge pushes by SOMEBODY. Taj, Vman/Amsa, Mofo, Axe, and Mofat are the ones I can think of for the Low tiers and I guess Pika is mid-tier. Anyways, I think that players like Ken, Mango, Armada, Axe, Shroomed, Mofo, Taj, Vman, and Hax, to name a few, have shown us that these characters are not done evolving. Plus this game gets so much hype from viewers. Its fast, technical, and there are many intricacies to it that many fighters do not have to deal with, like stages.

tl;dr: The characters can be pushed much further, and the fanbase has room to grow now that the FGC is showing some respect.

 

[Zodiac]

When brawl came out a lot of people said "Goodbye melee, we had a good seven years together." and "I guess Melee had to die sometime.".........6 years later.

 

[bearsfan092]

National tournaments are expensive for the hosts, the price goes to the players, and the players also have to pay for travel and housing which can get pricey.

So... how is this situation different than the current day?

If there are consistent number of supposedly national tournaments... then the number of entrants will start to lessen. Which might result in the hosts not thinking melee is worth the effort, if the numbers (money) aren't there.

Which basically assumes the numbers will die when a new game comes out. They took a dip when Brawl came out, but then they came back. I think the dip is going to be less this time since we got fooled the first time around. People are going to judge smash 4 much more critically, which will most likely slow any migration.

 

[strawhats]

The future looks bright for melee! With 64 still being around, imagine how much further melee will get. Although Smash 4 will be hype. i don't think it will be enough to destroy the melee community. We've gone too far to forget the 2001 phenomenon. With EVO and more in the future, Melee will be livin!

not only that, but kids like you and ryobeat have just started playing melee within the last year or so...if i were you I'd do everything possible to expand the life expectancy of this game (invite a friend or two to play melee). I know it would suck so much for the younger players who have just began to involve themselves with the community only to be told, "Welp thats the end of that...R.I.P Melee". Smash 4 imo aint gonna be wat finishes the melee community. If anything it will be lack of setups/cubes/project M maybe.

 

[Kadano]

The future of Melee?
Playing it on computers with a direct brain–computer interface on either OLED monitors with no noticeable lag or an eye–computer connection.

Until then, CRTs, GCs and GCCs will surely last.

 

[SacaSuMoto]

So... how is this situation different than the current day?

"are" not "will be", different tense.

Which basically assumes the numbers will die when a new game comes out. They took a dip when Brawl came out, but then they came back. I think the dip is going to be less this time since we got fooled the first time around. People are going to judge smash 4 much more critically, which will most likely slow any migration.

Not what i'm assuming or what i'm talking about.

Right now it seems like there is going to a push for melee to have more BIG tourneys and get more exposure.

Going to national tourneys is expensive enough for people that go to one do not go to the next few. I'm arguing that there isn't and will not be enough melee members (increasing or decreasing) to support a healthy rotation of players going to nationals, especially if there is a growing amount of nationals back to back. The amount of national tournaments for melee per year should remain low and spread out so that there is no draining of the players' wallets and they have time to replenish their funds for the next one.

The current hype train for melee will decline and revert to what we had before EVO. (and a national scene does not reflect 100% the strength of the local scene)

 

[Bones0]

It depends on how many ****ing scrubs switch to Smash 4 because it's more popular and easier to become good at.

Spoiler

"But Bones, Smash 4 hasn't even come out yet. How do you know it will be easier than Melee?"

*****, STFU.

 

[007-jake]

Hmm, the price issue of traveling to nationals is an interesting one. On one hand, as the community gets older, so do the players, which means (hopefully) they have better jobs and more money to do such traveling. On the other hand, as they get older, they have to pay for more things like bills and child support lollol. I think there should be like 2 or 3 (at most) big national tournaments, kind of like the grand slams of tennis. But back to the topic, I highly doubt Melee will die anytime within the next 3 years. The release of the smash documentary should also generate some hype/insight and draw in more players.

 

[KrIsP!]

When brawl came out a lot of people said "Goodbye melee, we had a good seven years together." and "I guess Melee had to die sometime.".........6 years later.

Lol "goodbye melee we had a good 7 years" ...7 years later smash 4 comes out "goodbye melee we had a good 14 years."

 

[OH Rob]

There's talk in the MIOM Facebook group of getting into MLG, mostly MLG looking for lagless options/converters to avoid having to bring around CRTs. If they're talking logistics about it then I think they're seriously considering picking it up. If MLG picks it up, we show up and bring in viewership for them, then it's entirely possible we have a few more good years of competitive Melee.

 

[SacaSuMoto]

I am bumping this now that some time has passed and a lot of the EVO hype has lessened. I think it would be a good time to reflect on how each region has been doing and see how they feel about the question now.

things are looking strong for SoCal

 

[Jeapie]

I want a bigger scene in Europe

 

[Bones0]

I want a bigger scene in Europe

Europeans should really work on recruiting new players. I've always thought it was a bit weird that Europe's scene was so small since it seems so much easier to travel there. I guess it can mostly be attributed to MLG being a driving force early on in the US, but I frequently hear about how Europe has tons of free public trains, buses, etc., and that makes a huge difference for people in the States who live in the middle of nowhere and can't afford to travel all the time.

 

[Mahie]

First of all, nothing is free, second, it's different countries and people don't travel about that easily!

It'd be nice if new players were recruited. How is more of the issue.

 

[Bones0]

First of all, nothing is free, second, it's different countries and people don't travel about that easily!

It'd be nice if new players were recruited. How is more of the issue.

You don't have ANY free transportation? It's at the very least more affordable than travel in the US. And yeah, I understand there are multiple countries (I can imagine language barriers sometimes preventing problems), but I was mainly talking about travel within countries. So like, not every Smasher needs their own car to get to a tournament as is often the case in the US.

If you want to recruit players, you simply need to reach out to friends and acquaintances and introduce them to the concept of competitive Melee. If you play other competitive games, it can often be easier to get players already familiar with competitive gaming to start watching Melee matches or attending tournaments depending on how interested they initially are.

 

[Mahie]

I can't speak for every country in Europe because I don't have that kind of knowledge. Travelling within France is fairly expensive but I don't know if it's more or less expensive than in other places. It's still expensive though.

 

[Bones0]

I can't speak for every country in Europe because I don't have that kind of knowledge. Travelling within France is fairly expensive but I don't know if it's more or less expensive than in other places. It's still expensive though.

That surprises me; good to know though.

 

[Kadano]

My local scene is ~20 man strong. Vienna is the only active city in Austria. Considering I’m only ranked ~6. here, there is still a lot I can improve here. The incentive to pay ~80€+ to travel to other countries just isn’t that high yet for me.

Edit: The problem (at least in Austria and Germany) is not lack of players; if all motivated players attended a national tournament, we would be about 200 players (Melee only). The problem is lack of good, large and cheap venues and traveling expenses.

 

[Jeapie]

You don't have ANY free transportation? It's at the very least more affordable than travel in the US. And yeah, I understand there are multiple countries (I can imagine language barriers sometimes preventing problems), but I was mainly talking about travel within countries. So like, not every Smasher needs their own car to get to a tournament as is often the case in the US.

If you want to recruit players, you simply need to reach out to friends and acquaintances and introduce them to the concept of competitive Melee. If you play other competitive games, it can often be easier to get players already familiar with competitive gaming to start watching Melee matches or attending tournaments depending on how interested they initially are.

I think i speak for alot of people when i say they are recruiting new people/friends, only they are not willing to travel to tournaments. Thats the main problem, atleast to the people i am `recruiting` it is.

We need a solid way to advertise our game on social networking. France is doing great though in mine opinion! And we ( The Netherlands ) have some new players attending the recent Avalon tournaments which is awesome. Now we just need them to stick around and ask their friends to come too!

 

[Bones0]

If you have someone on the fence about attending a tournaments, showing them The Smash Brothers could definitely give them that extra motivation. A better social network setup could definitely help, and I think tutorial vids would also make people more hopeful about being able to catch up to the metagame. I think a lot of people see top level Melee and find it fascinating, but then they assume that top level is too far out of their reach to bother attending events and improving.

 

[Jeapie]

Yeah Bones. I`ll definently keep pushing my mates to go to tournaments

 

[Pox]

As a new player in competitive Smash, there's a couple of things that make it difficult to pursue...

First, it's hard to find practice partners at convenient times. I play with 3 pals of mine and we're all at, basically, the same skill level. I also play with 2 other guys who are common tourney attenders and are much better than me and my other friends. It's nice to play with people who are better than us because we're forced to apply our best technical skills on them. We usually just get butt-brawled, but it's good experience.
These full group meetups, until very recently, have been really rare though. And practice has just been hard to get in against COMs...

Second, is that transportation IS a *****. Even within state. Not many Smashers seem to have the means for transportation. Within my group of 6, we've got 2 cars between us. And it's difficult as a new player to go through the effort of getting all the transportation for a tourney that 4/6 of us know we wont make it past MAYBE the first round.

I think that if the Melee community wants to get new players involved in a competitive way, then the easiest solution is for the more experienced smashers to host house tourneys and Smash meet-ups, even if just for 8 people. It gives people like me an opportunity to actually learn from people with more skill and not have to worry about wasting your time getting obliterated in round one.

 

[milligraham]

I think melee has the potential for a bright, long lasting future. Things like EVO 2013 and the Smash Brothers documentary show how passionate this community is. It also shows that there is a strong, enduring/re-ignited/new interest in the game from so many people. To me it looks like the melee community is only growing during this time not shrinking.

EDIT: Smash 4 might take away some players or slow the growth, but I don't expect it to pose a threat to melee. Smash 4 might even be a stepping stone to melee for some new players.

 

[pokemongeof]

I change my mind

I am the future of smash. Cause im the legend