How popular are team battles?

[Pippin (Peregrin Took)]

With 2v2 and possibly 4v4 on the Wii U version, I wonder how popular team battles actually are. I remember in the height of Melee's popularity there was the Husband + Wife team but didn't they also play singles?

Personally I find teams much better than singles. I enjoy the comraderie and having someone to help cover some of my mistakes (hopefully they are getting less and less), and I've been much more consistent in winning For Glory Team Battles. I'd like to, after really getting good at the game, offer myself as a fill-in teammate if anyone needs one but how many offers would I actually get if most people are playing 1v1?

 

[deepseadiva]

Teams are very popular.

 

[TheBuzzSaw]

Competitively speaking, doubles format has a number of problems. First off, it cuts the number of entrants in half. So, a tournament with 50 singles players can only end up with 25 teams. This reduces the size of the winnings, and it is further reduced by the fact that you have to split the winnings with your teammate. On top of all this, it is Yet Another Bracket the TO has to take care of, so doubles is dropped from many events due to time constraints. (I also see it dropped due to lack of participation. Even if 50 players show up, sometimes only about 10 teams form.)

This is not to bag on team battles. It is a great format. It requires a very different mindset and skill set from singles. The possibilities are much greater. Low tier characters become much more viable as they bring their unique abilities to a cohesive team instead of having to do battle with their own weaknesses. I would love to see more 2v2 events happen.

 

[Pippin (Peregrin Took)]

Competitively speaking, doubles format has a number of problems. First off, it cuts the number of entrants in half. So, a tournament with 50 singles players can only end up with 25 teams. This reduces the size of the winnings, and it is further reduced by the fact that you have to split the winnings with your teammate. On top of all this, it is Yet Another Bracket the TO has to take care of, so doubles is dropped from many events due to time constraints. (I also see it dropped due to lack of participation. Even if 50 players show up, sometimes only about 10 teams form.)

This is not to bag on team battles. It is a great format. It requires a very different mindset and skill set from singles. The possibilities are much greater. Low tier characters become much more viable as they bring their unique abilities to a cohesive team instead of having to do battle with their own weaknesses. I would love to see more 2v2 events happen.

Hopefully with some more awareness we can make that into a reality. I guess it's because I've been around smash as a party game since the N64 days but it seems to me that it's meant to be played with more than just two people - any fighting game can do that. You bring up some valid points when it comes to the drawbacks. Maybe a teams-only event once in a while to keep the TO sane?