Melee Will Return For CEO 2015, Project M Dropped, Smash 4 Likely

[TewnLeenk]

In a recent Facebook update, Alex Jebailey, the creator of CEO Gaming, confirmed that Super Smash Bros Melee will return to the list of games for CEO 2015. On his Facebook post he said:

"If you attended CEO 2014, Thank You. Just wanted to let everyone know Melee will 100% return to CEO 2015 thanks to everyone's awesome support last year. Also letting you know now you're getting a bigger ballroom than you had last year. This room is nearly twice the size of the ballroom Smash was in at 2014 and were at the same awesome Wyndham Venue again. So welcome back and hope to see you all on June 26-28."
​

In the Facebook comments, he was asked if there was any news about Project M, to which he responded :

"As of now it unfortunately will not be in any official capacity. Smash 4 will most likely be added as well so running 3 smash games at an event with 8+ other games wouldn't work well cause of resources and time."
​

The post made by Alex Jebailey can be viewed here.

CEO 2015 will be held from June 26th to June 28th, 2015 at the Wyndham Orlando Resort International Drive in Orlando, Florida. The event's page can be viewed here.

TewnLeenk is a writer for Smashboards. Follow and chat with him on Twitter @TewnLeenk.

 

[LiteralGrill]

This is very sad to see, especially with Apex not running Project M as well. Hopefully other large events won't just start dropping it, there are serious fans for this game and they deserve to see their games on a big stage.

 

[MegaMissingno]

Sigh. I'm really starting to worry about the future of this game.

 

[Jahnathan]

Now before everyone gets upset, you have to understand that these people are trying to make money. If they have to choose between Project M and Smash 4, they're going to choose the one that will make them more money.

 

[-LzR-]

Seeing Project M being dropped out really makes my day.

 

[GameGuys]

wow that sucks for them

 

[THK]

Sad to see but considering all the other games something had to go in the interest of time. And if I were a TO, I'd pick PM in the grand scheme of things.

 

[rolfcopter]

Project M is a mod

 

[Deleted member]

Project RIP

 

[mrpillowcase]

Not surprised that P:M won't be there, as they want Nintendo to sponsor it, and with Apex dropping it, P:M is losing it's presence. Still super excited for Melee and Smash 4!

 

[DrLobster]

I'm glad that the folks at CEO are being clear about their reasoning as to why they dropped Project M. At least they are flat out saying that they don't have the resources to manage 3 Smash games instead of leaving it up in the open to cause another potential uproar.

 

[MegaMissingno]

Seeing Project M being dropped out really makes my day.

Why the hell would you say something like that? Screw the things you like too then.

 

[Pikmin1211]

Arrgh, just as we get 3.5 too. I really hope we can see PM elsewhere. At least they told us why they're not running it though.

 

[2ndComing]

I feel for all you PM players. I am not that into it honestly but I like watching it and to see it dropped from Apex and now CEO just sucks man.

Keep hope alive and don't give up on your game. Look to the future guys.

 

[Crome]

I'm glad that the folks at CEO are being clear about their reasoning as to why they dropped Project M. At least they are flat out saying that they don't have the resources to manage 3 Smash games instead of leaving it up in the open to cause another potential uproar.

Gotta agree. It's sad and I hope theyll try it again eventually, but giving us a reason is a huge plus.

 

[Drover]

I think Project M is coming to and end. Soon I think they will make a last and final version. They have to make room for the new I guess.

 

[Crome]

I think Project M is coming to and end. Soon I think they will make a last and final version. They have to make room for the new I guess.

now I wouldn't say that. I'm sure most big tourneys are gonna push PM aside for 4, but as soon as the hype dies it'll go back to Melee+PM.

 

[EmblemCrossing]

I'll never get why people are so pleased with themselves to see PM dropped from major tournaments. I don't care for Brawl anymore, but you wouldn't see me going "ha sucks for those people lol play a better game" because that's rude.

Lots of people love Project M from a competitive standpoint. If you don't, that's cool, don't play it. But give the people who love it a break. I recently got into competitive smash because of PM, and the crowd that plays it doesn't consider it to be a mod anymore, it's evolved into its own game with its own scene. Stick to your own game, thanks.

//end rant

 

[Hellrazor]

Just wait for 2016. PM won't die because a few tournaments dropped it in favor of the brand new game for only one year. It's always been on us from the beginning to keep our games standing, so just keep supporting it.

 

[NinthWonder]

Increased support from Nintendo will eventually lead to the destruction of P:M. As sad as that sounds, it's a possibility. If Nintendo continues to support major tournaments, it'll get to a point where all nationals drop it, at which point Nintendo will have enough influence to shut down the game.

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but it looks like it will either be cut or shrink to underground events.

 

[EpixAura]

The problem is that so many people see us as the "Smash community," and TO's don't want to only run games for the "Smash community." We aren't a community anymore. Smash 4 made sure of that. Smash 4 is hurting both PM and Melee as a game, and plenty of the members of the Smash 4 community and Melee/PM community are arguing over their games.
If Nintendo had released Smash 4 with the same type of promotion they've done for their past games, this wouldn't be a problem. Instead, they pretending to listen to our complaints about Brawl and the early versions of Smash 4. They invited primarily top level Melee players to the Smash 4 invitational at E3. They implied this game would be the middle ground we wanted, and while that would create tension among Smash fans, it would be fine.
But that isn't what happened. Smash 4 is not the middle ground, but the blatant exposure Smash 4 has gotten has made people believe it is. I legitimately believe that if Smash 4 had been released without pretending to care about the competitive community, it would've gone the same path as Brawl, but much, much sooner. I've seen far to many people say it has "fixed all of Brawl's problems," but never once have a seen any of them bother to elaborate.
Ever since Smash 4 came out, we haven't been the "Smash community" anymore, just like what happened with Brawl. In the last couple of years, when Melee and PM were the 2 main games for Smash by far, we were a community. The games coexisted, and as one grew, the other grew. Sure, there were some tensions between fans of the two games, but nothing serious. On the other hand, Smash 4 is clearly hurting the growth of PM, and even Melee fans are lashing out at it.
I'm glad CEO is giving a reason for their decision, and it's certainly understandable given that Smash 4 is the new game. However, exactly how long is it going to stay 'new?' This isn't a one time thing. Smash 4 is hurting the community because Nintendo couldn't stick by their word. They've already decided to stop doing balance patches in a metagame that you don't need to a research team to help you realize one character is dominating the rest of the cast.

Sorry for my admittedly biased rant. I could go back and make it seem neutral, but I simply don't want to. I'm legitimately upset, and I'd like that to be known. I'm already fighting the urge to explain each and every thing I dislike about Smash 4 as a competitive game. All bias aside though, it's hard to argue against the statement that the "Smash community" is no longer one community, and that Smash 4 has dealt a serious blow to it rather than helping it.

 

[Xermo]

P:M's certainly been getting the shaft recently.

 

[Vashimus]

And the snowball keeps tumbling.

 

[MegaMissingno]

#OneUnit is as real as the Easter Bunny. The most it's ever been was just us staying out of each others' way, and even that much is no longer the case. I think it'd be for the best if we stopped trying to even pretend there's one Smash Community rather than just self-interested players only looking out for #1.

 

[BlueXenon]

I know PM players are upset about this, but trash talking brawl or smash 4 will not help your case.

 

[Proobie44]

I had to check the calender to see if it was 2008 again. Sure enough it feels like it right now.

 

[GOLDENMOP]

Smash 4 seems to be taking priority over PM, and it's a huge disappointment. Like seriously what the heck. I am all for giving smash wii u a fair shot in the Competitve scene and quite frankly am sick of people dissing it, but if it is going to take priority over an already established and honestly, better competitive game, then I'm going to get sick of seeing it.

 

[NotAnAdmin]

PM is getting no more love it seems, that's not fair.
It's a great game, and deserves to be played just as much as the others.
Compared to Smash 4, it simply has better mechanics and the fanservice is like no other.

 

[Rocket Raccoon]

The problem is that so many people see us as the "Smash community," and TO's don't want to only run games for the "Smash community." We aren't a community anymore. Smash 4 made sure of that. Smash 4 is hurting both PM and Melee as a game, and plenty of the members of the Smash 4 community and Melee/PM community are arguing over their games.
If Nintendo had released Smash 4 with the same type of promotion they've done for their past games, this wouldn't be a problem. Instead, they pretending to listen to our complaints about Brawl and the early versions of Smash 4. They invited primarily top level Melee players to the Smash 4 invitational at E3. They implied this game would be the middle ground we wanted, and while that would create tension among Smash fans, it would be fine.
But that isn't what happened. Smash 4 is not the middle ground, but the blatant exposure Smash 4 has gotten has made people believe it is. I legitimately believe that if Smash 4 had been released without pretending to care about the competitive community, it would've gone the same path as Brawl, but much, much sooner. I've seen far to many people say it has "fixed all of Brawl's problems," but never once have a seen any of them bother to elaborate.
Ever since Smash 4 came out, we haven't been the "Smash community" anymore, just like what happened with Brawl. In the last couple of years, when Melee and PM were the 2 main games for Smash by far, we were a community. The games coexisted, and as one grew, the other grew. Sure, there were some tensions between fans of the two games, but nothing serious. On the other hand, Smash 4 is clearly hurting the growth of PM, and even Melee fans are lashing out at it.
I'm glad CEO is giving a reason for their decision, and it's certainly understandable given that Smash 4 is the new game. However, exactly how long is it going to stay 'new?' This isn't a one time thing. Smash 4 is hurting the community because Nintendo couldn't stick by their word. They've already decided to stop doing balance patches in a metagame that you don't need to a research team to help you realize one character is dominating the rest of the cast.

Sorry for my admittedly biased rant. I could go back and make it seem neutral, but I simply don't want to. I'm legitimately upset, and I'd like that to be known. I'm already fighting the urge to explain each and every thing I dislike about Smash 4 as a competitive game. All bias aside though, it's hard to argue against the statement that the "Smash community" is no longer one community, and that Smash 4 has dealt a serious blow to it rather than helping it.

How has Smash 4 hurt Melee? From what I've seen Melee is still the number one game with the most contestants anywhere

 

[LimitCrown]

I don't understand why a mod of a game should have more priority over a new game in the series.

 

[Deleted member]

Well, it was honestly obvious that the official games would take priority over the fan-made mods.

I'm interested in seeing how Smash 4 will do though. Melee had some remarkable hype last year, so let's see if Smash 4 will be able to convey the same atmosphere.

 

[TGT | Ghosty]

This is unfair. It's not Project M is shrinking, and now all these major Tournaments are dropping the game!

 

[ilysm]

Wow, this is a bit disappointing to see. I mean, I get Project M is a mod. But at worst it is a very good mod and at best it is an objectively better more balanced version of Melee. Not to badmouth Melee of course; Melee is great (though it's easy to notice that the tournament rosters are pretty samey and bland characterwise, at the risk of sounding like a '20XX' prophet-of-doom). I also adore Smash 4, and consider it an effective improvement to much of Brawl (it doesn't completely solve all of Brawl's problems but is pretty much objectively better in every regard). But something about this decision doesn't sit right with me.

I guess the sorry thing is that Project M, while it is at its most basic level a mod, is probably the most balanced (and thus competitively viable?) iteration of Smash Bros. thus far. It's a blast to play and a blast to watch. It showed real promise of a diverse competitive scene, and my hopes were that it would grow as big as Melee's, but things like this are really hurting its chances. Especially after 3.5, which really cleaned up toxic aspects of the game and made it leaner, meaner, and generally more toned and smooth. It's a little sad to see it tailing off like this and I would hate to see competitive PM dwindle and disappear.

It may be a little too early to say. Time will tell, but writing Project M off as 'just a mod' doesn't nearly do the mod itself or the developers who labored over it or the community who poured their hearts into it enough justice. PM is special because it's not an effort by a paid triple-a game development crew; it's an effort by a tremendous amount of (unpaid) people who truly are involved with, know, understand the ins and outs of, and fundamentally love the game. I hope to God it doesn't disappear.

 

[RIP_Lucas]

I'm not surprised. The hype of PM has been falling for a while. Most of my friends gave it up for Sm4sh.

I am sad, PM was fun, probably the MOST fun smash to watch, and I truly do believe it is in almost every way a better Melee (that said, I'm not a huge Melee fan), and this can only mean I'll be seeing less of it in the future

 

[Road Death Wheel]

The problem is that so many people see us as the "Smash community," and TO's don't want to only run games for the "Smash community." We aren't a community anymore. Smash 4 made sure of that. Smash 4 is hurting both PM and Melee as a game, and plenty of the members of the Smash 4 community and Melee/PM community are arguing over their games.
If Nintendo had released Smash 4 with the same type of promotion they've done for their past games, this wouldn't be a problem. Instead, they pretending to listen to our complaints about Brawl and the early versions of Smash 4. They invited primarily top level Melee players to the Smash 4 invitational at E3. They implied this game would be the middle ground we wanted, and while that would create tension among Smash fans, it would be fine.
But that isn't what happened. Smash 4 is not the middle ground, but the blatant exposure Smash 4 has gotten has made people believe it is. I legitimately believe that if Smash 4 had been released without pretending to care about the competitive community, it would've gone the same path as Brawl, but much, much sooner. I've seen far to many people say it has "fixed all of Brawl's problems," but never once have a seen any of them bother to elaborate.
Ever since Smash 4 came out, we haven't been the "Smash community" anymore, just like what happened with Brawl. In the last couple of years, when Melee and PM were the 2 main games for Smash by far, we were a community. The games coexisted, and as one grew, the other grew. Sure, there were some tensions between fans of the two games, but nothing serious. On the other hand, Smash 4 is clearly hurting the growth of PM, and even Melee fans are lashing out at it.
I'm glad CEO is giving a reason for their decision, and it's certainly understandable given that Smash 4 is the new game. However, exactly how long is it going to stay 'new?' This isn't a one time thing. Smash 4 is hurting the community because Nintendo couldn't stick by their word. They've already decided to stop doing balance patches in a metagame that you don't need to a research team to help you realize one character is dominating the rest of the cast.

Sorry for my admittedly biased rant. I could go back and make it seem neutral, but I simply don't want to. I'm legitimately upset, and I'd like that to be known. I'm already fighting the urge to explain each and every thing I dislike about Smash 4 as a competitive game. All bias aside though, it's hard to argue against the statement that the "Smash community" is no longer one community, and that Smash 4 has dealt a serious blow to it rather than helping it.

separation has been in this community since brawl. smash 4 did not do anything And yeah lots of competive players do like it. any ''blow'' the smash community is taking is by people flipping there **** about some tournys. last time i recall the smash 64 community was not throwing out death threats for not being at the come up. its great to have passion for ur game but litterally all ur doing is making a half asses excuse to why the smash community has been in shreads for the past 7 years. simply by saying ''smash 4 exist and i dont like it.''

Unlike brawl smash 4 rewards agression and pressure. if you dont like the way u have to play so be it but dont be pinning people who actually like the game into a corner by saying smash 4 is destroying our community and crap. all your doing is contibuting to this so called segregation.

 

[WindozeNT]

Now before everyone gets upset, you have to understand that these people are trying to make money. If they have to choose between Project M and Smash 4, they're going to choose the one that will make them more money.

 

[byebye]

on other news. SF5 will replace SF4 in major tournaments 2 years from now.

Tekken 7 will replace TTT2.

and Smash 4 will be replaced if not Smash 5, by 6 or 7 sometime in the future too.

Such is the truth in competitive FGs. Accept it, adapt and move on.
I can't see why there's so much issue with this.

 

[WhatisYourSchizm]

The smell of entitlement is real.

 

[RascalTheCharizard]

So have there been any plans to include PM at any upcoming big tournaments? We shouldn't focus on what we don't have and instead, what we can work with.

 

[Jimmology]

It's so sad to see this kind of thing happen to PM especially after how hard all the PMDT have worked to perfect their game. With smash 4 it seems like all people care about is money that comes with promoting it. Many new Youtube channels and other online celebrities have started streaming and creating a lot of gameplay videos for Smash 4 who would have never supported the community before. As much as I appreciate Nintendo for creating games that I love how can I keep respecting them if they're discouraging the use of a game that is the product of our community. I know Nintendo is a business and they have to have good promotions and sales to keep many people employed but why do their sales profits have to be at the expense of our communities well being?