Nintendo World Championships 2015 – trophy revealed, why NES Remix, secret games and guests, more
An interview from Game Informer provides new insight into the Nintendo World Championships 2015. The site was able to speak with Nintendo Treehouse’s Erik Peterson, producer of the event, about a number of topics. Peterson revealed the tournament’s trophy, and spoke about things like games Nintendo is keeping secret for now, which seems to apply to some guests as well.
Continue on below for a number of comments from Peterson. Be sure to give Game Informer’s article a look here, too.
On whether this is something Nintendo could do every year, or if it’s a special occasion…
The last time we held a Nintendo World Championships event was in 1990, so this is obviously a huge moment for all of us and our fans. At E3 last year, we held the Super Smash Bros. Invitational, and we couldn’t have been happier with the response. So this year, we wanted to take things to the next level for our fans – and we thought, what better way celebrate our past and present than bringing back the Nintendo World Championships.
On a personal level, the Nintendo World Championships has always meant a lot to me. The last time it happened, I was like 11 years old. I was one of those kids reading about it in Nintendo Power and obsessing over every detail. I had no way to get there and be a part of it, so for me as an adult, the next best thing was to be a part of bringing it back.
On why NES Remix was chosen rather than the original consoles and cartridges…
Ultimate NES Remix on Nintendo 3DS was only used for our qualifying rounds at select Best Buy stores around the country. It was a fun nod to the original 1990 tournament, since we were using the game’s World Championship mode which included some of the games used in the original competition.
On June 14, The Nintendo World Championships will use eight different games, including Splatoon and The Legend of Zelda. Although we’ve already revealed these two games, we see the element of surprise as being important – we want to truly test the competitors’ skills by forcing them to adapt to the challenges we throw at them.
On what the winner will receive…
We’ve been keeping this a secret until now, but maybe this is a good time to reveal it. The winner will receive a trophy featuring a large gold-plated sculpture of Mario. A one of a kind event like the Nintendo World Championships deserves a one of a kind award, and we’re really pleased with how this turned out.
On how many people competed at the regional events…
We saw a great turnout from fans at our eight locations. Some actually competed in the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, and others were participating in their first ever video game competition. Ultimately, from those qualifiers we found eight skilled winners that we think will make the competition on June 14 really exciting.
On how Nintendo chose the invited competitors…
Very carefully. We spent a lot of time searching for some of the best and most prominent Nintendo gamers out there. We’re always watching videos and livestreams and looking for great Nintendo players and fans. We were really excited about what we found, and in all honesty, it wasn’t an easy selection process. But in the end, it feels really great to be able to extend the special invitation to our invited eight players and get them to LA to compete. It’s going to be quite a show.
On whether Nintendo is planning for the final event to be a game reveal, as it was in The Wizard…
We’re deliberately keeping some of the games secret to provide an additional challenge to our competitors and to make the show as fun as possible. That’s probably not the answer you were hoping for, but you’ll just have to watch to find out.
On whether The Wizard’s legacy help foster the decision to bring the tournament back, and if they reached out to anyone involved in the film…
The reaction to the event has been massive. It’s gotten us really excited to see how hyped everyone is about the tournament—a lot of which comes from both the history and legacy of the Nintendo World Championships and the love of The Wizard. As far as who might be there –you know I can’t answer that! But I will say we have some fun treats in store. And for everyone in the LA area, I just want you to know you can attend the event in person at LA Live – tickets are free and you don’t need an E3 pass. Everyone else can tune in to our Twitch or YouTube channels to watch live. We’re starting with a pre-tournament Treehouse: Live at 2:35 p.m. PT, and the main event starts at 3 p.m. PT.
