Smashing the Competition

Today on esportsonline 2017 we will be discussing an esport that differs greatly in the way it is played compared to many other esports previously discussed. Super Smash Bros is typically a one versus one scenario play style where you must play your character to out skill the other player and knock them out of the arena. This is a radical change in the esports scene as this is the first non-team game that I will discuss as there are very few to begin with. Another very odd thing about this game is that depending on which tournament you watch or participate in you could end up playing one of three games; Super Smash Bros Melee, Super Smash Bros for the wii or Super Smash Bros for the Wii U. Each of the games offers a different array of characters to play, controls and abilities available, and what console you play on. Each of the games carries the same concept behind them they just came out at different times ranging between 2001 and present. Many people buy the new Nintendo consoles just to keep up with this game series as it is such an incredibly popular series that only Nintendo offers with over 5.5 million copies of the latest game being sold. Classifying this game would make the most sense by putting the game in the real-time strategy category and a one versus one (1v1). The game can be played with teams but rarely is as it is more fun to be pinned against one other player in a battle of wits and character strengths and trying to use those to fling your opponent into a glorious explosion on the side of the screen.

• Why do people play the Super Smash Bros series?

The greatest part of playing this series is being able to pick your favorite character from either a video game or some tv shows with characters including but not limited to; Kirby, Sonic the hedgehog, Mario, Luigi, Link and Zelda, Donkey Kong, Pikachu and many others. Another fun thing is being able to set up a tournament with your friends very easily and have a great time together just playing out a tournament at your friend’s house. A lot of games now a days you can just play online and you don’t need to go to your friends house to play it with them and to me this game makes that exception as it is so much fun to be able to just hang with your friends and play this game for hours on end. My personal favorite thing to do as a kid when I had a Wii was to settle disputes with my little brother this way as I would just tell him to play me in it and if I beat him I won the argument and if he won he would win the argument. The game is just a great game to play and have fun with friends as it does not have a competitive ladder and is just a great way to pass the time.

• What makes the series an esport?

Once again this is not the most epic or glorious esport that just reigns over them all and has an infinite pool of money to pull from to fund their tournaments just like Rocket League. There are dedicated pro “teams” or just pros I suppose that do make a living streaming the game and going to tournaments, but it is much harder to make a living off of this game than some of the other games I have previously discussed. The best part of this is very similar as Rocket league and watching the pros being able to do all the fancy tricks and show off their knowledge of how to use the character they are most fond of and prove to their competitor they are the better of the two in the flashiest way possible. The game is incredibly fun to watch especially when they play the cool characters like Mario and can be found on twitch.tv and a few other streaming sources. I would like to leave you guys with a peak into the unique esport atmosphere with this video. I think that this video really highlights how far the game has come and what the esport is really about.

Overall, anyone that has a Nintendo device should pick up this game and just give it a try as it truly is a great amount of fun to have and play with your friends. I hope to see you all next time thanks for reading!