Nintendo Live 2023 WILL Have Super Smash Bros. Ultimate!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Unfortunately, it's a terrible way.

We saw Nintendo Live 2023 introduced a couple of months ago as a Seattle-based four-day event “featuring videogames to play, a live stage with performances and acts, photo opportunities in the Nintendo-themed environment, and competitive tournaments.” (Note there won't be product announcements.) All of those things are still true. We then learned that access to Nintendo Live 2023 is based on a lottery system, which is terrible. But not only is it an RNG-based mission to get access, but you'll only get access for one day, and you only have the chance to win one ticket. It's not something you can plan ahead for, at least not cost-efficiently.

But you CAN try to plan around picking which day you can try to win access to, because Nintendo has revealed that not only is registration open now, but they've said what happens on each day. And most importantly, I was partially too hasty when I previously wrote, “I think if they won't do a tournament for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with Nintendo Live, they are never going to sponsor another Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament ever again. Rest in peace.”

Yes, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will have not one, but TWO events during Nintendo Live: One on September 1 (Friday) and the other on September 3 (Sunday). But both are...uh... non-traditional.

On Friday, there will be the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Squad Strike Challenge 2023. This will be a best-of-three single-elimination tournament for only 256 participants. Each tag-team squad, controlled by one person 13-and-up, consists of three fighters. Your prize will be a trophy and a coin. The stages (with hazards on) are random from a list including some real sucky ones like Mushroom Kingdom U. While the Final Smash metre will be off, there are also Low Items featuring crippling things like Screw Attack, Smash Ball, Home-Run Bat, Drill, and Bob-omb.

My hypothetical squad would be my three mains: Jigglypuff, myself, and King Bowser.

The tag team ruleset means that your three characters all act as one stock in the same match. That means when my Jigglypuff gets KO'd, I respawn as Ludwig instead of respawning as Jigglypuff. It'd end when all three of the opponent's stocks are gone.

As for Sunday's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo + me Exhibition 2023, you must be 10 to 16 years young to enter, so I'd be barred. (If KoopaTV was a person, KoopaTV could enter, though.) Only 64 entrants are allowed in, which sounds troublesome when there'll probably be hundreds of people trying to enter. The amiibo + me in the title is a reference to how matches are doubles battles with the player and their amiibo on the same team in a single-elimination best-of-3 bracket. The fights are on any random stage, with items, with Final Smash metre, and with three stocks. It sounds miserable, and it requires dealing with amiibo jank.

All of the final tournament events will be livestreamed, probably on Nintendo's Twitch account. I guess I'll watch. But I'm not even gonna bother trying to get into Nintendo Live.

Ah, but congratulations to Team Starburst and Team Jackpot. They get to stick around Nintendo Live the whole time because they won the Splatoon 3 Championship 2023 Qualifier Event #1. You can win Event #2...this weekend!

Did you know that ReedPop is giving away 5,000 passes to PAX West attendees to attend Nintendo Live for one day? And that is on top of Nintendo's own passes to give out of an unknown quantity. Good luck entering these tournaments even if you want to be there. ...Do you?


There is now a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate event offering tickets to Nintendo Live 2023. Unfortunately, there's a catch or two.