Before COVID-19, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate tournaments all happened in-person, which allowed the gaming community to thrive due to the increased social opportunities of being in person.
Last year, the pro Super Smash Bros. scene transitioned to an online format because of the pandemic. But with the introduction of a vaccine for the virus, it may soon be possible to return to an in-person format.
Competing in-person removes the need for decent wired internet, which can be accessed at sometimes unreasonable prices. It also removes the need to buy an adapter to connect the internet to the Nintendo Switch, the expensive handheld console Smash Bros. Ultimate is played on.
Not only is wired internet priced highly, but you must buy Nintendo Switch Online as well, which is a subscription required to play any online service on the console. This subscription, at the bare minimum, costs $19.99 a year.
This initial cost of entering online tournaments, alongside the constant spending needed to continue playing, has been taking a toll on competitor turnout. But that is not the only thing restricting online play for Smash Bros. tournaments.
The difference between online and in-person play goes beyond just the internet. When you go online, there’s a certain delay that is inescapable because signals must travel all the way to a game server, then to your opponent’s console and all the way back. For every button you press.
While multiple button command signals can travel through the at the same time, the distance between competitors guarantees some amount of delay, regardless of how good a competitor’s internet is. This factor has been what has prompted many competitors to turn away. This can be attributed to more specific issues of the game needing less skill to compete in as more factors, such as lag, are introduced.
One professional competitive player is Marss, who stopped going to tournaments in February 2020 because of all the extra factors of online play. Seven months after he stopped going to tournaments, he went to his first tournament online and had a fairly difficult time adjusting. He documented his struggles in a YouTube video.
One of the only good things that came out of online tournaments was the ease of access once you’ve purchased the online setup, along with the condition of ignoring the many other unavoidable downfalls of playing remotely. With online tournaments, you can play from your own home in a tournament based wherever you want because you don’t have to be in person.
But for many players the cost of playing online outweighs the benefits. Many would rather be competing in person where there is no lag or expensive equipment to deal with, not to mention the fact that socializing is necessary for someone’s sanity.
While the struggle of the scene going online has been an issue for the community, these issues may soon end with the COVID-19 vaccine rolling out quickly across the world, allowing players all over to compete in person with more confidence and safety. This would allow the Smash Bros scene to flourish again the way it did pre-pandemic.
Dylan Shepler can be reached at [email protected]