Opinions are chaotic. The smash 4 community is caught in a small, cramped room and everyone is yelling in order to achieve their own idea of order. And not only that but every person from the best player in the world to the kid who is about to step into his or her first tournament has a different idea of what’s right. But instead thinking of what we can do, they are afraid of what we can’t be.
For a moment I ask that you forget about how much you like or dislike Smash 4. There have been fights and arguments for weeks, but let’s put it aside for a minute. I know that this will be difficult for you, but for the sake of the moment you spend reading this I ask this one favor. Now take a deep breath and ask yourself, what’s really the problem?
In Dallas, Texas there’s a weekly tournament series for Smash 4 hosted by Tourney Locator. They pull in several thousand viewers each week due to their presentation, professionalism, and high level play. Custom moves are on. At APEX 2015 we saw the most defensive, slow paced matches in some of top 8 and yet the game saw upwards of 90k viewers. Northern California caps out 64 player tournaments on weeknights. MD/VA consistently pulls in thousands of viewers a week through VG Bootcamp. Vegas has nonstop DVDA’s that bring in out of state talent constantly. And although the community is split on the use of customs in tournament, EVO has over 1k confirmed entrants for this title that everyone is worried about. You may not subscribe to Smash 4’s kind of hype, but it’s obvious that there are people that do. With your feelings in your pocket and the facts on the table I’ll ask again, what’s really the problem?
A lack of longevity is a fear. Many think that the game wont succeed for long because players or viewers will get tired of [insert issue here] so Smash 4 will crash and burn, and then the critics will arrive with “I told you so’s” t-shirts worn proudly on their chests as we set fire to our copies of Smash 4 on a raft we send out into the sea. I’m sure that the thought is pleasing to some, and that’s okay. The only factor that decides the fate of the game is how much the players want to play it.
We’re wrapped up heavily in the politics of a game when in honesty people just want to see the game being played. We’re so used to being focused on how to make this or that more appealing to others because of the history of Brawl when we’re doing just fine with how things are. Tournament numbers are high, viewership is solid and growing, and people are having fun playing what they enjoy. Trying to turn the game into something that it isn’t is only hurting it’s natural growth. What’s making this hard is the huge amount of complaining about things that cannot be changed. You cannot change that people like or dislike customs. You cannot change that people like or dislike this game. But what you can change is your attitude. If you want the game to succeed, play it. Provide people with a place to do the same. Be the positive influence that the general smash community is known for. For those who are mad or afraid or torn on how they feel, just relax and let things go where they’re going to go. The fighting is only pushing the future of this game into exactly what you fear. I think that many forget, this game isn’t watched or played only within the competitive community. People across the world love this game for what it is, and they wont stop watching or loving the game regardless of what we do.
Here’s a simple call to action. Play the game. Stop worrying about the politics because they will work themselves out in time. The more objective we become as a community, the better we will become at making political decisions. To top players and popular voices, realize how strong your opinions are to the public right now. There are no true leaders right now so what you say is taken heavily into account. A lot of players are new and a decent number moved over from previous titles, but we’re something different from anything that has come before this. There is no history here. We choose what happens next, each one of us.
” At APEX 2015 we saw the most defensive, slow paced matches in some of top 8 and yet the game saw upwards of 90k viewers”
and apparently those views had nothing to do with people waiting for melee and the hype 1k money match announced just one night before. I’m not even a smash 4 hater but let’s not kid ourselves here and pretend like melee didn’t help boost its viewership significantly that night
Maybe the melee viewers did boost viewer numbers. I don’t see how it’s relevant. The majority were there to see Smash 4.
im pretty sure 75 percent were just waiting for melee
quote
“The more objective we become as a community, the better we will become at making political decisions.”
Objectively, if somebody can please confirm, i read only a quoted 15-20% cross-entry for attendants at Apex between Smash 4 and Melee. That’s *hundreds* of entrants, yes, but nowhere near *one thousand* that each respective title pulled for the event.
As for viewership? Who can really objectively state that those numbers reflect a desire to sit down and watch Smash 4?
Contextually, i’m one of those numbers counted towards viewership. While i had twitch open, I was actually watching the Super Bowl (and waiting for Mango v Leffen). i’m with Chris on his assessment (comment above).
Subjectively, you’ll have to take my word that I’m not hating on the title and its player base. Just please be careful when you claim my viewership towards sole desire to watch Smash 4 proceedings.