Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma had just come off a long tournament run of beating some of the best in Super Smash Bros. Melee when he took to the stage for a winner’s interview. Debiedma used the opportunity to hold an impassioned rally for the grassroots that makes Smash happen, with choice words for a “certain company”.
Image credit: Smash ‘N’ Splash 3, Twitch
Coming off a strenuous grand finals at Smash ‘N’ Splash 3, his opponent from the loser’s bracket, William “Leffen” Hjelte, took him to the final set, where Debiedma secured a 3-1 win. It was a late night in the Wisconsin Dells, and when he took the stage, Debiedma had some things to say about the Smash community.
“I’m happy for ya, but now we gotta nuke the VOD because you said the F-word twice,” said the host. Debiedma took the mic back.
“Listen, we’re not supposed to be this friendly old esports community, we came here from the gutter ourselves. We can say whatever the damn hell we want,” said Debiedma.
Riling up the crowd further, Debiedma calls out the lack of support the game has supposedly received from its publisher. Nintendo doesn’t support the Smash scene like other publishers (Capcom, for instance) do, and even creator Masahiro Sakurai has been slow to accept his game has a competitive following.
“A certain company that acknowledges us but refuses to push us, I hope you’re listening right now, because I want you to hear this,” said Debiedma. “I want you to hear the amount of people who support this league, the amount of people who want this to be a lifestyle for people. This is not just a video game, this is a lifestyle.”
The winner closed out his speech by thanking those who came out to watch and play Super Smash Bros., and the community who had backed the event.
“If you go 0 and 2 in events, if you come just for the idea, the fact that you love watching this, you mean the fucking world to me,” said Debiedma. “You’ve changed my life. Thank you.”
Comments
5 responses to “Smash Pro’s Tournament Victory Speech Calls Out Nintendo”
Wow, entitled much? Nintendo made the game. Without them, there would be no Smash tournaments.
They have no obligation to throw their support behind a tournament scene that grew up independently and was not part of their marketing/development strategy, and to criticise them for it… when you wouldn’t be in the position to do so, if it wasn’t for the fact THEY CREATED THE GAME IN THE FIRST PLACE …. is the epitome of whiny brat entitlement.
Nintendo is a company. We don’t owe them anything as consumers. We buy products because we want to spend our valuable time on their product. Nintendo has always been very reluctent to care about online or competitive gaming unlike the other companies. The thing is, these strategies are win-win situations. That’s why we’re so frustrated.
Also please stop sucking their penis, just because you’re the creator doesn’t mean you should rule your fans with an iron fist. That’s the epitome of a whiny brat. Don’t like it? Don’t create games for PROFIT.
Really not sure what your point is. You want Nintendo to do something they’ve never expressed any interest in doing. They never promoted smash bros as a tournament game. To get upset because they then don’t support people who decide to use the game in tournaments is being a whiny brat.
If you want to run tournaments using a game made by a company that promotes the tournament scene, choose one of the many games and companies that does.
That’s not Nintendo ruling their fans with an iron fist. If they banned smash bros being used in tournaments, sure. But they’re not.
They don’t profit from people playing a years old game in tournaments that they make no money from.
You are literally going “Wah Wah Wah, we want you to do what we want”. That is by any definition being a whiny brat. Sorry, but no matter how much you scream about penises and other companies, you are still a whiny brat.
It’s a fucking GameCube game. What CAN Nintendo do?
The competitive scene and esports is just cringey as hell. No buddy, it’s a video game, not a lifestyle.