Who will be the Elite Eight to join the Sweet Sixteen in Los Angeles?
The format and locations have been announced for qualification to the 2015 Nintendo World Championship.
The qualifiers will be based on performance in a special Championship Mode of Ultimate NES Remix for the 3DS, specifically using Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3 and Dr Mario. Eight Best Buy stores will hold events on May 30 from 10am to 7pm local time, with the high scorers joining eight special guests for a wider tournament on June 14.
The cities holding the events are:
I don't know how things worked in the past, but details for this event are underwhelming.
The Nintendo World Championships had three separate age groups (11 and under, 12-17, and 18 and over). The city contests were held over the weekend and began on Friday afternoon and ended on Sunday night. Over three days, players qualified for the semi-finals over two rounds. The first round a player had to score at least 175,000 points in the "Pods" area. To qualify for the semi-finals held on Sunday night, contestants had to play on a seven player stage and score at least 200,000 points.
On Sunday night, the semi-finalists were divided by age group, and each semi-finalists group played in the "Pods". At most, 100 could play at a time. The top seven scorers from each age group then played in a final round on stage while Terry Lee Torok, Steve Werner and John Michael Phane moderated play by play to the crowd. Out of the seven scores, the top two scorers played head-to-head for City Champion.
The finalist won a trophy, $250, and a trip for two to the World Finals at Universal Studios Hollywood. The runner-up won a Nintendo Power Pad and a Game Boy.
The world finals were conducted similarly to the city contests and were located at Universal Studios Hollywood. Each age group's thirty finalists played one round for the top seven positions. The 18 and over group played first, followed by the 11 and under, and completed with the 12-17 age group. Each age group's top seven played and the two top scores played head-to-head for the age group title.
You guys do realise that, regardless of what the name suggests, the Nintendo World Championship is not a legitimate event but rather a glorified PR exhibition for Nintendo products, right?
... glorified PR ...
"Boy in 1990 they sure did this way better!" I agree but are you surprised that 2015 Nintendo does things worse than 1990 Nintendo? Different people were involved back then. If anything those years are almost like polar opposites in terms of Nintendo's cultural relevance.
In a funny way you could say that they're going to less cities because it's the Wii U which is so far removed from the NES in popularity that a smaller scale tournament almost makes sense. Seriously though in 1990 Nintendo was such a cultural phenomenon with kids that the market was practically begging for such an event. In 2015 this exists entirely as a promotion to attract attention at E3 during a time where Nintendo matters so little that they need all the help they can get.
"Boy in 1990 they sure did this way better!" I agree but are you surprised that 2015 Nintendo does things worse than 1990 Nintendo? Different people were involved back then. If anything those years are almost like polar opposites in terms of Nintendo's cultural relevance.
In a funny way you could say that they're going to less cities because it's the Wii U which is so far removed from the NES in popularity that a smaller scale tournament almost makes sense. Seriously though in 1990 Nintendo was such a cultural phenomenon with kids that the market was practically begging for such an event. In 2015 this exists entirely as a promotion to attract attention at E3 during a time where Nintendo matters so little that they need all the help they can get.
I'm going to go ahead and dispute your argument that the 1990 version of the Nintendo World Championships were any less a glorified ad campaign. Many, MANY companies use tournaments or competitions as a means of selling their product, Nintendo 25 years ago isn't any less motivated by profit than they are today.
"Boy in 1990 they sure did this way better!" I agree but are you surprised that 2015 Nintendo does things worse than 1990 Nintendo? Different people were involved back then. If anything those years are almost like polar opposites in terms of Nintendo's cultural relevance.
In a funny way you could say that they're going to less cities because it's the Wii U which is so far removed from the NES in popularity that a smaller scale tournament almost makes sense. Seriously though in 1990 Nintendo was such a cultural phenomenon with kids that the market was practically begging for such an event. In 2015 this exists entirely as a promotion to attract attention at E3 during a time where Nintendo matters so little that they need all the help they can get.
I'm going to go ahead and dispute your argument that the 1990 version of the Nintendo World Championships were any less a glorified ad campaign. Many, MANY companies use tournaments or competitions as a means of selling their product, Nintendo 25 years ago isn't any less motivated by profit than they are today.
Oh it was an ad but a lot of stuff is while not feeling like such to the target market. For example in the old days the purpose of concert tours was basically to be an ad for the album but fans still wanted to go to a concert and see the band live. It was both an ad and a product the consumer actually wanted. As a kid in 1990 my reaction to the Nintendo World Championships was "OH AWESOME!!" Nintendo was just so big and every kid loved the idea of entering some "worldwide" tournament for it. It was an ad but also something we all wanted.
In 2015 that is not the case. The only people who know about this are 30+ year old geeks that remember the 1990 tournament. It is not a major cultural event like the 1990 one was but it never was supposed to be. The marketing goal of the 1990 tournament was to continue to push Nintendo as a major force in children's popular culture. The goal of the 2015 tournament is to just get a bit more attention at E3. The scope is much smaller so we get a smaller event with less cities.
