Nintendo Could Look To Build An E-Sports League Around Launch Of New Gaming System

Nintendo this week included an e-sports reference in the rollout of its new gaming system, Switch, signalling that after "years of neglect," the video game company may "finally be paying attention" to competitive video game leagues, according to Imad Khan of ESPN.com. At the end of a trailer introducing Switch earlier this week, a shot "appeared of a massive esports arena filled with thousands of screaming" fans of the game Splatoon. This was the "first time the company has directly acknowledged" the e-sports scene. With Switch, gamers will "more easily be able to take their systems on the go." Nintendo to date has had a "complicated history" with e-sports. Its "defacto" e-sports game has been the Super Smash Bros. franchise. Any "real potential of an invested Nintendo would mean a proper circuits for Super Smash Bros. and Splatoon." Industry competitor Capcom has invested in a tournament circuit for its Street Fighter V game, where players can "compete and earn points," but Nintendo "has no such series." If Nintendo "wants the same kinds of crowds and excitement, it may need to look in that direction" (ESPN.com, 11/3).