Surprising Nobody, Smash Bros’ Online Service Is Still Underwhelming
“Imagine having this happen twice on your official stream and you still decide to do nothing about online.”
This is currently the top comment on a Reddit post discussing the NintendoVS Fall Open tournament, which has gone through a bit of a rough patch thanks to a few technical hiccups. Nintendo’s officially-supported online service has gained a bit of a negative reputation among Smash Bros. fans, thanks to frequent connection issues with that particular title. It does a fine enough job of connecting a wide range of players together, but for many (especially those who want a more consistent, competitive experience), its lack of stability leaves a lot to be desired.
On multiple occasions during the tournament, lag spikes would freeze up the game, pausing the action until the connection became stable enough again. But sometimes, things would just get worse: a popup would claim “The arena has been shut down”, and would force the match to be put on hold while organizers tried to get things running again. The commentator managed to laugh it off and the players weren’t too upset, but spectators had a much different reaction – made evident in comments like the one top.
Nintendo’s gained a rather litigious reputation over the years, striking down fan projects and fan-run tournaments that try and turn Smash Bros into something the players enjoy more. Solutions to this problem exist, but they aren’t used as often as people would like for exactly this reason. Players don’t see connection interruptions as part of the Smash Bros experience anymore, they see it as a solvable problem – and Nintendo’s unwillingness to incorporate these changes has become a frequent source of frustration. The issues faced by the NintendoVS Fall Open are just another episode in these long-standing tensions between Smash Bros. players and Nintendo.