Evo 2014 Game List Adds ‘Super Smash Bros Melee’ With Nintendo’s Approval

The Evo 2014 game list has added Super Smash Bros Melee to the roster, and after last year’s debacle it’s important to note that Nintendo has approved it. Nintendo’s flagship fighting game joins the ranks of BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Killer Instinct, The King of Fighters 13, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Ultra Street Fighter 4 for the fighting genre’s biggest event of the year.

Noticeably absent from the Evo 2014 lineup is the attendance of a Mortal Kombat game, possibly because it hasn’t had any real updates since last year. This doesn’t explain why UMvC 3 made it, as it’s basically the same game used last year, and it was even removed from Xbox Live earlier this year. It could simply be a popularity factor, and without a new Mortal Kombat, the series has once again grown stale, while UMvC 3 was the most viewed game last year.

We can probably expect DRM to play a major role in the tournament starting this year thanks to its notoriety on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. This could cause issues with the addition of Killer Instinct. Last year saw the interruption of Killer Instinct and Super Smash Bros Melee at different tournaments, with Killer Instinct being the cause of Xbone owners realizing that Microsoft never removed DRM controls.

Killer Instinct can be excused for it though, since most of the characters in the game are DLC. How this will be handled on the Evo 2014 game list has yet to be seen.

Last year’s Evo tournament was plagued by Nintendo forcing the live streaming to be shut down during the 700-person Super Smash Bros Melee portion. The possible reason was that the game was included as the result of a vote sponsored by The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Nintendo hadn’t been notified. That won’t be a problem on the Evo 2014 lineup, because Nintendo has given their blessing.

The most notable newcomer to the Evo 2014 game list is Ultra Street Fighter 4, yet another update to one of the best fighting games ever made. New fight modes and five new characters have been added, alongside new techniques for every character in the game.

A Nintendo representative commented on the inclusion of Super Smash Bros Melee in the Evo 2014 tournament:

“The fact that Super Smash Bros. Melee is being used to help determine champion status for competitive gamers so many years after it was released is a testament to the strong fan passion for both this individual game and the Super Smash Bros. franchise overall. Nintendo is happy to work with both Evo and Major League Gaming to help make their tournaments come to life using the game, and we hope it helps make their events enjoyable for video game fans everywhere.”

By allowing the addition of their GameCube title to the Evo 2014 game list, Nintendo is apparently hoping to promote sales for their followup title on the 3DS and Wii U.

Are you excited about Evo 2014 this year?

[second image via pixelenemy.com]