Nintendo has today announced that the first Nintendo Live event of 2024, which was set to take place in Tokyo, has been cancelled. Alongside this, several competitive events including the ‘Splatoon Koshien 2023 National Finals,’ the ‘Splatoon 3 World Championship 2024’ and the ‘Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Online Challenge Final Stage’ have been postponed.
Nintendo cites safety concerns as the main reason for the changes following the company receiving numerous threats targeting its employees and spreading to the wider community.
First addressing the postponement of the Splatoon Koshien 2023 National Finals (which were set to take place from 16th-17th December), Nintendo stated that threats made to company employees had begun to spread to event staff and spectators. It is not clear what exactly these threats entailed, but without the guarantee of safety, the event has been postponed.
You can read Nintendo’s comment (translated via Google) below:
Our company has been persistently receiving threats targeting our employees, and recently, the targets of these threats have spread to spectators, staff, etc. of the “Splatoon Koshien 2023 National Finals”. Considering safety as our top priority, we have made the decision to postpone the event.
It appears that customer safety was also the main concern in the cancellation of Nintendo Live 2024 Tokyo and the subsequent postponement of the Splatoon 3 World Championship and the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Championship — both of which were scheduled to take place at the event. Nintendo has stated that it will no longer be possible to purchase tickets for either competition, both of which are going to be rescheduled for a later date.
The reorganised dates of each event will be announced on the company website and on the official Twitter account once they are confirmed.
What do you make of this news? Let us know in the comments.
