Editing Cancellation of The Big House Online

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[[File:TheBigHouseOnline.png|thumb|250px|The Big House Online logo]]
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{{Merge|Tournament:The Big House Online}}
[[File:TheBigHouseOnline.png|right|250px|thumb|The Big House Online logo]]


'''The Big House Online''' was a cancelled ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' online tournament planned to be held from December 4th-6th, 2020. [[Nintendo]] would shut the event down due to how the tournaments were being handled through the use of emulators, causing mass outrage and protest from the ''Smash'' community as well as said protests bleeding out into other communities.
'''[[Tournament:The Big House Online|The Big House Online]]''' was a canceled ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' online tournament planned to be held from December 4th-6th, 2020. Due to the [[2019-20 COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on competitive play|COVID-19 pandemic]], which canceled The Big House 10, it was then switched into an online tournament and rescheduled into December, rather than October as with all previous The Big House tournaments.


==Background==
On November 19th, 2020, the organizers announced that Nintendo of America had sent a cease and desist letter to them due to the use of [[Project Slippi]] for the ''Melee'' event.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/TheBigHouseSSB/status/1329521081577857036?s=20|title=Nintendo C&D}}</ref> As a result, the organizers were forced to cancel both events. This resulted in outrage within the community, with many players criticizing Nintendo for not allowing Slippi despite it allowing for competitive play amidst a [[COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on competitive Smash|global pandemic]].
This event was initially meant to be held offline as {{Trn|The Big House 10}}, but was forced to transition into a purely online environment due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] shutting down all public events at the time. While the ''Ultimate'' tournament transitioned relatively smoothly due to having built-in online modes, the ''Melee'' tournament had a significant roadblock of the game having no online modes at all. Their solution was to run ''Melee'' on the [[Dolphin]] emulator with the [[Project Slippi]] online netcode.


Shortly after the event organizers confirmed these changes on November 19th, 2020, the organizers announced that Nintendo of America had sent a cease and desist letter to them due to the use of [[Project Slippi]] for the ''Melee'' event.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/TheBigHouseSSB/status/1329521081577857036?s=20|title=Nintendo C&D}}</ref> As a result, the organizers were forced to cancel both events.
==Reaction from the competitive community==
Within an hour of the event's cancellation being announced, the tag #FreeMelee started trending on Twitter as many members of the community expressed their disappointment towards Nintendo. As a result of the announcement, {{Sm|Ludwig}} announced the [[Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 3]] with a $10,000 prize going to a charity of choice by the event's winner. By November 24th, the community had raised the prize to $42,000 through donations.<ref>[https://twitter.com/LudwigAhgren/status/1331106162255695875 LACS 3 update]</ref> Supporters of the movement began posting comments with the hashtag #FreeMelee onto Nintendo's various social medias. The online movement and outrage was quickly picked up and supported by various notable organizations, news sites, and individuals including [https://www.youtube.com/user/penguinz0 Cr1TiKaL],<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOKF9t-hfEw&ab_channel=penguinz0 Cr1TiKaL's video]</ref> [[Wikipedia:Kotaku|Kotaku]],<ref>[https://kotaku.com/nintendo-shuts-down-smash-tournament-over-some-absurd-b-1845719656 ''"Nintendo Shuts Down Smash Tournament Over Some Absurd Bullshit"'' - Kotaku]</ref> {{Team|CLG}},<ref>[https://twitter.com/clgaming/status/1330209363273814016 CLG's tweet]</ref> {{Team|Cloud9}},<ref>[https://twitter.com/Cloud9/status/1329563413165469696 Cloud9's tweet]</ref> and {{Team|Tempo Storm}}.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Tempo_Storm/status/1329580430106955778 Tempo Storm's tweet]</ref> Later that day, a response claiming to be from Nintendo was later released stating that ROMs were required to use Slippi which are obtained illegally through pirating. In addition, they initially reached out to the team asking them to stop, but the team refused.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pshanley88/status/1329544558288400384|title=Nintendo's statement}}</ref>


==Reactions==
Following the events that unfolded, {{Sm|Armada}} had gone [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzvzSd5HP0I&ab_channel=Armada on stream] to further explain the history of Nintendo shutting down the competitive scene.
Within an hour of the event's cancellation being announced, the tag #FreeMelee started trending on Twitter as many members of the community expressed their disappointment towards Nintendo. The primary complaints were Nintendo once again taking an anti-competitive stance and effectively making games like ''Melee'' unplayble as a multiplayer game amidst the global pandemic. As a result of the announcement, {{Sm|Ludwig}} announced the {{Trn|Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 3}} with a $10,000 prize going to a charity of choice by the event's winner. By November 24th, the community had raised the prize to $42,000 through donations.<ref>[https://twitter.com/LudwigAhgren/status/1331106162255695875 LACS 3 update]</ref> Supporters of the movement began posting comments with the hashtag #FreeMelee onto Nintendo's various social medias. The online movement and outrage was quickly picked up and supported by various notable organizations, news sites, and individuals including {{Sm|Cr1TiKaL}},<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOKF9t-hfEw Cr1TiKaL's video]</ref> {{iw|Wikipedia|Kotaku}},<ref>[https://kotaku.com/nintendo-shuts-down-smash-tournament-over-some-absurd-b-1845719656 ''"Nintendo Shuts Down Smash Tournament Over Some Absurd Bullshit"'' - Kotaku]</ref> {{Team|CLG}},<ref>[https://twitter.com/clgaming/status/1330209363273814016 CLG's tweet]</ref> {{Team|Cloud9}},<ref>[https://twitter.com/Cloud9/status/1329563413165469696 Cloud9's tweet]</ref> and {{Team|Tempo Storm}}.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Tempo_Storm/status/1329580430106955778 Tempo Storm's tweet]</ref> Later that day, a response claiming to be from Nintendo was later released stating that ROMs were required to use Slippi which are obtained illegally through pirating. In addition, they initially reached out to the team asking them to stop, but the team refused.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pshanley88/status/1329544558288400384|title=Nintendo's statement}}</ref>
 
Following the events that unfolded, {{Sm|Armada}} had gone [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzvzSd5HP0I on stream] to further explain the history of Nintendo shutting down the competitive scene.


===#SaveSmash movement===
===#SaveSmash movement===
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On the same day, {{Sm|KishPrime}} would also publish a [https://twitter.com/Kish_Prime/status/1331339741812420609 thread] on Twitter explaining how he had attempted to legitimately profit off of running tournaments following the success of his {{Trn|MELEE-FC}} series sometime in 2009. He had reached out to Nintendo for official support and approval, but was promptly denied and told that he would never be able to collaborate with Nintendo and that if he was caught running more events, legal action would be taken. This ultimately resulted in Kish discontinuing the Melee-FC tournament series despite continued success. Despite this, a few years later, {{Sm|Samox}} had reached out to Kish for questions about Melee's history to be used in his then-coming documentary, ''[[The Smash Brothers]]''. As collaborations between the two continued, it was decided that Kish would bring back the Melee-FC series as a [[Tournament:MELEE-FC10R Legacy|legacy event]] celebrating the series. Kish explains how by that point in time, he believed Nintendo had a mostly hands off approach to competitive events and as such was convinced to bring back the series as well as host the first ''Project M'' national tournament.
On the same day, {{Sm|KishPrime}} would also publish a [https://twitter.com/Kish_Prime/status/1331339741812420609 thread] on Twitter explaining how he had attempted to legitimately profit off of running tournaments following the success of his {{Trn|MELEE-FC}} series sometime in 2009. He had reached out to Nintendo for official support and approval, but was promptly denied and told that he would never be able to collaborate with Nintendo and that if he was caught running more events, legal action would be taken. This ultimately resulted in Kish discontinuing the Melee-FC tournament series despite continued success. Despite this, a few years later, {{Sm|Samox}} had reached out to Kish for questions about Melee's history to be used in his then-coming documentary, ''[[The Smash Brothers]]''. As collaborations between the two continued, it was decided that Kish would bring back the Melee-FC series as a [[Tournament:MELEE-FC10R Legacy|legacy event]] celebrating the series. Kish explains how by that point in time, he believed Nintendo had a mostly hands off approach to competitive events and as such was convinced to bring back the series as well as host the first ''Project M'' national tournament.


Later that same day, {{Sm|Armada}} would publish the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yIcyyCe2Jw second part] of his video series explaining the history of Nintendo acting against the competitive scene. Additionally, {{Sm|Juggleguy}}, head organizer of The Big House, would be featured in an [https://www.sportskeeda.com/esports/news-the-big-house-s-juggleguy-melee-survive-without-online-tourneys interview] on sportskeeda. In the interview he explains how he had a bad feeling about the event being cancelled after Nintendo reps had been acting strangely when discussing the event. He also discussed how the event's cancellation had financially impacted him and his team and what it means for the future of the competitive scene.
Later that same day, {{Sm|Armada}} would publish the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yIcyyCe2Jw&ab_channel=Armada second part] of his video series explaining the history of Nintendo acting against the competitive scene. Additionally, {{Sm|Juggleguy}}, head organizer of The Big House, would be featured in an [https://www.sportskeeda.com/esports/news-the-big-house-s-juggleguy-melee-survive-without-online-tourneys interview] on sportskeeda. In the interview he explains how he had a bad feeling about the event being cancelled after Nintendo reps had been acting strangely when discussing the event. He also discussed how the event's cancellation had financially impacted him and his team and what it means for the future of the competitive scene.


On November 26th, a highly requested update to add broadcasting to [[Project Slippi]] was released early as a result of the movement.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Fizzi36/status/1332089296946221057 Broadcast feature released for Slippi]</ref> As a result of Slippi's continued contributions to the community, many community members donated ''en masse'' to the project as {{Sm|Fizzi}} had reported that server costs had risen to $1,000 a month.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Fizzi36/status/1332089298607173634 Slippi's server costs]</ref> Additionally, in an attempt to help recoup the costs from The Big House Online being cancelled, the community also donated ''en masse'' to the team behind the event through direct donations and merchandise sales.<ref>[https://twitter.com/JuggleRob/status/1332412716137537539 TBH merchandise]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/TheBigHouseSSB/status/1336069232409399297 Thanks from the TBH team]</ref>
On November 26th, a highly requested update to add broadcasting to [[Project Slippi]] was released early as a result of the movement.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Fizzi36/status/1332089296946221057 Broadcast feature released for Slippi]</ref> As a result of Slippi's continued contributions to the community, many community members donated ''en masse'' to the project as {{Sm|Fizzi}} had reported that server costs had risen to $1,000 a month.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Fizzi36/status/1332089298607173634 Slippi's server costs]</ref> Additionally, in an attempt to help recoup the costs from The Big House Online being canceled, the community also donated ''en masse'' to the team behind the event through direct donations and merchandise sales.<ref>[https://twitter.com/JuggleRob/status/1332412716137537539 TBH merchandise]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/TheBigHouseSSB/status/1336069232409399297 Thanks from the TBH team]</ref>


==Aftermath==
===Continued efforts===
On December 6th, 2020, {{Team|Melee It On Me}} announced that a five day celebration titled {{Trn|5 Days of Melee}} would be held beginning on December 14th. The event featured events for both ''[[Melee]]'' and ''[[Project M]]''. The event was praised by ''[[Project+]]'' community members for helping bring back the game into the spotlight. The event raised 60,000 USD for [https://www.directrelief.org/ Direct Relief], a charity providing support for people during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the charity's vice president would send the organizers a letter thanking them for their contributions<ref>[https://twitter.com/DotZeb/status/1384986724187611137 Tweet with a picture of the letter from the charity's vice president]</ref>.
On December 6th, 2020, it was announced by {{Team|Melee It On Me}} that a five day celebration titled {{Trn|5 Days of Melee}} would be held beginning on December 14th. The event will feature events for both ''[[Melee]]'' and ''[[Project M]]''. The event has been praised by current ''[[Project+]]'' community members for helping bring back the game into the spotlight. The event aims to raise money for [https://www.directrelief.org/ Direct Relief], a charity currently supporting people during the COVID-19 pandemic.


The movement remained strong through the first week of December, with many supporters continuing to comment on Nintendo's social media pages. The movement declined in popularity after the reveal of [[Sephiroth]] as a playable character in ''Ultimate'' on December 9th, which earned the ire of its supporters for letting fans supposedly absolve Nintendo of their mistakes. Since then, the movement has been mostly dormant, though it resurfaced after the [[cancellation of Smash World Tour 2022]], which involved Nintendo refusing to issue a license for them to operate.
As of early December, the movement is active with many supporters continuing to comment on Nintendo's social media pages.


===Effects on outside communities===
==Support from outside communities==
On November 26th, a [https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1srg2ka TwitLonger] was published by [https://twitter.com/hanukkahjambore HanukkahJamboree], an ''{{iw|armsinstitute|ARMS}}'' tournament organizer, expressing the ''ARMS'' community's solidarity with ''Melee'' and ''Project M''. The TwitLonger explained how Nintendo, similarly to ''Smash'', has hardly supported the competitive ''ARMS'' community in any meaningful way. The TwitLonger also goes in detail explaining how Nintendo's official events have been lackluster with not enforcing lag restrictions, offering negligible prizes, offering non-functional consoles, and rules that did not align with the will of the community. This was well received by the competitive ''Smash'' community with many notable community members expressing their support.
On November 26th, a [https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1srg2ka TwitLonger] was published by [https://twitter.com/hanukkahjambore HanukkahJamboree], an ''ARMS'' tournament organizer, expressing the ''ARMS'' community's solidarity with ''Melee'' and ''Project M''. The TwitLonger explained how Nintendo, similarly to ''Smash'', has hardly supported the competitive ''ARMS'' community in any meaningful way. The TwitLonger also goes in detail explaining how Nintendo's official events have been lackluster with not enforcing lag restrictions, offering negligible prizes, offering non-functional consoles, and rules that did not align with the will of the community. This was well received by the competitive ''Smash'' community with many notable community members expressing their support.


On December 5th, Nintendo announced that they had cancelled their livestream of the finals of ''{{iw|inkipedia|Splatoon 2}}'' North American Open December 2020. While it was only stated to have been done due to "unexpected executional challenges," Slimy, a ''Splatoon 2'' tournament organizer, had confirmed that it was caused by 30% of teams being registered having names in support of ''Melee'' and the ''Smash'' community<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/SlimyQuagsire/status/1335354735885479938/photo/2|title=Team names}}</ref> due to Nintendo's actions against The Big House Online. Following this, the Discord server for the event was spammed by many members of the community in wake of the stream's cancellation. This led to many members of the competitive ''Smash'' community to begin supporting the ''Splatoon 2'' scene in thanks for their solidarity. Many people with large followings outside of the competitive scenes also took notice and began posting tweets criticizing the actions of Nintendo.
On December 5th, Nintendo announced that they had cancelled their livestream of the finals of ''[[inkipedia:Splatoon 2|Splatoon 2]]'' North American Open December 2020. While it was only stated to have been done due to "unexpected executional challenges," Slimy, a ''Splatoon 2'' tournament organizer, had confirmed that it was caused by 30% of teams being registered having names in support of ''Melee'' and the ''Smash'' community<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/SlimyQuagsire/status/1335354735885479938/photo/2|title=Team names}}</ref> due to Nintendo's actions against The Big House Online. Following this, the Discord server for the event was spammed by many members of the community in wake of the stream's cancellation. This led to many members of the competitive ''Smash'' community to begin supporting the ''Splatoon 2'' scene in thanks for their solidarity. Many people with large followings outside of the competitive scenes also took notice and began posting tweets criticizing the actions of Nintendo.


As a result of the cancellation of the stream, EndGameTV announced "[[inkipedia:Competitive:The Squid House|The Squid House]]", a grassroots invitational tournament being funded by the community without Nintendo's involvement. Most of the top teams that had entered the North American Open dropped out to play in this new event. Initially the event had started at a prize pool of $1,000, but through significant support and contributions from the competitive ''Smash'' and ''Splatoon'' communities, this was raised to $28,000, with $3,000 going to charity.<ref>[https://twitter.com/EndGame_TV/status/1335721925616648193 Final Squid House numbers]</ref> This resulted in The Squid House having the largest prize pool in competitive ''Splatoon'' history, more so than Nintendo has ever offered, and the most viewed stream for a Western grassroots ''Splatoon'' event.<ref>[https://twitter.com/SlimyQuagsire/status/1335696064402305028 Slimy's statement]</ref>
As a result of the cancellation of the stream, EndGameTV announced "The Squid House", a grassroots invitational tournament being funded by the community without Nintendo's involvement. Most of the top teams that had entered the North American Open dropped out to play in this new event. Initially the event had started at a prize pool of $1,000, but through significant support and contributions from the competitive ''Smash'' and ''Splatoon'' communities, this was raised to $28,000, with $3,000 going to charity.<ref>[https://twitter.com/EndGame_TV/status/1335721925616648193?s=20 Final Squid House numbers]</ref> This resulted in The Squid House having the largest prize pool in competitive ''Splatoon'' history, more so than Nintendo has ever offered, and the most viewed stream for a Western grassroots ''Splatoon'' event.<ref>[https://twitter.com/SlimyQuagsire/status/1335696064402305028 Slimy's statement]</ref>


==References==
==References==

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