Overview

#FreeMelee refers to a hashtag campaign started after Nintendo sent a cease and desist letter to The Big House, a group organizing an online Super Smash Brothers tournament primarily due to the organization's usage of Slippi, a software that allows for online matchmaking for Nintendo's 2001 Gamecube title, Super Smash Brothers Melee. The cease and desist angered fans of the game, particularly as it signaled that Nintendo was preventing competitive play of the game in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

On November 19th, 2020, The Big House announced on Twitter that they had received a cease and desist from Nintendo about their upcoming Super Smash Brothers Tournament, which was going to be played online and streamed through the usage of Slippi.^[1]

Developments

The announcement sparked anger among the Smash fandom, as it signaled that Nintendo was preventing competitive play of Melee during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twitter user @CoreAGaming^[2] tweeted, "Imagine ruining the joy of so many people depressed by a global pandemic by shutting down their brilliant solution to play the game safely with others from their own homes. It really seems like @NintendoAmerica doesn't care about them," gaining over 650 retweets and 4,200 likes (shown below, left). User @BoundaryBreak^[3] tweeted a quote from former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata that stated people should not be treated as criminals for their love of Nintendo, gaining over 2,500 retweets and 13,000 likes (shown below, right).

The announcement led to the creation of the hashtag #FreeMelee, with which users expressed their anger at Nintendo's decision. User @SolidJakeGG^[4] tweeted that Nintendo has a history of shutting down fan attempts to play the game competitively, gaining over 310 retweets and 2,000 likes (shown below, left). User @ZennDip^[5] posted a joke which showed the Pepsiman breaking into Nintendo's office to "free Melee," gaining over 130 retweets and 3,000 likes (shown below, right). Nintendo's cease and desist and the angry fallout was covered by Polygon^[6] and Kotaku.^[7]

Search Interest

External References