Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
Get excited! For the first time in 25 years, Nintendo will be holding its Nintendo World Championships this summer, with qualifying competitions set to begin over the summer and the finals scheduled to take just before E3 on Sunday, June 14.
The official announcement came in a video released Wednesday, in which Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime jokingly quits his job so he can take part in the competition, then trains for the event using old-school hardware such as the Virtual Boy and Power Pad.
According to ScrewAttack, the event kicks off on May 30, and fans interested in taking part will be able to test their gaming prowess at select US Best Buy outlets. Nintendo has yet to announce which stores will participate and which games will be involved in the tournament.
However, Ars Technica points out that the presence of classic devices could indicate that titles from the company’s past could be somehow involved in the tournament (AWESOME). Nintendo also revealed that the finals will be live streamed online for those who can’t make it to Los Angeles.
Back in the day
For those too young to remember, the first (and to date, only) Nintendo World Championships were held in 1990 and featured special 6 1/2 minute challenge versions of Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and Tetris, according to ScrewAttack and Ars Technica. The tournament toured 29 cities throughout the US and featured three different age groups.
Gamers in each age group were competing from prizes such as Geo Metro convertible and a 40-inch television, but what the original Nintendo World Championships is perhaps best known for is the special collector’s edition grey cartridges given to participants and winners.
The rare gold version of the cartridge sold for $100,000 during a February 2014 online auction. They previously were valued at between $15,000 and $35,000, respectively, prior to that auction.
During their pre-E3 festivities last year, Nintendo held a Super Smash Bros. tournament that featured professional gamers and walk-on players competing before a crowd of thousands live on stage at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. This year, the company is also planning to allow North American gamers to play Mario Maker at Best Buy stores in June.
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