Nintendo Live 2024 Tokyo has been canceled because of threats made to staff and spectators. Additionally, Nintendo announced its upcoming Mario Kart and Splatoon 3 tournaments are also being postponed because of the threats, including two World Championships.
First posted on Nov. 7 to Nintendo’s official site and shared internationally by Genki_JPN on X, formerly Twitter, the announcement revealed that Nintendo “persistently” receives threats targeting its employees, but the threats had “spread to spectators [and] staff” for the first time.
In addition to the full cancellation of Nintendo Live 2024 Tokyo, the following tournaments are postponed until further notice:
- Splatoon Koshien 2023 National Final Tournament
- Splatoon 3 World Championship 2024
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Online Challenge Final Stage
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe World Championship 2024
Referring to the Splatoon 3 event cancellation, Nintendo explained in the post: “Considering safety as our top priority, we have made the decision to postpone the event.” It’s great that Nintendo cares so much about the safety of its employees and fans, but it’s a sad state of affairs that this needs to happen at all.
Commenting on Genki_JPN’s X thread, the community rallied in support of Nintendo. “That’s horrible news. I hope everyone is safe,” one user responded, while another said: “I know Nintendo isn’t always perfect but death threats are extremely unwarranted.” Threats of violence have no place in the gaming industry, and many hope that whoever made the threats is swiftly brought to justice.
Nintendo added that the rescheduled dates would be revealed on its official website and X account as soon as they’ve been decided, so if your hopes were dashed by the news, you should stay tuned for more information.
