Nintendo announced a partnership with the Interstate Scholastic Esports Alliance (ISEA) to bring friendly competitions of Switch titles to students in 23 states in the U.S.
Small tournaments of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Splatoon 3 will be held in schools from 4th to 12th grade to “help students build healthy relationships that can last a lifetime” in “a fun experience that is open to everyone.”
Nintendo’s press release from Aug. 12 says this partnership is about “not-for-profit, small-scale community tournaments,” which shuts down any hopes that it could be the building blocks of the company’s first real modern competitive circuit.
The esports partnership isn’t problematic, but it’s not a sign of good things to come if you’re into competitive gaming. When we picture what’s happening, it feels a lot more like a big marketing move rather than something intended to create an organized esports ecosystem like Valve does with Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2, Riot Games does with League of Legends and Valorant, and Epic Games does with Fortnite.
What sets esports apart from games that are simply competitive is the ecosystem. Usually, the company that holds the game rights, like Nintendo, would create a full season of tournaments, big and small, with prize pools and a qualifying system that would allow players and teams to fight for spots in major tournaments. For example, you would probably play a bunch of local Mario Kart 8 tournaments to get points to play an international or world championship.
Esports have live broadcasts of tournaments, and loyal fans encourage teams to form and gather sponsors, which fund players so they can dedicate some of their time to improving at the game. The payoff for the company organizing all that is outreach: the bigger their esports circuit, the more eyes are on their game, and the higher the chances that their existing players will stick to the game and new people will get drawn in.
These competitive circuits boil down to a complicated marketing initiative, but they still fund a competitive environment.
That’s what The Pokémon Company does with the Play Pokémon! program, where you can get points for the World Championship in your local game store, just like you can in Regional and International championships.
When Nintendo says its new partnership is building competitive gaming by providing “a large quantity of Nintendo Switch Online memberships and digital game download codes at no cost,” it’s not enough. This ISEA partnership is no different than setting up a Nintendo booth at a mall and letting couples take their two kids to play Princess Peach: Showtime for free for 15 minutes on a Switch Lite. All it foments is kids’ desire to buy the console and the games.
This Nintendo partnership isn’t setting the stage for a competitive environment or a growing community of competitors. It’s a marketing move to get more children and teens to play its games, so they buy a console later.
Even if that’s not Nintendo’s intention, what happens after these kids leave school, if they’re into competitive gaming? Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tournaments, which were rare, are soon to be replaced by Mario Kart World. Splatoon 3 had no World Championship in 2025. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournaments are mostly held and funded by the community. Also, none of these had junior or senior divisions like Pokémon has.
Nintendo is allowed to make marketing moves. It’s just out of place to see this partnership labeled as an esports initiative when it clearly isn’t stirring up any scene.
But most esports are dead, anyway. I don’t blame Nintendo. Maybe marketing is just the late stage of esports. Of course, this is all just my humble opinion.
