There are many things that a student can choose to do with their extra time. Some people play sports, some read or study. Now video-games will be able to grab some of that time back.
While there are clubs to play games, hold tournaments and just meet other gamers, it’s usually student-run. Because of that, there isn’t much opportunity for prizes. Nintendo is looking to change that dynamic.
Are you not entertained?
Announcing a new partnership with PlayVS, Nintendo will be putting a trio of games up for “varsity athletics” in the next school year. The games include Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Splatoon 2, two of the more popular Switch titles.
PlayVS is an amateur esports platform with connections to state and national athletic associations, and so far has three age brackets: youth, high-school, and college. It already has an established name with games like Fortnite and Overwatch.
The official date for the start of fall season is September 20th, 2021. To get things started well, Nintendo will add Mario Kart 8: Deluxe to the rotation, and will give copies of the games and year-long Switch Online subscriptions to 3,000 schools.
It’s viewed as their “first next step in terms of how [they] can support competitive communities,” says Nintendo’s Bill Trinen.
“We felt that the high school level was a great place to start… you’re starting to see kids who are already spending time playing the game, their skill level is pretty high, and the interest is there in terms of the competitive side of things.”
Soon enough there will be a stadium of screaming families as little Billy sends a late-game Blue Shell at his opponents.
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