Nintendo, partly via  YouTube video below, announced the Super Smash Bros. Tournament Rules and the GameCube Controller Adapter for Wii U.

The rules for the Super Smash Bros. Invitational are as follows:

Character Draft

On the morning of the tournament, each player will draw a number from a hat, ranging from 1 through 16. Players will then pick characters one by one based on their numerical order starting with 1. After a character is chosen, they are no longer selectable by any other player. Players must keep the same character throughout the entire event.

Super Smash Bros. Invitational Highlights

• Single-Elimination Tournament
• 4 players per match, 4 stock, 5 minute time limit
• Top 2 players determined by score advance from each match to the next round
  • 2nd place scores have the following tiebreakers:
    • Most Kills
      • If the number of Kills are tied, 2nd place will be determined by fan vote

• Quarterfinals: Items on Medium
• Semifinals and Finals: Items on Low
• Grand Finals: Items off (1 vs 1)
• Stages will be unveiled at the tournament.

*Grand Finals is a 4-stock, 8-minute, 1-on-1 match on Battlefield as an homage to the competitive Smash Bros. community.

Fan Favorite Voting during the Tournament

They are also going to be running a concurrent Fan Favorite bracket during the event. This Fan Favorite bracket is completely separate from the Invitational Tournament. To gain entry into the Fan Favorite bracket, players from the Invitational need to be voted in by the audience as a Fan Favorite. At the end of each Quarterfinal and Semifinal match of the Invitational, members of the audience will be encouraged to hold up character cards provided by Nintendo to vote on the player they feel performed with the most heart, courage, creativity, and style. The player that gets the most votes from the crowd wins a spot in the Fan Favorite Bracket.

In the Fan Favorite bracket matches, the highest scoring winner will advance to the next round. A second player will advance based on a fan vote. The objective for the players in this bracket is not only to win, but to do their best to win the hearts and votes of the fans.

Fan Favorite Bracket Highlights

• Single-Elimination Bracket
• Up to 4 players per match, 5 minute time limit only
• Two players move on to the next round:
  • 1 by Highest Score (Kills minus Falls)
  • 1 decided by Fan Vote (the decibel level of the fans will decide a tied vote)
• All Rounds: Items on Medium
• Grand Finals: Winner is determined by score only
• Stages will be unveiled at the tournament.

Additionally, the video also showed off the official GameCube Controller hardware in the last minute.

The adapter will be plugged in via the USB port. The port itself will allow for four GameCube controllers. While normal GameCube controllers will work, Nintendo is showing off brand new Smash Bros-themed controllers which will hopefully hit retail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMQySEjyCUw

My Opinion:

There is nothing better than when a developer listens to the needs and wants of the gaming community. And the Super Smash Bros. community needed and wanted a wired way to play their Smash! Nintendo has been on the ball about listening to fan concerns–hopefully this carries through until E3!

As for the rules, I’m a little more picky. I’d prefer free selection of characters and no items through the tournament (not just the end), but maybe this is why I’m not in the tournament.

---

Lou Contaldi is MONG’s Nintendo Specialist and senior editor. While not editing, he spends his time being aggressively mediocre at Hearthstone. You can follow his incoherent ramblings at Twitter.