LTC Cancels Project Plus, Modded Smash Events Due to Nintendo Demands

Low Tide City (LTC) organizer Tourney Locator is calling off all tournaments using modified versions of Super Smash Bros. Tourney Locator broke the news on Tuesday afternoon, saying that Nintendo contacted them on Monday regarding these events.

"Yesterday, we were contacted by Nintendo regarding Project +, Beyond Melee, and 64 Remix," said the organizer in a post on their official Twitter account. "Unfortunately, as a result of that conversation, we are removing these events from LTC."

The titles in question are fan-made versions of Super Smash Bros., which tweak the gameplay and visuals of different games in the series. Some like Beyond Melee even add characters to the playable roster. Others like Project + either remove or adjust gameplay elements, like character movement speeds and frame data. Such "hacks" have proven quite popular with Smash fans over the years, with Project M (the predecessor to Project +) in particular enjoying some time as a tournament favorite.

Given that modifying and/or reverse-engineering software is illegal in Japan, though, it's no surprise that Nintendo has stepped in here. Though this may not be the case in the United States, where LTC is to take place, Super Smash Bros. is still Nintendo's intellectual property regardless.

Moreover, Nintendo has a reputation for issuing cease and desist orders to third party tournament organizers in the past. The company does not shy away from this, so seeing LTC having to cancel these events is not surprising in the least.

Fortunately, it would seem that tournaments using unmodified versions at LTC will still push through. The event itself will feature vanilla Melee and Ultimate, with prize pools of over $2,500 and $10,000 respectively. LTC will also feature Tekken 7, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and Guilty Gear Strive.

Low Tide City is scheduled to run from October 1st to October 4th at Round Rock, Texas.