In a surprising shift in policy, Nintendo is sponsoring this year's Evolution Championship Series fighting game tournament. On the official Evo website, a list of sponsors includes Nintendo's logo, indicating that the publisher has changed its stance toward the tournament. The company joins Capcom, Atlus, and Microsoft as sponsorsNotably, in 2013, Nintendo attempted to shut down the Super Smash Bros. portion of the competition, even after the community raised almost $100,000 to include it. The company eventually relented, but only after another fight to prevent the tournament organizers from broadcasting the Super Smash Bros. matches.
Now with the support of Nintendo, competitors will be playing Super Smash Bros. Melee at the tournament. Although Nintendo hasn't provided any statement on their sponsorship, it's possible that the company hopes to promote the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS.
Evo 2014 takes place this weekend between July 11-13 in Las Vegas. In addition to Super Smash Bros. Melee, Evo will feature Ultra Street Fighter IV, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Killer Instinct, and several other games.
Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @alexbnewhouse
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