Nintendo of America has announced that it’s partnering with the Interstate Scholastic Esports Alliance (ISEA) for official tournaments organized by elementary, middle, and/or high schools.
This partnership will offer digital game downloads for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros, and Splatoon 3 games, along with Nintendo Switch Online memberships, to schools across 23 states in the United States of America. These will be for over 80,000 students from fourth grade to twelfth grade.
These school-organized tournaments are meant to be a way for students to gather in a safe, fun way while also introducing competitive gaming opportunities for students. This will start this fall, which has started for some schools in the United States already, and will continue to start through the next month.
ISEA President Danielle Johnson shared thoughts about the group’s latest partnership with Nintendo:
“We are so excited to partner with Nintendo as we continue to grow and expand competitive gaming opportunities for students across the country.
Games are a fun, communal experience. We want to make gaming accessible to as many students as possible regardless of their previous gaming experience. School-based gaming programs connect students that may have not been involved in social competitive activities before, and every student deserves a place to belong at school. These programs not only raise student attendance and achievement but also help students build healthy relationships that can last a lifetime.”
The Vice President of Player and Product Experience at Nintendo of America, Bill Trinen, also commented on the partnership with the ISEA:
“We support kids who want to celebrate their passion – or discover a new passion – by getting involved in memorable cooperative and competitive play experiences. Working closely with the ISEA ensures that we are creating a fun experience that is open to everyone.”
This isn’t the first time Nintendo of America has been open to small-scale game tournaments using its games. In November of 2023, it reworked its event guidelines and application portal for smaller, individual event organizers. Its goal was to make it easier for small, not-for-profit community events to use Nintendo’s IP. Now, with the help of the ISEA, schools can get in on the fun, too.
For more news on what’s going on in the wider world of gaming, check out Fortnite’s latest win against Apple and Google in Australia. You can also read up on what PlayStation actually means when it said that it’s “moving away from [a] hardware-centric business model” earlier this month.
