Nintendo had "no choice but to step in" after The Big House Melee tournament revealed to use Slippi

The eyes of the entire Smash scene are on Nintendo's after the company's decision to file a cease and desist, forcing The Big House tournament organisers to cancel the events they had scheduled for both Melee and Ultimate due to the usage of Slippi, a mod that allows Melee pros to play online using rollback netcode. 

While the T.O confirmed the company wanted to shut down the event entirely for its Slippi usage, even if Smash Ultimate was seemingly in the clear, we now have an official response from Nintendo itself, shared by VENN's Patrick Shanley.

(Photo: Patrick Shanley)

In the statement, Nintendo mentions how they are inspired by the community support the Smash series has received, but by using "illegal" copies of Melee alongside the Slippi mod, they were left with no choice but "to step in and protect its intellectual property and brands."

It's worth mentioning, Nintendo clarifies that they reached out to The Big House T.Os before a formal cease and desist was sent out, however, there was no positive response.

• Read more: Ludwig announces $10K Melee tournament to be played using Slippi

A similar situation unfolded between the community and the company back in 2013, when Smash Bros Melee earned a spot at that year's Evo tournament. Nintendo wanted the organisers to shut down the event, reaching a middle ground in which the tournament would be played off-stream, eventually, after fan outrage, Nintendo halted its interest in stopping the tournament and it continued without issue.

Melee Top 8 at Evo 2013 (Photo: Evo)

Will the company back out again? Only time will tell.