It wasn’t until recently that Nintendo showed interest in entering the eSports community—with the Switch reveal way back when, we saw the first glimpses of that with an intro for Splatoon 2, being showed in a tournament environment. And with the upcoming release of ARMS, Nintendo has another title on their hands which just might work as an eSports game.
ARMS producer Kosuke Yabuki recently spoke to TIME and mentioned that he would “love” to see this particular game taking off as an eSport—but he’s realistic about that potentiality:
“TIME: It sounds like you’re essentially positioning Arms as the first hardcore motion control game, or maybe even first motion control eSport.
Yabuki: I think that’s a great take, and I actually think Arms might be the first game that has such depth with its technique in its motion controls. I think it would be great if Arms were to become an eSport, but it’s not quite clear yet whether Nintendo will go down that path and become a proper eSport. It’s not a certainty yet that Arms will be a huge hit with people. We’ll see how many people play. But if it does go down that route, we’ll see what Nintendo as a company does with eSports.”
Is that a possibility at all? Will we see motion control games being embraced as an eSport? It’s intriguing to think about. We also recommend that you take the time to read the rest of the interview, as there’s some interesting material there. Enjoy!
