Nintendo Partners with the Tailgate Tour to Bring Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to Colleges This Fall

End-Zone Rivalries Meet In-Game Rivalries at College Football Tailgates

REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 12, 2018 – During select college football games this season, there might be rivalries playing inside andoutside the stadium. Fans could see Mario vs. Bowser, or Zelda vs. Ganondorf, or the Inklings vs. Ridley, or frankly any of the thousands of combinations that can be formed with a roster of more than 70 playable fighters. That’s because the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game for the Nintendo Switch system is heading to college campuses this fall to join some of the biggest tailgate parties of the season.

To lead up to the game’s launch on Dec. 7, Nintendo is partnering with Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour, the largest traveling fan experience in college football, to bring Super Smash Bros. Ultimateto notable football matchups to let fans play the game before heading into the stadium to cheer on their favorite team. The setup will feature a customized Super Smash Bros. Ultimatebranded trailer with six gameplay stations and a large LED screen in dedicated tailgate areas outside of major college stadiums so fans can gather, play and cheer each other on as they compete in epic battles featuring their favorite video game characters – and maybe even emerge victorious against their own real-life rivals.

“Many of our biggest fans are now in college and have memories growing up playing one of the games in the Super Smash Bros. series,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We want to bring Super Smash Bros. Ultimate directly to longtime and first-time players, and what better way than to combine two of college students’ favorite pastimes: video games and football.”

Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour will kick off on Sept. 22 at the Stanford @ Oregon game. The complete schedule is as follows:

• Sept. 22 – Stanford @ Oregon
• Oct. 6 – Alabama @ Arkansas
• Oct. 13 – Wisconsin @ Michigan
• Oct. 20 – Oklahoma @ TCU
• Oct. 27 – Clemson @ FSU
• Nov. 3 – South Carolina @ Ole Miss
• Nov. 10 – TCU @ West Virginia
• Nov. 17 – Miami @ Virginia Tech
• Nov. 24 – Michigan @ Ohio State
• Dec. 7 – The launch of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate!
• Jan. 1, 2019 – Teams and location to be determined

When visiting the tour, fans will be treated to a cool setup in the parking lot that will host multiple Super Smash Bros. Ultimate impromptu competitions. Fans that play will not only have the chance to demo Super Smash Bros. Ultimate before it launches, but they will also earn bragging rights if they emerge victorious (and, really, isn’t that the most important thing?). The setup itself will be highly visual and perfect for photo ops, so even fans that decide not to play will have fun pics to share on their social media channels. Players who outplay their opponents in mini competitions will receive Super Smash Bros. Ultimate branded promotional items (while supplies last). Admission is free and there is no age restriction. For more information about the tour, visit https://smashbros.nintendo.com/events/college-tailgate-tour/.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the newest game in the long-running Super Smash Bros. series, and the first on Nintendo Switch. The game is one of the biggest crossover events in entertainment history, with more than 70 fighters, 100 stages and 900 music tracks from some of the most well-known video game franchises of all time.

In addition to classic characters like Mario, Donkey Kong, Kirby and Link, two of the most recent fighters announced for the game are Simon Belmont from the Castlevaniaseries and King K. Rool from Donkey Kong Country.

For more information about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, visit https://www.smashbros.com/.