Nintendo has added a Pokkén Tournament DX Invitational to their packed E3 2017 schedule, completing the triad of social, competitive games in action at the company’s booth with the 2017 Splatoon 2 World Inkling Invitational and 2017 ARMS Open Invitational tournaments.
That will see eight YouTube and Twitch stars battle it out in the Nintendo Switch exclusive, with a crew battle format dividing them into four teams. The first person in each crew must choose one of the new characters, while the other person must choose a character that appeared in the original roster on Wii U.
With D1 and VikkiKitty on casting duty, the winners will receive a Pokkén Tournament DX art piece signed by The Pokémon Company president and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara.
Nintendo has outlined their schedule of events for E3 2017 next week as below:
2017 Splatoon 2 World Inkling Invitational
Date: Tuesday 13th June
Time: 22:30 BST
Details: For the first time ever, competitors from four different global regions will compete for world dominance in Splatoon 2. The four four-person teams – from the United States, Japan, Europe, and from Australia/New Zealand – defeated their local rivals and gained the chance to take on competitors at E3.
Format: Teams will battle in a round-robin Turf War tournament that will decide seeding for the next round. All teams will play one another and get a chance to scope out their opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. In the next round, teams will battle in the game’s Ranked Battle modes. The semi-final stage will be a best-of-five battle, while the championship will be best-of-seven.
Prize: The winning team will win global bragging rights and a special Splatoon 2 trophy engraved with their names.
Casters: Jordan Kent, Ashley Esqueda, and Nintendo of America’s Eric Smith
Pokkén Tournament DX Invitational
Date: Wednesday 14th June
Time: 18:30 BST
Competitors: Eight YouTube and Twitch stars
Format: Crew battle with four teams and two players per team. Random draft order. The first person in each crew must choose one of the new characters, the other person can choose one of the original characters.
Prize: Both winners will each receive a Pokkén Tournament DX art piece signed by Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company, and members of the development team.
Casters: D1 and VikkiKitty
2017 ARMS Open Invitational
Date: Wednesday 14th June
Time: 23:30 BST
Competitors: Four professional competitive fighting game players (Alex Valle, Kelsy “SuperGirlKels” Medeiros, Daniel “Tafokints” Lee, and Marie-Laure “Kayane” Norindr) will take on four E3 attendees who rise to the top by competing in Nintendo’s booth.
Format: Single elimination
Prize: The coveted 2017 ARMS Open Invitational Belt
Casters: D1 and VikkiKitty
Nintendo Treehouse: Live at E3
What: Members of Nintendo’s Treehouse will once again delve into the details of the Nintendo Switch console and games for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, including Super Mario Odyssey and Pokkén Tournament DX. Viewers will get an in-depth look at gameplay and hear behind-the-scenes details about Nintendo’s line-up for E3.
When: On Tuesday 13th June, the show starts right after the Nintendo Spotlight: E3 2017 presentation at approximately 18:30 CEST. On Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th June, the show starts about 19:00 CEST.
Who: Treehouse members, as well as developers and other game experts, including Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company. Mr Ishihara and various developers will talk about the upcoming Pokkén Tournament DX game for Nintendo Switch.
