I'm a huge Super Smash Bros fan. Melee is by far my favorite game of all time, SSB 64 is a close second and Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the reason that I chose to purchase a Wii. In fact, if Brawl were the only game coming out for Wii, I would consider my purchase money well spent. Because as hyped as I am for Prime 3 and Mario Galaxy, I know that within a month of their release they will both sit ideal on my shelf collecting dust. Super Smash Bros, on the other hand, is a game that can be played FOREVER – provided you have other human beings to play against. Which brings me to the topic at hand.

After watching Nintendo's E3 Press conference (via the interweb tubes) I couldn't help but feel bummed and a more than a little outraged. It wasn't that the Press conference covered mostly casual games, because I actually thought Wii Fit looked kinda neat. It wasn't that Brawl won't be released until Decemebr 3, since I'm just relieved that the game is on track to be released this year. I wasn't even that upset at the absence of another epic Brawl trailer. As long as Sakurai continues to blow our minds with new Dojo updates, I have no complaints. Besides, I'd much rather that the team focus on finishing the game ASAP.

No, what made me outraged was that Nintendo all but confirmed that Brawl would NOT HAVE ONLINE MULTIPLAYER. In the conference, Reggie Fils-Aime (the President of Nintendo's American devision) went to great lengths to try and demonstrate that Nintendo was serious about online. He touted third party efforts like Madden and Guitar Hero III as shining examples of Nintendo's commitment to online play and unveiled Mario Kart Wii – an all new game to showcase the Wii's online play. All that was well and good, but when it came to what is undoubtedly Nintendo's most anticipated online title, Super Smash Bros Brawl, nothing at all was mentioned. If fact, not only did Nintendo go through all of E3 without mentioning “Brawl” and “Online” in the same sentence, but the mention of online is also conspicuously absent from Sakurai's Dojo updates.

Obviously, Nintendo hasn't confirmed that Brawl WON'T be online, but I find it very, very odd that Nintendo is saying nil about what is widely considered to be the most anticipated feature in their most anticipated game. The conclusion drawn by many, including 1up.com is that the reason Nintendo hasn't been singing from the roof tops about Brawl's online mode is because there is no online mode to speak of. At the very least, Nintendo's silence on this matter at E3, and on Brawl in general, indicates that Nintendo is unclear whether Sakurai's team have time to include an online mode and still have the game completed this holiday season.

As much as I love Nintendo, I'm not going to mince words: IF BRAWL IS NOT ONLINE IT WILL BE A SLAP IN THE FACE TO NINTNENDO FANS EVERYWHERE! The very idea that DS games like Mario Hart DS, Metroid Prime Hunters, Clubhouse Games, Pokemon D/P and Tetris DS can be online while Smash Bros cannot is utterly repulsive. Hardcore Nintendo fans who stuck with Nintendo through the deepest, darkest droughts of the Gamecube era need a real online game to call our own. In the face of competition like Halo 3 on 360 and HOME on PS3, anything short of an online Smash Bros would be an embarrassment of the highest order.

There are six months until Brawl’s official release date. More than enough time for Nintendo to devote whatever resources Sakurai needs to include a basic online mode of some shape or form, or delay the game until early ’08 if absolutely necessary.

If you want Nintendo to include online multiplayer in Super Smash Bros Brawl, please sign this petition.

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