Super Smash Bros. is one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises. They don’t need to put much effort into marketing old and new iterations of the franchise, except maybe inform their player base via a Direct video showcase. In fact, during the run of DLC announcements for their game, it was one of the most talked about topics before a Direct release on the Internet.
But this makes us wonder, because how in the world did it get so popular back then? When the game made its debut in 1999 with Super Smash Bros. there was no Direct showcase. In fact, fighting games weren’t really that big back then, especially with how the game was presented. So, Nintendo decided to make creative ways to get it out to the public.
One of these efforts is the SlamFest of 1999. It was an actual event, where people wearing Nintendo costumes have a brawl in an actual fighting ring, out in the public. Some photos of the event have surfaced on Reddit showing how the occasion happened. Check out more photos here!
image credit: Ed Espinoza via IGN