TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Japanese gaming giant Nintendo Co. Ltd. (NTDOY.PK) is bringing back the 'Nintendo World Championships' after a 25-year hiatus. The company plans to host the tournament at the Electronics Entertainment Expo this year. The first and only World Championships were held way back in 1990.
Nintendo said that qualifying rounds will be held at select Best Buy locations in major cities around the U.S. beginning May 30, with the tournament finals to be held in Los Angeles when the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2015 week starts on Sunday, June 14.
The winners from each regional event plus competitors invited by Nintendo will meet on June 14 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles for a multi-round Nintendo game competition. Eventually, one player will be crowned the 2015 Nintendo World Champion.
The E3 2015 video game trade show takes place from June 16 to 19 in Los Angeles.
Nintendo released a promotional video of the event, showing Nintendo America President and Chief Operating Officer Reggie Fils-Aime plays a bunch of old Nintendo games to prepare for the games.
Fils-Aime said, 'Whether you're tuning in online or joining us at the show, we want to include fans of all ages this E3 with an innovative and nostalgic focus on fun. I'm especially eager to bring back the Nintendo World Championships and to crown the 2015 Nintendo World Champion.'
Nintendo will provide more details about the qualifying tournaments in the coming weeks. The company has not provided details of the games that will be included in the tournament.
The 1990 Championships included portions of major Nintendo games like 'Super Mario Bros.,' 'Red Racer' and 'Tetris.' The competition was partly based on the movie, 'The Wizard,' starring Fred Savage, Jenny Lewis and Christian Slater.
At that time, the top winner in each of the three separate age groups took home a $10,000 U.S. savings bond, a 1990 Geo Metro convertible, a 40-inch rear-projection TV, and a gold painted Mario trophy.
Nintendo said it will hold its 'digital event' on Tuesday, June 16. Online viewers can score the latest Nintendo news as it breaks by tuning in to the Nintendo Digital Event that will start at 9 a.m. Pacific time.
Nintendo will provide viewers with detailed information about the various games and experiences the company has in store for its systems. This might include announcements about the Wii U and 3DS handheld.
This will be followed by Nintendo Treehouse: Live @ E3, daily live-streamed game demonstrations and in-depth coverage of Nintendo products from the Nintendo booth.
On two days during the week of E3, Nintendo will provide consumers nationwide a piece of its E3 experience by enabling fans to try out the upcoming Mario Maker game for the Wii U console at participating Best Buy locations.
The events will take place between 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday, June 17, and noon to 5 p.m. local time on Saturday, June 20.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX