The Interstate Scholastic Esports Alliance (ISEA) has partnered with Nintendo of America to make esports tournaments more accessible.
As a result of the deal, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Splatoon 3 will be used as part of scholastic esports events taking place across North America.
Alongside the titles, Nintendo Switch and Switch OLED models will be used for competitions involving children in grades four to twelve, reaching over 80,000 elementary, middle and high school students across the United States.
According to a release, Nintendo of America will supply ‘a large quantity of Nintendo Switch Online memberships and digital game download codes at no cost.’
“We are so excited to partner with Nintendo as we continue to grow and expand competitive gaming opportunities for students across the country,” said Danielle Johnson, President of ISEA.
“School-based gaming programmes connect students that may have not been involved in social competitive activities before, and every student deserves a place to belong at school.”
The ISEA is one of few initiatives to secure a partnership with the Japanese video game company after it revised its esports guidelines for Super Smash Bros. in November 2023. The revisions included restrictions on event sizes and options for event organisers to monetise tournaments involving Nintendo titles.
The Growth Of ISEA
Since its launch in 2022, the ISEA has secured memberships from several educational establishments across 25 states, totalling approximately 5,000 schools.
Alongside partnering with Nintendo, the alliance recently unveiled its executive board, featuring representatives from Texas, Minnesota, Indiana, New Jersey, and Michigan.
For Nintendo, the collaboration is the latest scholastic esports initiative that it has supported. In August 2024, it renewed its existing partnership with PlayVS to expand its offerings to middle schools alongside its commitment to high schools across North America.
