The logo used by the Belleville Smash Bros. community
By Trey Boivin
BELLEVILLE – A group of gamers from Belleville have been forced to put the controller down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A tight-knit community of people that play the video game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competitively here in Belleville haven’t been able to meet up to hone their skills in local tournaments since the lockdown began.
Connor Newman, 18, also known online as ConnArtist, is a tournament organizer and figurehead for the Super Smash Bros. scene in the Quinte region. He says he hasn’t been able to host his monthly tournaments since March 2020. Newman says that in-person play is important for a game like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
This is because many fighting games require precise controls and need good servers to run online smoothly. Super Smash Bros Ultimate is no different but, it lacks a good online mode which means competitive play is very difficult over the internet.
Newman also says that the local gaming scene is important.
“Gaming is how I meet my friends, gaming is how I got over my shyness and gaming got me through tough times.”
He goes on to say that the gaming community is incredibly exclusive.
“In the gaming community, we don’t care if you’re black, white, gay, straight, bi or whatever. All that matters is that you’re here to play the game,” he says.
Due to government restrictions, many sports leagues across the world such as the NHL and the NBA were forced to postpone the rest of the season for a time to help stop the spread of the virus. Things haven’t been much different for eSports either.
However, many eSports have the distinct advantage of being able to be played online, without the need for physical contact. Newman still believes that this is still not a quality substitute for in-person play.
“It’s like newspapers online is different from actually holding the paper in your hand,” he says.
The Bay of Quinte isn’t new to the eSports scene. Back in December 2014, Loyalist College students held a Super Smash Bros. tournament to raise funds for the Belleville General Hospital Foundation.
People often come from places like Kingston and Peterborough to compete, says Newman. These travellers support local businesses when they commute to Belleville. Mario’s Gaming World, a local hobby shop receives business from entrants in the tournaments that owner Mario Filice, 28, hosts.
Both Newman and Filice say they are going to try and host more tournaments once it is safe to do so and the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.
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