Update [Sun 26th March]:
A reminder that the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Championship Cup is currently taking place at the PAX Arena, and the Splatoon 3 North American Championship 2023 will be streaming from 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM EDT live from Boston.
Original Story:
Earlier this week, we heard how Nintendo’s upcoming release The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom would be skipping PAX East 2023. In a statement, a Nintendo spokesperson mentioned how the company’s presence at the show would be dedicated to competitive play.
Now, in an official press release, Nintendo has announced it will bring the Splatoon 3 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Championships to this event from March 23 to March 26. Nintendo fans will be able to watch some of the best players in North America duke it out. Attendees will also be able to enter the final qualifier for the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Championship Cup tournament (check-in will take place on March 25 at 10 am ET in-person and on March 24 at 10 am ET online).
“On March 26, don’t miss the best of the best race and ink it out in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Championship Cup 2023 and the Splatoon 3 North American Championship 2023 tournaments! All PAX attendees are welcome to come check out these action-packed tournaments, featuring some of the top elite players in North America. The top four teams from the Splatoon 3 Splatsville Showdown tournament will be competing across all ranked modes to see which squid squad will emerge vINKtorious! The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Championship Cup 2023 tournament will kick off at 11 a.m. ET on March 26 at the PAX Arena, directly followed by the Splatoon 3 North American Championship 2023 tournament.”
As part of this show floor event, Nintendo will also be operating a ‘NintendoVS arcade’ where fans can try fun challenges in Mario Party Superstars, Yoshi’s Crafted World, Mario Golf: Super Rush, and the original Super Mario Bros. game. There’ll even be some special giveaways for those who participate.
NintendoVS will also be running on-site and online sweepstakes, where players could win a special NintendoVS custom-made gaming chair. Online users can enter via My Nintendo. There’ll be a My Nintendo check-in for two separate giveaways on the PAX show floor as well.