However, Panda Global acknowledged that its CEO, Dr. Bunney, engaged in some unbecoming behavior when interacting with other tournament organizers. The organization said that while Dr. Bunney “has been one of the more vocal supporters” of the game’s community and Smash World Tour specifically, he had “spoken [to Beyond the Summit] in a manner which did not reflect either guidance from Nintendo or our own standards.” As such, Panda Global has “[taken] efforts to rectify the situation” by assembling a dedicated team to manage Panda Cup activities to, at least in theory, “remove the possibility of future miscommunications from occurring.”

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That’s the long and short of it. Video Game Boot Camp pointed fingers at Nintendo and Panda Global, while Nintendo pointed fingers back at Video Game Boot Camp and the Smash World Tour. And now, Panda Global has pointed fingers at Video Game Boot Camp. It’s like a soap opera at this point. Who knows what the next development will be in this never-ending saga?

Update, 12/02/22, 4:05 p.m. ET: Added a statement from Panda Global.