Despite featuring esports-oriented imagery in the Nintendo Switch's announcement trailer, Nintendo isn't necessarily going all-in on esports with their new console.

Nintendo of Canada's communications manager, Andrew Collins, told theScore esports that while the company is definitely aware of and is interested in the esports scene that has been built up around several of their titles, it's not the first thing on their docket right now.

"I mean, it's something that interests us, but at the moment I think, you know, everyone is busy focusing on the launch," Collins said. "It's an interesting thing because we often find that communities build it themselves.

"Even if we weren't going to do anything, the community will build themselves, and I think that's one of the most exciting things about esports now."

And the community has certainly been busy building up. Putting aside the huge communities around Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros for Wii U, the smaller Splatoon community is excited about Splatoon 2's new spectator mode, while EVO organizers Triple Perfect put Nintendo's upcoming fighting game Arms on the list of games that could be voted into EVO 2017.

People are interested in what Nintendo can do with the scenes growing around their big launch window titles, but for now, it's not quite a priority. Collins can only speak for the Canadian side of the company as far as corporate culture goes, but he says that plenty of Nintendo staffers are watching esports and have personal interest in the space, but the company at large is focused on the general market for launch.

That doesn't mean the company isn't going to continue making competitive games though. Both Splatoon 2 and Arms are games driven by their competitive multiplayer modes. Even if the company isn't focused on growing Nintendo's esports presence with their titles right now, competition will continue to be a part of Nintendo's games.

"We want to make sure that we build these competitive games that the core gamers will play, because know it's something they will like," Collins said. "But at the same time, I've got friends with seven-year-old twins, and they love playing Splatoon against each other, so that competitive element works for them as well. So it's kind of we see that it's... I mean, everyone likes that little element of competition."

Collins' own interest in esports partially stems from the fact that he sees it as part of a movement to legitimize gaming as more than a simple pastime. He notes that despite it being an over 40-year old industry, many are ready to brush it off as something that can't be taken seriously and esports is helping to change that.

"There's huge games that 25,000 people to come and watch and I think that really helps show that gaming is not just for for those people that other people assume are gamers," Collins said. "If you look at the numbers, when you have a really big game launch, that game on the opening weekend creates more revenue than Star Wars. And both those put together, we're not a little pastime anymore and it's something that's personally to me, it's important that all these little avenues help us legitimize gaming in the wider community."

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But things do go the other way. Esports often feel the need to be legitimized by bigger companies that look to invest or otherwise take part in the scene. The Smash community has wanted Nintendo to get involved for years, and while they've dipped their toes in it, Nintendo's presence in what is ostensibly their biggest esports title has been limited to tournament sponsorships.

Collins was unable to say exactly what Nintendo's partnership with Genesis and other tournaments entailed, but did say that Nintendo works that out with each tournament organizer on an individual basis.

"The main thing behind it is we want to be able to support the community," Collins said. "Because for Nintendo the gaming community is very very important for us."

Part of that responsibility is also considering what happens down the line, if Nintendo does decide to start getting involved in tournament organization. When asked about how Nintendo would react if a non-endemic brand were to get interested in Nintendo's potential esports presence, Collins noted that considering partnerships like the upcoming Nintendo theme park at Universal Studios and Vans' Nintendo collection, it's not something that would be out of the question for the company.

"If something were to develop like that down the line, yeah, I'm sure we would look at whoever, so long as they match the brand," Collins said. "We've got a very....it's like we've got a responsibility. We want to make sure that with our responsibility we are sticking with brands who are appropriate for the company."

Dennis "Tarmanydyn" Gonzales is a news editor for theScore esports who enjoys whiskey, D&D a first-picking Abaddon Slardar Clinkz Medusa Oracle a P90 my Souvenir Negev Discipline Priest Pharah. You can follow him on Twitter.