SWT Cancellation: Former Panda CEO Finally Tells His Side of The Story

Dr. Alan Bunney, the former CEO of Panda, has released a lengthy statement in which he has defended himself against allegations made by Smash World Tour and Beyond the Summit about his involvement in getting SWT canceled. 

Recall that SWT released a statement of their own in which they chronicled the breakdown of their relationship with Nintendo a lot of which was attributed to the meddling of Dr. Alan. In that statement, they also claimed that Alan had gone around telling everyone that they were going to be shut down.

Nintendo on their part, claimed that they only refused SWT a license based on fears held over the health and safety of fans.

In Alan's statement, he pointed out that Panda stood to lose with SWT getting canceled, and therefore, he had no motivation to sabotage it.

Of particular interest was Alan's narration of his meetings with former BTS operative Ken Chen whom he said was difficult to work with. He claimed that he at no point threatened BTS and was instead looking for a way to work with them. 

He shared screenshots of various conversations that were had between the two in which he claimed he acted in good faith. 

The statement has caused quite the stir as many have come forward to respond to it. For his part, Ken Chen stated that he was never irritable with Alan and that the former Panda CEO was the one who was aggressive. 

Ultimately, Alan has stated that he would no longer be a part of the Smash community and that he is also looking at divesting his shares from Panda so as to ensure the company goes into new ownership. He did apologize to Panda employees, BTS staff (except Ken), and other TOs if any of his behavior had rubbed them the wrong way.

A Twitter user by the name of Chrome did a great breakdown of all that has happened which you can read here. 

Nintendo hasn't responded to this, and it is believed they might not say anything. It is hoped that this saga is nearing its end, but there might still be a way to go yet.