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Every story has its beginning, so there must be an end to the journey. After 17 years of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, the tradition will no longer continue in light of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) shift in focus.
Eurogamer reports that the organisation made the decision to walk away from its long-running partnership with Nintendo and Sega, allowing it to lapse in 2020. As a result, there won’t be a Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games entry for this year, with the effort redirected into exploring non-fungible tokens (NTFs) and esports instead.
“They wanted to look at other partners and NFTs and esports,” Lee Cocker, who worked on almost every entry in the series, told the outlet. “Basically the IOC wanted to bring [it] back to themselves internally and look at other partners so they would get more money.”
First started in 2007, the Olympic tie-up series kicked off for the Wii with the Beijing 2008 edition, before expanding into London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, as well as the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014. This makes six titles in total, marking an end of a fairly successful run over the years.
For the Paris Games, the IOC has set its sights on a free-to-play smartphone title called Olympics Go! Paris 2024. Developed with Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid studio nWay, it features minigames based on 12 Olympics events, including archery, gymnastics, 100m athletics, swimming, and golf. Players will be able to claim “officially licensed, commemorative Paris 2024 NFT Digital Pin,” per the official game website.
“You can claim a legendary or epic pin showcasing the Paris 2024 mascot holding a flag and waving. You can add these digital gems to your collection through Magic Eden’s friendly NFT marketplace as part of Coinbase’s Onchain Summer event. Be sure to have an ETH L2 Base-supported wallet to secure yours today!” it reads.
It’s been a good run, even if the subsequent Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games games proved a little repetitive due to recurring events. Next on the IOC agenda is the inaugural Esports Olympic Games held in Saudi Arabia next year — now a popular, if controversial, esports destination.
Here’s a look back at the trailer for the Tokyo 2020 tie-up, for old times’ sake:
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
