Nintendo always keeps a careful eye on its branding and the face of its company, Mario. Even when collaborating with a partner like Sega.
Of course, the relationship between Sega and Nintendo is much different today than it was 30 years ago at the height of the console wars. As many know, Sonic, Sega’s mascot, was designed specifically to make Mario seem slow and outdated, so more players would gravitate toward the Sega Genesis home console. However, Sega left the console war in 2001 and, in later years, appeared alongside Mario in Super Smash Bros. games and in their own game, where Mario, Sonic, and many of their side characters from their respective franchises participated in Olympic sports.
Mario Can’t Appear to Be a Step Behind
Ryoichi Hasegawa, a former Sega producer, worked on the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games franchise. Now, he’s sharing a fun story that offers insight into how protective Nintendo is of its mascot.
He was recently interviewed by Adrian of the Arcade Attack Retro Gaming Network, and during the interview, explained that Nintendo once was upset that Sonic’s foot was ahead of Mario’s in the key art for the Mario and Sonic at the Beijing Olympics video game
“But there was one funny story. There was, of course, artwork of Mario, Sonic, and other characters standing on the field. Those artworks were used for the package, the instruction manual cover, and the cartridge label, and things like that. There was one small error. Sonic’s foot was in front of Mario’s foot. Nintendo demanded us to change the priority. I still remember that. We were like, ‘Oh my God! We have to change it, or there’ll be no deal.'”
That’s right, blast processing be damned! Mario will always be one step ahead. There were six games featuring the Mario and Sonic characters at the Olympics. However, the series has remained dormant since the 2019 release of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
For more on Nintendo’s protective nature, check out the explanation of why the “Nindie” branding had to go away. Also, don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
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