IOC Ended Mario and Sonic Deal to Become Crypto Bros
By Brian Allen
Just a couple of days ago, I wondered aloud where some sort of official Olympic game was in 2024. Eurogamer uncovered the answer, and it's a sad, cringy, trend-chasing kind of thing. The gaming world was abuzz with excitement in 2007 when a partnership with the International Olympics Committee helped usher in a legendary teamup.
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games launched in 2007, the two gaming icons being perfect spokesmen for a spirit of friendly competition. Six more titles graced the series, with Mario and Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games being the last. Lee Cocker, a producer who worked on several of the games, told Eurogamer the IOC ended the partnership to pursue other ideas including NFTs and esports.
The idea of selling overpriced imaginary collectibles was a fever dream for the same industry that gave us horse armor. The problem got even worse as the global pandemic left players with time on their hands and money from their usual entertainment options to burn. The IOC certainly weren't alone in diving off this financial and creative cliff. Ubisoft, EA, and Square Enix all looked into the prospects. But none of them walked away from a game franchise that was the stuff of fan fiction before Sega, Nintendo and the IOC made it a reality. As is often the case when executives start burning their own home for kindling, they didn't realize what they were setting fire to.
You probably didn't know this, but there is an official Olympic game. Olympics Go Paris 2024 is available on iOS, Android, and PC. It is tied to digital NFT pins from publisher and developer nWay because of course it is. Don't be too upset if you didn't hear about this one. It's my literal job to know and I'm just now hearing about it. Of the 17 quintillion ads I have seen since the Summer Olympics started, exactly zero were trying to sell me this game.
So let's review. The IOC apparently said thanks, but no thanks, to a renewal of a wildly successful partnership with the two best-known characters in gaming. It went off in its own direction and came up with a game even it appears embarrassed to show to people. And for the final indignity, it comes with NFTs, the grift flavor of about two and a half years ago. It's stunning, but basically on brand for the IOC.