Mario and Sonic were benched by the Olympics in favour of NFTs and esports, former producer on the series says

If you're a fan of both video games and the Olympics, you may have noticed that two long running competitors didn't turn up to the Stade de France in Paris this year—Mario and Sonic. Gaming's two most recognisable mascots have fronted a tie-in game for every Summer Olympics since 2008's Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. For this year's Paris event, however, the two have been conspicuously absent.

Have the pair been led astray by their recently found cinematic fame? No. In fact, the decision not to have an Olympics tie-in game this year stemmed from the International Olympics Committee, rather than anything on SEGA or Nintendo's part.

This revelation comes from Lee Cocker, who previously worked as an executive producer at sports marketing and digital media firm ISM Ltd, who are responsible for managing the Olympics' license for video games. In this position, Cocker worked on almost every entry in the Mario & Sonic series.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Cocker explained that the IOC chose not to renew its licensing deal with Nintendo and Sega, effectively ending the franchise when the deal lapsed in 2020. "They wanted to look at other partners and NFTs," as well as esports, Cocker told Eurogamer. "Basically, the IOC wanted to bring [it] back to themselves internally and look at other partners so they would get more money."

So what exactly is the IOC doing in the absence of Mario and Sonic? Well, for starters, it's worth noting the Paris Olympics does have an official video game, a free-to-play title called Olympics Go! Paris 2024 (which somehow manages to be an even clunkier title than the Mario & Sonic games despite using fewer words) available on mobile and PC.

nWay is also responsible for the Olympics' NFTs offering "officially licensed commemorative Paris 2024 NFT Digital Pin collection". The company's website states "You can claim a legendary or epic pin showcasing the Paris 2024 mascot holding a flag and waving."

Regarding esports, earlier this month, the IOC announced the first Olympic Esports Games in conjunction with the National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia, to be held in 2025. The decision led to accusations of sportswashing on Saudi Arabia's part, due to the country's terrible record on human rights. Not that Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman particularly cares, telling Fox News in 2023, "If sportswashing is going to increase my GDP by way of one percent, then I will continue doing sportwashing." Something tells me you wouldn't hear Mario or Sonic say that.