Why aren’t Mario and Sonic in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games? NFTs are partly to blame

Last Friday, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games kicked off. It’s three weeks where the best athletes from all over the world come together in different sports disciplines, in addition to days where there is a lot of material related to the event. And yes, video games are included here, such as Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, but why don’t we have anything about them?

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Since 2007, the characters from Nintendo and SEGA have joined forces to share the screen, an anniversary that in the 90s would have been unthinkable, but had already become something common after almost fifteen years together. However, now we have not had the relevant edition related to Paris, and the blame lies with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) itself.

According to Eurogamer, Lee Cocker, one of the most authoritative voices in the franchise as a license manager, explained that the IOC decided not to renew the licensing agreement with Nintendo and SEGA because they wanted to make more money in multiple ways. “They wanted to seek other partners, NFTs, and esports. Basically, the IOC wanted to refocus on themselves and aimed to obtain more money,” says Cocker.

In the face of this movement, the Committee decided it was time to let go of Mario and Sonic, despite having released a total of six installments. The first of them was the original Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games in 2007, while the latest was Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Currently, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have an official championship title. It is available for smartphones and is called Olympics Go! Paris 2024. It is completely free, but through its website you can also purchase NFTs in the form of commemorative pins.

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