According to a new report, Nintendo and Sega clashed over Sonic’s foot placement on the front cover of crossover game Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games.
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Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games was released in 2007 for the Wii ahead of a Nintendo DS version the following year. The crossover between the two long-standing rivals saw players competing in a number of sporting events. “The Olympics is about gathering everyone, from young to old, together. And in that spirit, we thought this the best time for Sonic and Mario to be in a game together,” said Nintendo at the time.
However a new report claims that things weren’t always friendly during the development of the game. Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games’ cover art sees the two mascots head-to-head in a face but according to Sega veteran Ryoichi Hasegawa, “There was one small error and Sonic’s foot was in front of Mario’s foot and Nintendo demanded we change the priority.”
He went on to tell Arcade Attack Retro Gaming Network that Sega immediately caved to Nintendo’s demands. “We were like ‘oh my god we have to change it or there will be no deal’.”
“The collaboration between those characters is pretty common now but back then, it was a big thing,” he added.
The International Olympic Committee ended their deal with Nintendo and Sega after the release of Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and wanted to focus on mobile gaming and NFTs instead.
Later this year, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will hit cinemas with Brie Larson joining the cast as Rosalina alongside Jack Black (Bowser), Chris Pratt (Mario), Charlie Day (Luigi), Anya Taylor-Joy (Peach), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad) and Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek). Meanwhile the fourth Sonic The Hedgehog movie is set to launch next year.
In other news, a Russian religious organisation has called for Grand Theft Auto 6 to be banned over the rumoured inclusion of male strippers.
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