Nintendo was supposed to be a major part of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, as was Lady Gaga emerging from a Mario warp pipe.
The Tokyo Olympic Games, which had already been delayed by a year, controversially got underway last week. Whether you're on board with the games going ahead or not, it was hard not to marvel at what was a very impressive opening ceremony. Especially if you are a fan of video game music as there was a lot of it.
Video games are a big part of Japanese culture, so the inclusion of elements and music from Square Enix, Sega, and Konami made all the sense in the world. However, there was a glaring omission. No Mario themes. In fact, nothing from Nintendo at all. That wasn't always the case, and according to Weekly Bunshun, Nintendo was going to be playing a big role in the ceremony until as recently as a month ago.
According to the article, The Legend of Zelda's main theme, Super Mario Suite, Kirby Super Star Medley, and Pokemon's opening were all going to be a part of the proceedings. Not only all of that, but it also claims Lady Gaga and Naomi Watanabe were going to appear from a giant Mario warp pipe with the singer sporting a Mario cap.
None of that happened, of course, and Nintendo told Bunshun that it is in no position to answer when asked why it decided to pull its music and IP from the ceremony very late on. Considering the renewed issues Japan is trying to tackle surrounding the pandemic, and 80% of people in Japan thinking the Olympics should not have been allowed to go ahead, it seems likely Nintendo pulled out to avoid a wave of bad publicity.
Another report earlier this year suggests the opening ceremony has had to be majorly changed to remove Nintendo references not once, but twice. Original plans reportedly included a bathing suit Mario made of lanterns. The ceremony that went ahead was still pretty spectacular, and it wasn't until it had finished that people started to wonder why there was a significant lack of Nintendo included. Elsewhere, gamers can celebrate the start of the Olympics by playing Google's incredibly elaborate RPG featuring Lucky the Cat embarking on a journey and playing a variety of different sports.