Former Sega developer Ryoichi Hasegawa shared a behind-the-scenes story from Sega and Nintendo’s collaboration on Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, saying that the latter was extremely particular about the placement of its mascot in promotional material.
Hasegawa discussed his career in the games industry during an interview with Arcade Attack Retro Gaming Network, in which he reflected on how unusual it once was to see characters from rival companies appear together in the same game.
Nintendo “demanded” changes to Mario’s placement
Looking back at the original Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, released in 2008 to coincide with the Beijing Olympics, Hasegawa explained just how significant the crossover felt at the time.
“The collaboration of characters is pretty common now, but back then, that was like ‘Oh my god’, you know.” He then recalled a specific moment during the development of the game’s promotional artwork.
Segment begins at 56:24
“There was one funny story. There was, of course, artwork of Mario and Sonic and other characters standing on the field, and those artworks were used for the packaging, instruction manual, and cartridge label, things like that.”
According to Hasegawa, a specific visual detail, which he described as a “small error,” became an issue for Nintendo.
“There was one small error, and Sonic’s foot was in front of Mario’s foot, and Nintendo demanded we change the priority. I still remember that.” When asked whether Sega agreed to the request, Hasegawa replied, “Of course. We were like ‘Oh my god, we have to change it, or there will be no deal.’”
Non perdere le offerte sulle cantinette vino: Candy, Haier e Midea disponibili ora!