Nintendo Made Sure Mario Was Always Ahead of Sonic in Olympic Games Artwork
For a crossover that once felt impossible, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has always carried some fascinating behind-the-scenes quirks. Seeing Sega’s blue blur lining up alongside Nintendo’s mustached mascot was wild enough, but it turns out the rivalry didn’t stop at gameplay.
According to a former Sega developer, Nintendo had a very specific rule when it came to how these two icons were presented. Mario could never trail Sonic, not even by a single step.
That detail comes from Ryoichi Hasegawa, who worked as the localization producer on the original Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games released for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
In an interview with Arcade Attack, Hasegawa explained that Nintendo was extremely particular about how Mario appeared in promotional material.
He says Nintendo “demanded” that Mario always be positioned slightly ahead of Sonic in the artwork used across the box, manuals, and disc.
Hasegawa recalled that during production, a subtle issue popped up in the key art. “There was one small error: Sonic’s foot was in front of Mario’s foot, and Nintendo demanded us to change the priority.”
What sounds like a tiny visual nitpick quickly became a serious concern. Hasegawa added, “Oh my god, we have to change it, or there will be no deal.”
On a conceptual level, the whole thing is pretty funny. Sonic is famously marketed as the fastest thing alive, while Mario is a plumber from New York who runs on pasta, mushrooms, and sheer determination. Yet in trailers and artwork, Mario consistently keeps pace or edges ahead.
At the time, Nintendo also held most of the leverage. Although Sega developed the game, Sonic wasn’t exactly riding high in 2007 and 2008. Sonic the Hedgehog and the GBA port of the original Sonic the Hedgehog had struggled critically, while Mario had just scored a massive win with Super Mario Galaxy. There was no real debate over which character carried more momentum going into the crossover.
Looking back at later entries, the artwork tells an interesting story. Mario appears slightly ahead in the London 2012 Olympics, as well as the Vancouver and Sochi Olympic Winter Games. By the time the series reached Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, Mario and Sonic were finally shown standing on equal ground.
It’s a small detail, but it perfectly captures how protective Nintendo is of Mario’s image. Even in a friendly Olympic crossover, the plumber had to stay one step in front of the competition.
Sonic may be fast, but when it came to the artwork, Nintendo made sure Mario was always winning.