Fun Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Almost Included Beloved Pokémon and PlayStation Characters

The Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games series features, as the name suggests, characters from Nintendo and Sega’s two biggest franchises competing in Olympic events. It’s an amusing crossover, but the concept was almost expanded even further. The latest entry in the franchise could have gone full Smash Bros. and included characters from other Nintendo and non-Nintendo franchises.

Mario and Sonic Almost Had Other Franchises Join the Olympic Fun

According to The Gamer, developer Lee Cocker has stated that the team behind the series had lots of ideas for different characters to include. The roster of potential inclusions didn’t just include Nintendo characters, either. According to a post Cocker made on X, considered characters included:

“Pokemon, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Dragonball, Metal Gear Solid, Sonic Family, Mario Family, Zelda some Sony and Microsoft properties / characters. It was a very big idea that didn’t happen. Certain characters could only be used for certain events. Video Game Allstars!”

That Sounds Awesome! Why Didn’t It Happen?

The licensing got too complicated to use all these characters. Of course, people might wonder why the licensing deals worked out to use characters from various franchises in Super Smash Bros., but not in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. This is likely because Super Smash Bros. is an insanely popular and highly lucrative franchise. As such, more money might be invested in Super Smash Bros. than in the somewhat niche-oriented Mario and Sonic.

Will There Ever Be Another Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games?

A Switch 2 entry where the characters play in next year’s Winter Olympic Games could be awesome. However, Cocker also stated that the franchise is currently on hiatus, and that the International Olympic Committee wishes to explore esports instead of the minigame-focused Mario and Sonic. However, we should never assume that a Nintendo franchise is dead. Perhaps someday, Mario and Sonic will start playing Olympic games again – and they might bring some friends from other franchises with them.