Eurogamer ’10: Naka to Blame for Mario and Sonic Olympic Shenanigans

Many people thought it was strange and amazing when word first came out about Sonic and Mario appearing together in a game for the first time. What kind of shenanigans could Sonic and Mario get into together? Take down Dr. Robotnik and Bowser together? Battle each other in bloody combat?

I’m sure no one expected an archery competition.

Yes, Mario & Sonic at The Olympic Games was not what many people expected when pairing gaming’s two most recognizable figures. In fact many people despised the sports title, but didn’t know if the idea came from SEGA or Nintendo. Now gamers have someone they can focus their disdain at: Yuji Naka, Sonic’s creator, has stepped forward and claimed full responsibility for the game’s inception. Speaking at today’s Eurogamer Expo in London, Naka said “it was actually my idea.” Apparently before he left SEGA (a year before Mario & Sonic’s release), he “was the one who approached Nintendo about it.

“I thought it would be fascinating to see the two heroes play together or play against each other, so that was exactly what I wanted. So I don’t feel anything funny about that at all,” he said. Pretty much everyone could agree that seeing Mario and Sonic in the same game would be “fascinating”, but not in a sport’s title. Gamers would have to wait a whole year to see Mario and Sonic duke it out in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and would see the rivalry continue another year after that in Mario & Sonic at The Olympic Winter Games. If only there was still hope for a cross-world platforming game.