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Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games: Consuming the Olympics Through Video Gaming

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Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games: Consuming the Olympics Through Video Gaming Fred Mason Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games: Consuming the Olympics through Video Gaming Fred Mason University of New Brunswick, Canada Dating back to 2008, the series is in its 4th installment, with two summer and two winter versions, all officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The first three games of the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games series were produced by Sega for the Nintendo Wii and handheld devices, and the most recent (2014) by Nintendo for the Wii U platform. The games in this series bring together popular characters from the Mario and Sonic franchises to compete in Olympic events, such as track and field and alpine skiing, in facilities that look like the real Olympic venues of the time, or “dream events” set in worlds from Mario or Sonic games. The Wii platform also enables game players to use their “Mii’s,” customizable characters that players construct to look like their real- world selves. These features encourage the association of enjoyment and positive affect, and a certain amount of self-identification, with the Olympic Games. One stream of in-game rewards that players can achieve offers information on the history and organization of the Games, and on different Olym- pic sports. This can be seen as a form of “Olympic education,” where both positive aspects and criti- cism as a form of indoctrination can be applied. Other in-game rewards encourage players to “shop” with stars earned or scratch cards. This video game series could be taken as marketing the Olympic brand with enjoyable and popular video game characters. At the same time, it speaks to the depths of the commercialization of the Olympic movement, and how much of the Olympic ideal can be tied to individual consumption of goods and experiences. ❖ Since the Beijing Games in 2008, two of the most iconic videogame characters, Mario the portly plumber in red overalls, and Sonic, the speedy blue hedgehog, have competed at the Olympic Games. Starting with Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, released as an officially licensed Bei- jing Games tie-in in 2007 for the Wii and DS (handheld device), Sega and Nintendo have collabo- rated on a series of Olympic titles – Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2010 tie-in for Wii and DS), Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Wii, DS and 3DS), and Mario and Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (for Nintendo’s new Wii U console).1 The games in this series bring together popular characters from the Mario and Sonic franchises to compete in Olympic events such as track and field and alpine skiing, in facilities that look like the real Olympic venues of the time, or “dream events” set in worlds from classic Mario or Sonic games. Drawing on game studies literature and critiques of the commercialization of the Olympic Games, this paper con- 69 Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games 70 siders the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games videogame series with an eye to game play, in- game rewards systems, and how the games interact with Olympic ideologies and branding efforts. As far as I can determine, no scholars interested in the Olympic Games have analyzed videog- ames, despite a vast literature looking at how the Olympics is (re)presented in various types of media, and some excellent work on Olympic commercialization, sponsorship, and marketing.2 Scholars interested in videogames tend not to investigate the sports game genre, despite it being one of the best-selling genres in gaming.3 Videogames are another medium where the Olympics frequently appear, in both official and non-licensed forms, and they are an important medium because of their interactivity.4 As well, they can be an important, if unrecognized contributor to revenues from Olym- pic licensing—cross the 4 games of the Mario and Sonic series, over 29 million copies sold for differ- ent platforms, with proceeds split between the game companies, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Sports Multimedia (ISM, the IOC’s licensing partner), and the relevant Organizing Committee.5 In their introductory text on studying videogames, Engelfeldt-Nielsen, Smith and Tosca outline different approaches used in “game studies.” This work draws on three of these - focusing on the game – its structures, design, and meaning; on the players—how players use games as a medium or social space; and on the culture – how games interact with and create wider cultural patterns.6 My exploratory approach to the Mario and Sonic series focused on game play and internals, and how the games incorporated Olympic events and symbols, with some focus on player use. I “played through” each of the first three games for the Nintendo Wii, including circuit modes and embedded mini- games. I also played each game occasionally with my daughters (aged 5 and 9) and their friends, over a period of several weeks, taking note of which events and game actions they preferred and played repeatedly.7 Ultimately, I am concerned with relating this back to interactions with, and representa- tions of, Olympic images and ideologies. Mario and Sonic’s Gaming Context Mario and Sonic are almost certainly the most recognizable videogame characters ever. Each have featured in literally hundreds of titles from their respective companies and crossed over into other licensing and merchandising. Mario first appeared as the hero in the 1981 game Donkey Kong, and there are 137 videogame titles with a Mario connection currently on the market.8 Sonic first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991, and received top billing on at least one, if not multiple games every year since. Mario and Sonic served as company mascots while Nintendo and Sega bitterly faced off against each other through the 1990s, in a period some call the “Console Wars.” This rivalry only ended when Sega stopped making consoles in 1999, mainly due to increasing competition from Microsoft (Xbox) and Sony (Playstation).9 Officially licensed Olympic videogames appeared with every Olympics going back to at least 1992, although unofficial games go back much further.10 Aside from those focused on here, all offi- cial videogames attempted, within the limits of the technology, to provide realistic play as athletes in different events. Sega also produced a realistic Olympic videogame for Xbox in both 2008 and 2012, so this style of game has not disappeared, and still proves popular in European markets, which are less saturated by games based on professional sports.11 Olympic videogames are not unusual, but those starring cartoony characters with their own massive media profiles are unique. The first Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (from here, M&S) hit the market for holiday buying in 2007. It became one of the early successful games (in sales) for the Nintendo Wii, which debuted just Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games 71 over a year before. The Wii console brought Nintendo back on top of the console market for the first time in the 2000s, after long trailing behind higher tech systems from Sony and Microsoft. Wii market- ing focused on family-friendliness, playability, and cheaper cost. Its main innovation consisted of the Wii remote, or “Wiimote,” with embedded accelerometers that allowed the real-world motions of play- ers to influence in-game play through interacting with an infrared sensor. The combination of accessibil- ity for non-hardcore gamers, with “active video gaming” proved so popular that Wii consoles sold out on a monthly basis in North American stores up until early 2009. Many first-generation Wii games con- sisted of mini-games, or loosely related contests of skill, and M&S fit firmly in this mold.12 Game Play M&S offered sixteen playable characters from the two franchises, and other characters appeared in background roles like officials and media personnel. Players could compete in nine sports, including track and field events, swimming, single-scull rowing, and table tennis. The venues looked like the actual Olympic facilities, with their walls painted in Olympic rings and pictures of the Beijing Olym- pic mascots.13 Four “dream events” were also available – dream race, table tennis, fencing, and plat- form diving. These occurred in settings from old Mario or Sonic games, and players could use “power-ups” to enhance their abilities or negatively impact opponents. The M&S game took full advantage of the Wii’s “Mii Channel,” allowing players to import their “Miis,” avatars of their own design, into the game where they competed side-by-side with the franchise characters.14 In the “Gallery” section of the game, players could play mini-games (such as card games and counting games) to open information on the Olympic Games, in the areas of “Olympic Truce,” “Modern Olympic Games Facts,” “Beijing 2008,” the “Ancient Olympic Games,” and “About Ath- letes.” This essentially amounted to unveiling five short Olympic factoids in each category. The 2010-related Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (hereafter M&SW) had a similar in-game format, with nine winter sports incorporating various events, including alpine skiing, speed skating, and sliding sports. It also included mini-games under a “Party Games” section, and eleven dream event versions of winter sports. M&SW offered a festival mode for one to four players, where players trained for and competed in all events across seventeen days of Olympic competition. In playing different modes, and for accomplishments such as setting new records, players col- lected star tokens, which could be spent inside a game menu selection called “Shopping.” This fea- tured a layout of five different stores around a town square, with Mario and Sonic characters walking around in the background.
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