Nintendo reportedly pulled out of the Tokyo 2020 opening at the last minute

Nintendo reportedly removed content from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games opening ceremony at the last minute.

That’s according to Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun (translated by VGC), which claims to have obtained more than ten script proposals for Tokyo 2020’s opening ceremony, which allegedly reveal that Nintendo had been actively involved in planning a scrapped video games sequence for the show.

The Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony was held last week, on July 23, and its sole video game reference took place during The Parade of Nations, the lengthy process in which all 11,260 athletes taking part in the Games entered the arena.

This section was accompanied by orchestral renditions of music from video games developed in Japan, including the likes of Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter, Dragon Quest, Sonic the Hedgehog and Chrono Trigger.

However, given its strong influence around the globe, many were surprised that Nintendo content did not appear during the sequence, or the wider ceremony.

Nintendo’s absence was even more surprising considering that it was the star of Tokyo 2020’s very first ceremony appearance at the Rio 2016 closing show, when then prime minister Shinzo Abe emerged from a Super Mario pipe dressed as the Nintendo mascot.

According to Bunshun, a script for the opening dated June 16, 2021 – a little over a month before the event – had included five songs related to Nintendo during the Parade of Nations, including the main themes from Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon.

However, the final opening ceremony did not include any of these Nintendo songs, suggesting that they were removed very late on.

Due to rising coronavirus cases, the Tokyo 2020 games have faced widespread criticism in Japan, leading to some headline sponsors scaling back their involvement.

However, Bunshun claims that Nintendo’s decision could also be influenced by its “mixed feelings” about the removal of ceremony content it had worked on for earlier scripts. That includes one introduction sequence that was set to feature performances inspired by “the 8-bit world of video games”.

Nintendo’s most senior creative, Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto, is claimed to have been heavily involved in the creation of said sequence alongside choreographer Mikiko Mizuno, and had travelled to Tokyo every week to hold meetings, according to Bunshun.

However, when Tokyo 2020 was delayed to 2021 due to the pandemic, a new creative director, Hiroshi Sasaki, was brought on board in December 2020, and Mizuno left her position soon after (Sasaki himself later resigned due to a scandal).

The turmoil led to many script revisions and the alleged removal of content related to Nintendo games, including Miyamoto’s 8-bit sequence, which is said to have planned to include characters such as Super Mario and Space Invaders.

According to Bunshun, another script revision dated October 2020 featured a second appearance of the famous Mario warp pipe from Rio 2016’s closing show.

Script documents allegedly show plans for singer/actress Lady Gaga to appear during a show sequence wearing a Mario hat. After Gaga disappeared down the warp pipe, Japanese comedian Naomi Watanabe was planned to then emerge from the iconic video game item in her place.

Nintendo reportedly declined to comment on the Tokyo 2020 plans when approached by Bunshun.

Due to rising coronavirus cases, the Tokyo 2020 games have faced widespread criticism in Japan, leading to some headline sponsors scaling back their involvement.