Super Ma-Rio: Japan's PM kicks off Nintendo-branded Olympics closing ceremony
Japan looks intent on plumping the popularity of Nintendo with the company taking a vital role in delivering the nation’s Rio 2016 handover during the closing ceremony.
Mario
A themed handover to Japan on Sunday night (21 August) saw Nintendo’s iconic Super Mario travel to Rio to raise the profile of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
While London 2012 aped the UK's cultural heritage with references to James Bond, Harry Potter, Mr Bean and more, Japan looks to have heavily included Nintendo, with the success of its characters and the global resurgence of Pokemon likely to provide a lift to its games and attract younger viewers. Notably, the company also developed the official game of the last two Olympics, featuring Mario, Sonic and more.
The surreal event saw mayor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike dressed in a kimono waving an Olympic flag , however, stealing the show was a segment featuring Mario.
A video showed Mario traversing the densely populated streets of Tokyo before jumping into a green pipe and travelling through the centre of the Earth to Rio; emerging out of a pipe in the stadium dressed as Mario however was prime minister Shinzo Abe, watch it below.
Mario shows up at Rio 2016 Closing Ceremony pic.twitter.com/Cf0QbWgEYl
— AllGamesDelta (@AllGamesDelta) August 22, 2016
The Mario series has shifted more than 400m units, with there being 23 main titles since 1985.