Nintendo didn’t pay anything for Mario’s inclusion in Olympics closing ceremony

Nintendo earned big exposure during the closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympics last month. Mario appeared in a special video, and Japan’s prime minister even dressed up as the famous character. Mario and other characters had representation in the closing ceremony to ring in the next Olympics Japan will host in 2020.

Japan Today has a follow-up report on Nintendo’s involvement, and shared some interesting information. The site reached out to spokesperson Yasuhiro Minagawa, who said that the company did not need to pay anything for Mario’s inclusion. It merely came about due to Nintendo’s “cooperation”.

“I want to make that clear. We did not pay,” Minagawa stated. “And we are not going to become Olympic sponsors either.”

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