Tokyo 2020 at the Rio 2016 Closing Ceremony - videogames!

I know I should be in bed now being from Brexit Island, but just caught the Tokyo 2020 sizzle stuff at the Rio 2016 Closing Ceremony. Much videogame-related ness! Although it was a cool high-tech vision of the future, Mario and Pac-Man still made an appearance - in fact, the Tokyo President appeared from a large green warp pipe wearing Mario's clothes. Also after the dancing and projection mapping, it ended with fireworks and the music from the end level of Mario Bros.

Maybe I did dream it? Someone needs to chuck video here to prove I wasn't dreaming...

Also this - http://press-start.com.au/news/nintendo/2016/08/22/super-mario-helped-close-rio-2016-olympics/

I hope we get a Tokyo 2020 game. The Mario and Sonic ha,es don't cut it.

Also, holy fuck, 2020 is less than 4 years away? My brain can't actually process the futurness of that.

@hunkulese: Dude it hits me pretty hard too.

"IN THE FAR FLUNG FUTURE OF TWENTY-TWENTY-ONE" sounds like it may as well be Star Trek.

Well, if they manage to keep Sonic and friends out it might actually be good.

The Prime Minister of Japan literally turned into Mario and took a warp pipe to Rio.

That is a thing that happened today.

Actually makes a lot of sense in retrospect. Mario is probably the most popular family-friendly mascot Japan has, and Nintendo already works with the Olympics on those Mario & Sonic games.

Dude what.
I live in Australia and suddenly the idea of buying tickets well in advance for 2020 to Tokyo is very appealing to me. Just to see the insanity.

Hopefully the Mario & Sonic Olympics 2020 game wont be terrible. And Splatoon should be an olympic event.

No doubt there'll be better video later, but this is pretty great.

These better be the most Tron-ass Olympics or I will be very disappointed.

The NX is actually the code name for Nintendo's plan for the 2020 Olympics. They're leaving video games and are going to make all of their money by selling the rights to use Mario as an Olympic mascot.

Sonic will be offered for free because, well, it's Sonic. They really didn't want Sonic but he was already there and they would feel bad if they had to tell him to go away.

Oh. Oh my.

The hype is real.

Funny Shinzo Abe should show up wearing a red hat to pledge allegiance to fellow awful person and red hat wearer M. Bison.

I wonder if it's possible to make a good Mario and Sonic at the Olympics game...

Best Nintendo Advert Ever. Loved it.

I'll be going to Tokyo 2020, and enjoying the new Nintendo theme park during its opening week.

Man, 2020 sounds like the far-flung future. Will there be Cyber-Athletes?

@mikelemmer: I was wondering, is Mario the most famous 'person' from Japan full stop?

I'm trying to think of any more internationally famous Japanese figures and the best I can come up with is Yoko Ono.

God bless the BBC. There's video of it here. Unfortunately it wont embed in the post, which given the IOC's APM on issuing DCMAs this year is probably for the best.

Here's the full thing, in case you're outside of the UK and can't watch it from @lanerobertlane's link.

The only thing missing on this video is the ending of the ceremony, with the fireworks and the end level music from Mario Bros.

Hopefully me living in Yokohama will shield me from some of the extra busyness the Olympics is going to bring to Tokyo

PEOPLE!

We HAVE to keep the world going for four more years! Can we manage that?

@johnymyko:

I don't care much for the Olympics, but man - that was fantastic.

"Now's that's an entrance." - that's goddamn right.

GG Brazil, Japan wins.

The Mario goof was funny but holy crap, that video before that, that's Persona levels of STYLE

This is hilarious to me, because while people on the Internet are all "yay Mario!", I was with 6 Japanese when this happened and it was all jeers.

That video was good, but imagine how much better it would have been if it featured Hatsune Miku?

I checked the video afterwards and it looked super cool; it connected comics / characters people know with Olympic theme and therefore made it more relatable / familiar.

People always talk if Olympics are a good investment for the hosting nation; with this kind of "industry" engagement in the Olympics, they could really help their sales and therefore influence Japan's economy in positive way.

Japan is just so good at this. That mario sound in a huge area is just an amazing thing.

Well that was pretty amazing.

That was my first thought as well. "Shibuya 9:30am" then a jump cut to Shibuya at night as the music kicks left me half-expecting a Persona evocation.

I think there was a fantastic confidence with this that gives me hope that Tokyo 2020 will be something else. Besides the Mario stuff, they did some great work with the projection mapping and those LED cubes. Could be the best Olympics.