The Olympics are underway in Paris, and we bet you’ve seen enough now to be itching for a good video game, eh? While Konami’s iconic International Track & Field on PS1 can never be beaten, SEGA made a bunch of great arcade sports tie-ins in more recent years, like the amazing London 2012 and equally fun Tokyo 2020. We also really enjoyed the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series, but obviously this was exclusive to Nintendo platforms.
Alas, there’ll be no more: Lee Cocker, a game development consultant who bridged the gap between SEGA and the International Olympic Committee, has confirmed that the license has moved elsewhere. There is an official Paris 2024 game, but unfortunately Olympics Go is exclusive to smartphones and probably not what you’re looking for if you’re reading this article. According to Cocker, SEGA didn’t give up the license, rather the IOC wanted to look elsewhere for alternative partners.
Bolt from the blue
Gold standard?
So that’s it for now, then, no more awesome arcade Olympics sports games from SEGA – at least for the time being. We understand these games probably don’t sell particularly well, as they’re effectively minigame compilations with a very limited shelf life. But, as we mentioned above, we’ve always been fond of the likes of International Track & Field, so it’s a shame to see there’s no alternative this year.
As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.
This is the worst timeline.
After what happened at the opening, i don't think Sega or Nintendo wants to touch «Olympic» brand anymore.
Damn. Enjoyed some of the previous ones
Made it sound like Sony was the only one not getting the games with that title.
The Konami international track and
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