You may recall the surprising inclusion of characters such as Mario and Pac-Man in the Closing Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympics. However, the Pokemon universe was not among them. According to an unidentified Tokyo Olympic/Paralympic Committee member, the team behind the ceremony show began preparations in January. This was before Pokemon GO was released. Another reason given was that Pokémon was not as “well-known comparatively worldwide”. Mario games sold more than Pokemon games, 320 million and 200 million, respectively. They also felt that “the timing for including Pokémon in the show was still considered not right”. Lastly, the Japanese Olympic Organizing Committee just couldn’t pass up the pun of “Mario” and “Rio” from “Rio de Janeiro”.

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