Summer Olympics 2020 Video Games

[Mkbw50 457]

So, with the Summer Olympics just round the corner, the normal tat will be flooding Japan come this summer. It is still not rare for this Londoner to go on the tube and see someone with a London 2012 t-shirt, bag, or hat on.

 

But one piece of media floods every part of the world, the video game. Sports video games have taken mad leaps ahead with games like FIFA 20 focusing on extreme realism. Football Manager is now used by real clubs as a way to scout players. Olympics fans have two games to choose from: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - The Official Video Game (which will be henceforth referred to as Tokyo 2020 to save me writing that out again), and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (or Mario & Sonic for short). There is also an arcade game and a phone game (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Arcade Edition and Sonic at the Olympic Games - Tokyo 2020 respectively), but I won't write about these here.

 

Let's start with Mario & Sonic. After every Winter and Summer Olympics from Beijing 2008-Rio 2016 had both a console (Wii/Wii U) or handheld (DS/3DS) version, apart from Sochi 2014 which just had a Wii U game, there was an absence for PyeongChang 2018. It's now back on the hybrid Nintendo Switch as one game. It features Mario and Sonic characters, but doesn't really feel like a game from either franchise. The problem lies with the fact that it doesn't feel like a proper sports title or Olympic game either, leaving it with a bit of an identity crisis.

 

There are a fair few amount of sports here, with the same twenty characters we've had since Vancouver 2010, although twelve sports have a guest only available in that sport. The existence of these characters are really the only callback to these games. There were far more Easter Eggs, even in Olympic events, in games like Vancouver 2010 and London 2012. The return of "Dream Events" should be a welcome edition, as in London 2012 they took us to Super Mario Galaxy and in Sochi 2014 Super Mario Sunshine, but here they fail to capture the essence of their host franchises.

 

Games also feel under-developed. In 100m there is no semi-final or heat (unlike in Rio 2016), just a single dash. There are three difficulty levels, but while there are achievements the unlockable goodies like costumes don't return. There is a "Story Mode" with an amusing pretence and funny dialogue, but this often feels dragged with more time in loading screens than actually doing the event. There are some retro events based on Tokyo 1964, and minigames in the Story Mode, but this doesn't save this game.

 

Luckily we have a second option: Tokyo 2020. But alas, this misses the mark. In the same way Mario & Sonic fails to capture the essence of... well... Mario and Sonic, this misses on being an Olympic video game. There are, after all, only a Summer Olympics once every four years, so it begs the question why they stick on a half-measure? The sports and disciplines of Artistic Swimming, Diving, Open Water Swimming, Water Polo, Archery, Badminton, Softball, 3x3 Basketball, Canoeing (both Slalom and Sprint), BMX Freestyle, Road Cycling, Mountain Biking, Track Cycling, Equestrian (Dressage, Eventing, and Jumping), Fencing, Field Hockey, Golf, Gymnastics (Artistic, Rhythmic, and Trampoline), Handball, Karate (both Kata and Kumite), Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Skateboarding, Surfing, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Volleyball (team), Weightlifting, and Wrestling are absent.

 

While this is OK for a Mario and Sonic game, for a supposedly serious sports title this is bad. Even the sports that are in fail to take themselves seriously. Do we really need two separate titles to have 100m dashes where you press an extra button for a super dash once per game, or a football game where you get a super shot, etc. Why not have proper in-depth titles instead of a minigame collection? They could have at the very least included all NOCs as playable countries instead of just a select few. Or why not have the football format done properly with sixteen teams in a group stage, instead of having 3 games for a medal? This would require almost 0 extra effort on the part of the devs.

 

Some might say 340 games is a bit "over the top". But when half are the same (Men's and Women's 100m for example), and many sports (100m and 200m, say) would take very little time to made differently, with eight years since the last Olympic game of this sport, why not? Any other sports franchise is taken seriously. If FIFA tried to change the game to have "super shots" people would stop buying. Olympics fans shouldn't tolerate it.

[Olympian1010 8,274]

I have to disagree with your assessment of Tokyo 2020. Your criticisms are valid, and I agree with them, but you fail to see the main purpose of an Olympics video game (or at least of this one). Yes, every country should be represented, and that’s a major oversight. More sports would have also been nice, but the sports we do have are quality. The controls are intuitive, and do simulate the actions of athletes better than the last games. While it would be nice to have an Olympics themed games where you can play every sport/event, that is a lot to ask of developers, designers, coders, and everyone else behind the scenes. Quite frankly it would take years, and many gamers still wouldn’t play it because it just doesn’t have the wow factor, and it’s not inline with gaming culture. I think Sega realizes this, and they took a realistic look at the this game. They made a game where, like the sims, you can be athlete (that’s pretty damn cool). They made game that has the most realistic controls possible for a video game. They made a game that actually requires you to practice to get better at it. It’s not a button masher, and the artistic design is arcade-like, but also vaguely realistic at the same time. I still haven’t gotten to the purpose of this game though. This game is a marketing tool for Japan, for Tokyo, and for Tokyo2020. It shows off the wonderful sights of Tokyo2020, and gets people seriously excited for the games. I watched gamers play it when it first came out, and many them legitimately wanted to attend the Tokyo2020 games, and many them never had an interest in the Olympics before. The game really captures the Olympic spirit well, and it’s a game I’ll be playing for a long time probably. It’s also a great game for the family, as it was advertised to be. Honestly, it’s probably the best Olympic themed game of all time. 
 

Mario and Sonic is shit. That’s all I have to say about that one. Vancouver and Rio were the best games in the franchise. I loved playing Vancouver especially. (I also loved playing the realistic London 2012 game. That game has a cult following in the gaming community) 

 

The mobile game looks very interesting as well. I actually have hopes for this one. Supposedly you can play online against people (so a Totallympics throw down may be coming ). There’s also a good selection of some different sports than the console game, so that’s nice.

[Mkbw50 457]

3 minutes ago, Olympian1010 said:

I have to disagree with your assessment of Tokyo 2020. Your criticisms are valid, and I agree with them, but you fail to see the main purpose of an Olympics video game (or at least of this one). Yes, every country should be represented, and that’s a major oversight. More sports would have also been nice, but the sports we do have are quality. The controls are intuitive, and do simulate the actions of athletes better than the last games. While it would be nice to have an Olympics themed games where you can play every sport/event, that is a lot to ask of developers, designers, coders, and everyone else behind the scenes. Quite frankly it would take years, and many gamers still wouldn’t play it because it just doesn’t have the wow factor, and it’s not inline with gaming culture. I think Sega realizes this, and they took a realistic look at the this game. They made a game where, like the sims, you can be athlete (that’s pretty damn cool). They made game that has the most realistic controls possible for a video game. They made a game that actually requires you to practice to get better at it. It’s not a button masher, and the artistic design is arcade-like, but also vaguely realistic at the same time. I still haven’t gotten to the purpose of this game though. This game is a marketing tool for Japan, for Tokyo, and for Tokyo2020. It shows off the wonderful sights of Tokyo2020, and gets people seriously excited for the games. I watched gamers play it when it first came out, and many them legitimately wanted to attend the Tokyo2020 games, and many them never had an interest in the Olympics before. The game really captures the Olympic spirit well, and it’s a game I’ll be playing for a long time probably. It’s also a great game for the family, as it was advertised to be. Honestly, it’s probably the best Olympic themed game of all time. 
 

Mario and Sonic is shit. That’s all I have to say about that one. Vancouver and Rio were the best games in the franchise. I loved playing Vancouver especially. (I also loved playing the realistic London 2012 game. That game has a cult following in the gaming community) 

 

The mobile game looks very interesting as well. I actually have hopes for this one. Supposedly you can play online against people (so a Totallympics throw down may be coming ). There’s also a good selection of some different sports than the console game, so that’s nice.

If it's a marketing tool then it should be a free download. Instead it's a mini-game compilation. I'm not saying every game should be a button masher, I'm saying sports have to be represented equally and be realistic in a licensed sports title. At lease leave that shit to Mario and Sonic. I think having this every four years is a fair ask, and especially they could add 200m, 50m Freestyle, etc. which would basically be the same sport

[Olympian1010 8,274]

1 minute ago, Mkbw50 said:

If it's a marketing tool then it should be a free download. Instead it's a mini-game compilation. I'm not saying every game should be a button masher, I'm saying sports have to be represented equally and be realistic in a licensed sports title. At lease leave that shit to Mario and Sonic. I think having this every four years is a fair ask, and especially they could add 200m, 50m Freestyle, etc. which would basically be the same sport

Right, as I said they could add more sports, but I do see more pros than cons with this game. It’s definitely the best attempt we’ve seen so far, and as I said it’s attracting streamers and the like.

[Mkbw50 457]

Just now, Olympian1010 said:

Right, as I said they could add more sports, but I do see more pros than cons with this game. It’s definitely the best attempt we’ve seen so far, and as I said it’s attracting streamers and the like.

I'd rather they just went all out than got ZerkaaHD to play it

[Olympian1010 8,274]

14 minutes ago, Mkbw50 said:

I'd rather they just went all out than got ZerkaaHD to play it

I see we watch the same guy . The dude made great London 2012 videos, so I don’t mind . I would be nice to see a larger community, but the people playing the game do actually love the game.

[Mkbw50 457]

Yeah, I'll still buy it I just wish it felt like the real Olympics in the same way FIFA feels like the Premier League

[Olympian1010 8,274]

The Tokyo 2020 Video Game finally launched worldwide a few days ago. 
 

The first ever official Paralympic game launched last night. I haven’t had the chance to try it, but the previews sounded promising.

 

I believe both have multiplayer, so if other users plan to get/already have one game or the other it might be fun to play together. 

[Sindo 1,699]

11 hours ago, Olympian1010 said:

The Tokyo 2020 Video Game finally launched worldwide a few days ago. 
 

The first ever official Paralympic game launched last night. I haven’t had the chance to try it, but the previews sounded promising.

 

I believe both have multiplayer, so if other users plan to get/already have one game or the other it might be fun to play together. 

Do someone have the video game for PS4? Do you need Playstation Plus to play online?

[FancyFenchel 112]

I got the Tokyo Game for PS4 few days ago.

 

It is pretty fun, especially with friends! Sadly, it’s only for two players local. (Four online – yes you need PSN+ to play online!).

 

As I saw some trailer, I thought the graphic style is horrible, but now I think it is fine. Not great, but also not terrible.  The character editor is nice and complex and you can have lot of fun designed hilarious characters. :D (It is even better then Cyberpunk 2077 where you only change your face, but cannot edit your body.)

Every event is somehow unique. Steering is done well. No event is unplayable as it used to be in some older games. Of course, it could be more sports, more events, but at some point, it would be repetitive or probably lacking quality.

 

Unfortunately, it is lacking some kind of single campaign, you can play events and progress through rounds and gets medal, but the game feels more like collection of fun mini games to play with friends and having fun.

 

Fortunately, it is a lot of fun. :D