Sumo Deathmatch

A strange little side quest

One reason combat sports keeps producing good game ideas around Sumo Deathmatch is that its history is full of strange turns. Women's boxing made its Olympic debut at London 2012. A second detail makes the picture even better: Nintendo's Donkey Kong arrived in 1981 and introduced the character first known as Jumpman, who later became Mario. That long chain of experiments is part of why combat sports still feels fresh when a game finds the right twist.