Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros: Volume 1 :« At this point, Nintendo was the licensee for Popeye[…]. Yes, the company was releasing Popeye playing cards and Popeye Game & Watch titles[…]. That's right. But while I can't recall exactly why it was, we were unable to use Popeye in that title. It really felt like the ladder had been pulled out from under us, so to speak. »https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wii/nsmb/0/0/
