Mario and Sonic Make History in New Olympic Game

YokimaSun writes "SEGA. and Nintendo today made a historical announcement that two of the biggest icons in the entertainment industry, Mario and Sonic, are joining forces to star in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. 'In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, players will compete in events that take place in environments based on the official venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Using a supporting cast of characters from the amazing worlds of both Mario and Sonic, gamers will be able to compete as or against a range of lovable personalities including Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Knuckles, Yoshi, Tails and more. Innovative usage of the Wii and DS control systems to maneuver a favourite character will allow players to race the likes of Mario and Sonic down the 100m track, engage in exhilarating rallies in table tennis and churn water in a swimming heat, all while competing for the much sought after gold medal.'" Has to be better than the usual Olympic Game titles, which have been categorically awful.

WTF?!

This is real?!

This can't be real.

Re:WTF?!

It's not that outrageous, now that Sega is out of the hardware business. They seem to have formed very close ties with Nintendo since then. I know to those of us who remember those awesome Genesis vs SNES smear ads it is like Satan and Jesus sitting down for a nice game of scrabble, but times have changed.

Re:WTF?!

Not entirely. Megaman and the block from Tetris will be involved too. The release title will be "Branding Quest".

Re:WTF?!

Oh yeah, and while I'm on the topic -- working with the Olympic Commission at the same time is pure brilliance. People who don't normally watch sports tend to get sucked into the Olympics media frenzy. Which fits perfectly with Nintendo's current direction of creating a new casual market. I bet the Nintendo execs are falling all over themselves congratulating each other on this one.

Sonic darn well better win all the sprints...

Realism in sports games is nice, but Sonic better be able to give a thorough thrashing in any straightforward races.

New Marathon record: 3 minutes, 12 seconds.

Re:Sonic darn well better win all the sprints...

That can be true, but in the other hand, Mario can kick ass on High and Long Jump. Although he will be most certainly disqualified by doping ... errr ... shouldn't have eaten that magic mushroom, dude!

Re:Sonic darn well better win all the sprints...

I dunno, I get the feeling that Tails and Luigi will have the high jump cornered, while Peach and Knuckles will vie against each for the long jump.

Now the triple jump, that Mario might win.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl?

Does this mean Sonic is going to be in SSBB also?

Would be pretty freakin' awesome...

Awful?

Has to be better than the usual Olympic Game titles, which have been categorically awful.

I have to admit that I really enjoyed Winter Games [wikipedia.org]. Only game I can remember ever doing a biathlon in. Ski and shoot! Skills that will come in handy after global warming pitches us into the next ice age :)

Possible problems

Uh-oh, looks like Princess Peach is a member of Falun Gong and got "disappeared" before the race.

Oh I wouldn't say that...

I can't see this being a great game. It doesn't matter who the characters are, Olympic sports just don't translate well in to the game medium.

Does anyone else remember that old Nintendo pad that you ran on to win the race game...? Exactly.

No big deal

This would have been a shocker back in the 90s. But now, crossovers have been done to death. Marvel, Capcom, SNK, Namco... Solid Snake in SSB... a Halo Spartan in DOA... yawn. Besides, it's an olympic video game, and they are traditionally made of suck and fail.

They're also making a new NiGHTS title. Now THAT is stuff that matters!

hehe

Why do i get a picture of the label being one line for name of game and a page of licensing/trademark info :O

This will be followed closely (and trying desparately to catch up) by the sequel featuring the characters that got left out: Licensing runs amuck: The second chance races.

Ok, does sound like fun if it works...but so have lots of games.

They're kidding, right?

FTFA: "SEGA® Corporation and Nintendo Co. Ltd. today made a historical announcement that two of the biggest icons in the entertainment industry, Mario(TM) and Sonic(TM), are joining forces to star in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games."

Are these guys serious about Mario and Sonic being among the biggest players in the entertainment industry? The industry as a whole goes much further afield than video games. Mario is a "star" in gaming, but has little to know cross-over appeal that I know of. Mario Bros. Movie http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108255/ [imdb.com] anyone? Seems like there is a Sonic cartoon, but since I don't watch cartoons anymore I can't gauge the overall interest in that, but seems to me that it wouldn't be that great. Certainly not among the biggest in entertainment. Unless one or both go to rehab and shave their heads.

Aside from this, how is the Wii going to incorporate the power pad?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Pad [wikipedia.org]? Sorry for the obligatory wiki quote. Any ideas?

Re:They're kidding, right?

Well, you could always put out a competing press release, and see if all the news outlets pick it up and run with it.

You take that back!

Has to be better than the usual Olympic Game titles, which have been categorically awful.

Horse shit! "Track and Field" and the blockbuster follow-up, "Track and Field 2", were responsible for the best NES gaming sessions I ever had... until I got a Power Pad. I didn't like that thing then, and I didn't like it when they resold them as "Dance Dance Revolution."

Smash Brothers possibilities?

Sega has always been pre-disposed to put its Sonic games on its once-rival's console first and foremost. The Wii got it's own Sonic game (supposedly the best since Sonic Adventure) and a host of other games.

Now that Sonic and Mario are appearing together in a game, does this mean we can expect Sonic to be a character in Super Smash Bros Brawl?

Finally they meet and this is the game?

For those of us who didn't really engage in the console wars with Sonic and Mario a mash-up is what we've always wanted. Marvel vs Capcom, Super Smash Bros, finally Mario and Sonic get together and this is the game they choose? Olympics? I'd rather see a 2D H2H fighter. I guess I won't "buy any game with Sonic and Mario". I owe my best friend from fourth grade $5.

--
The Wolfkin

t&f

Has to be better than the usual Olympic Game titles, which have been categorically awful.

All I have to say is

TRACK AND FIELD MUTHA F'er...

It's the only "olympic" button masher you'll ever need!

Together at last?

The game may be good or bad, but I seriously don't get the appeal of Sonic and Mario together. They're games were just too different for them to be in any way combinable. It's like if they came out with a game that teamed up Simon Belmont with Crash Bandicoot.

I feel old.

I remember the days when such an announcement would be taken as an insult or a joke... and here it is for real.
Hmm.

Dr Robotnik and Bowser

I wonder if Dr Robotnik and Bowser will team up to defeat Mario and Sonic....

Track & Field

A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B A B
Jump, jump fucker, jump, JUUUMP, JUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMP...

*throws gamepad to the wall*

Ahhh the memories...

Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!
Reason: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING.

"Mario & Sonic Save Tibet"?

Oh well, here's hoping...

P.

Which character will benefit?

Will this mean a better Sonic game or will Mario just be pulled into the suck? I just don't feel Sonic has yet found his footing in 3D. Having been playing the delightful Mario Sunshine lately -- taking advantage of the Wii's slow stream of new software to hit up the Gamecube love I missed -- I've been realizing just how great Nintendo's games are. No one really knows actual videogames like the big N. You can have all the WWII shooters and boring stealth games you want. I'm tired of playing in the dark. I think it would be great if Sega would just hand Sonic over to the team that worked on Mario Sunshine (or that new Mario Galaxy that looks fantastic). Or at least get some pointers from those guys. Here's hoping this game is not too true to the Olympics (fun over realism) and that it is more Mario than Sonic. Then I'm stoked. I'm so gay for Nintendo right now!

hmm....

I've always had a soft spot for both nintendo and sega (owned every console from each company), but this sounds to me like an excuse to capitalize on the franchises.

I know that may seem obvious (and it is), but that kinda bothers me that they are trying to cash in on icons that essentially jump-started the videogame revolution

Forgotten Sports Mascots

Will they be competing against Gronk and Glunk? [mobygames.com]

I see a big party,

throw in Bonk, Pac-Man, and whoever Neo Geo had and call it good.

Re:Fat Italian Plumber vs Mutant Hedgehog

On the contarary, I think the Mario crew will sweep every event...

then have their medals stripped after they test positive for Magic Mushrooms, Fireflowers, Stars and whatever else the Mushroom Kingdom is doping up its athletes with these days.

What a disgrace. These games used to mean something. Oh wait, no they didn't

Re:Sonic in Track & Field?

Maybe Mario will get one of his go-karts.

Re:Sonic in Track & Field?

If Nintendo is smart, they'll give each competitor advantages in some events and disadvantages in others. So Sonic would do well in the sprinting events but maybe not so well in weightlifting or whatever. Mario would probably be the average character with no advantages or disadvantages, since that's the role he usually plays in other competitive games.

Rob