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Games Entertainment

Mario and Sonic Make History in New Olympic Game 93

Posted by Zonk from the dogs-and-cats-living-together-mass-hysteria dept.
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.
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Mario and Sonic Make History in New Olympic Game More

Mario and Sonic Make History in New Olympic Game

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  • WTF?! (Score:2, Funny)

    by bersl2 ( 689221 )
    This is real?!

    This can't be real.
    • That is what I first said when I heard the concept for Kingdom Hearts.

    • Re:WTF?! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Chris Burke ( 6130 ) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @04:43PM (#18520963) Homepage
      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?! (Score:4, Funny)

      by ajlitt ( 19055 ) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @04:45PM (#18520997)
      Not entirely. Megaman and the block from Tetris will be involved too. The release title will be "Branding Quest".

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by acidrain ( 35064 )

      This can't be real.

      My read on this is that Nintendo is cozying up to Sega, as a prelude to buying them. This kind of "lets just work closely together first" move is typical of cooperate buyouts. In this case Nintendo gets to see how Sega's IP library sells in a Nintendo/Sega mash-up.

      And think for a second about Nintendo, with the recent popularity of the Wii and DS, they would be crazy to not be trying to buy Sega.

      • Re:WTF?! (Score:5, Insightful)

        by acidrain ( 35064 ) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @05:23PM (#18521541)
        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.
        • You are very much correct. The last olympic frenzy made us want to get Torino 2006. What the hell were we thinking? Probably one of the worse games I've bought ever.

          Now if anything could bring back the thrills of summer games (as well as california games and world games) for the Apple IIC. That would make me quite a happy camper.
          • Those games were great. I remember wasting many hours playing Winter games [wikipedia.org] and Summer Games [wikipedia.org]. Looking back, I don't think those games were that good, but just better than anything else that was available. I mean, would you really rather play Test drive [wikipedia.org] or Need for speed Carbon [wikipedia.org]. Test drive was good for it's time, but lets face it, things have gotten better. I you would have had a game like Torina 2006 in 1990, you would have been amazed.
      • http://www.segasammy.co.jp/english/index.jsp [segasammy.co.jp]

        I do not think Nintendo wants to buy out the entire corporation unless Sega Sammy Holdings wants to sell off Sega.
    • Ok, as interesting as a Sonic / Mario Crossover. IMHO it would be vastly more immersive if this was a game centered around 'Mii'.

      Think about it; What would be more immersive? You playing as Mario in the Olympics against Sonic? or You playing as you in the olympics against your brother?

  • 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.

  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl? (Score:1, Interesting)

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

    Would be pretty freakin' awesome...

  • Awful? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @04:38PM (#18520917) Homepage Journal

    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 :)

    • That was the only game I owned for the first few years I had an NES (when I was like, 5 years old). I must have spent 100+ hours playing that game.
      • I remember a Snoopy olimpic games in the NES... that got me hooked for some days though, but I got a tough time trying to master the dynamics of it.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by ECMIM ( 946033 )
      Yeah, these games haven't been good since Epyx did them right on C64 (the best game machine ever!) Winter, Summer and World (cliff diving!) were all fantastic!
    • You'd like this even more then - ski, shoot, hang-glide, sabotage and drive, all set in the next ice age. A shame that there are no modern versions of it.

      Midwinter [wikipedia.org]

  • Possible problems (Score:3, Funny)

    by Quila ( 201335 ) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @04:39PM (#18520931)
    Uh-oh, looks like Princess Peach is a member of Falun Gong and got "disappeared" before the race.

    • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      What do you mean "disappeared"?

      I have her liver right here. Works a treat!

  • 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.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by stratjakt ( 596332 )
      I say it depends who develops it.

      Nintendo would put out something Mario Party-ish, with fun minigames and it might be OK.

      Sega would try and make it a sports sim, and thus end up quite lame.

      It's interesting, and not for the Mario/Sonic in the same game thing (saw that one coming when Sonic Adventure 2 came out for the Gamecube), but nobody has made a decent olympic/track and field themed game since Epyx old Summer/Winter/California/World Games series, and it's a good premise for a party game.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Crymson4 ( 1018850 )
        I played California Games on my old 286... had some fun with hacky sack, but that's about it. The game just didn't hold it for me. A party game could be fun, but in the Olympic setting? Who gets the best 100m dash score? It's the TYPE of event that would make or break this game. I agree a sim would suck, and that's what I'm saying. When you move away from sims, it is no longer an "Olympic" title. I can hope that it would be fun, but I just don't see it happening.
        • HAHAH

          You newbie..

          I'm talking C64 days, if you played the shitty x86 port, yeah it sucked. IBM machines were not known for gaming at the time.

          The NES ports were abysmal.

          If you didn't play the games on c64 you didn't play the games at all. They were pretty groundbreaking in their day.. The concept of different events, and different gameplay was pretty new at the time.
    • You obviously are very young, there are excellent examples of good olympic sports games. Decathlon and Summer games probably are the most important ones, with Decathlon being one of the first and still one of the best summer sports games ever!

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by tepples ( 727027 )

      Does anyone else remember that old Nintendo pad that you ran on to win the race game...?
      Yes, but now floormats aren't used as much for running as they are for dancing. Give me Dance Dance Wii [wikipedia.org]!

      • Patience, Grasshopper. You must hold out until September [wikipedia.org].

        (There's no official date yet, but Konami generally ships the major DDR releases in September.)

  • 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!
    • The only crossover you mentioned that's remotely close to this is Street Fighter vs SNK, as those two franchises competed against each other for some time.

      That's what makes this one so interesting. For ages Mario and Sonic were bitter rivals, spawning endless internet tirades and flash animations about who was better. Certainly those days have past, as great number of us lived and enjoyed that era.

      Now if there was a game with Kratos facing off against Master Chief, that would be news to trump this.

  • hehe (Score:2)

    by hurfy ( 735314 )
    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.
  • 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

    • Re:They're kidding, right? (Score:4, Funny)

      by SpiffyMarc ( 590301 ) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @05:22PM (#18521513)
      Well, you could always put out a competing press release, and see if all the news outlets pick it up and run with it.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Stormwatch ( 703920 )

      Mario is a "star" in gaming, but has little to know cross-over appeal that I know of. Mario Bros. Movie, anyone?

      Don't blame Mario for the movie's suckitude. It had almost nothing to do with the game (unlike the cartoon, which was pretty good). Dennis Hopper (the movie's King Koopa), in an interview, said he had this lil' chat with his son:

      - Dad, why did you work in this Mario film?
      - So that I can buy you shoes, son.
      - But I don't need shoes that badly!

      Seems like there is a Sonic cartoon, but since I don't wa

    • That includes games (not just movies, TV, music). Considering gaming is a bigger industry than movies, they dont need cross-over appeal. Is Brad Pitt not one of the biggest icons in the entertainment industry because he doesn't have any video games? I'm sure mario is one of the most recognizable icons in the world.
    • In the nineties, Mario has better world-wide name-recognition than Mickey Mouse.

  • You take that back! (Score:4, Funny)

    by karmaflux ( 148909 ) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @05:10PM (#18521353)

    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."

    • Summer Games, Winter Games, World Games and California Games. Epyx for the win!

    • Konami used to rock, and rock hard.

      Now all they do is make rehashes of Metal Gear and DDR.

      Of course, T&F2 was only good until you got a NES Max, then it was down to sitting and holding the turbo buttons for 60 seconds at a time.

  • Smash Brothers possibilities? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by RyoShin ( 610051 ) <tukaro@[ ]il.com ['gma' in gap]> on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @05:30PM (#18521643) Homepage Journal
    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?

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by MeanderingMind ( 884641 )
      Honestly, that prospect excites me more than this game does.

      Which is not to say this game doesn't excite me, Shigeru himself is working on it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by G-funk ( 22712 )
      Wasn't this aready more or less garanteed? Frankly I'd rather see Ken Masters, or maybe Sub Zero :)

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by RyoShin ( 610051 )
        There's lots of rampant fan speculation and wishing, but there's no confirmation from either Nintendo or Sega either way.

        Considering that Melee had 20+ characters, and we've only seen about 10 for Brawl, I'd say we have a lot of revealing left, which will probably be held until close to release.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Trogre ( 513942 )
      Though so did the PS3 and XBox2 [wikipedia.org].

  • Finally they meet and this is the game? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @06:05PM (#18522103)
    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 (Score:3, Informative)

    by karnal ( 22275 ) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @06:37PM (#18522489)
    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!

  • 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.

    • 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 thought Crashtlevania was pretty good.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
      To be fair there's already a game where Simon Belmont, Solid Snake, Bomberman and a Moai from Gradius fight each other...

  • I feel old. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Ant P. ( 974313 ) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @07:35PM (#18523043)
    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 (Score:2, Interesting)

    by dohzer ( 867770 )
    I wonder if Dr Robotnik and Bowser will team up to defeat Mario and Sonic....
  • 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.
  • Oh well, here's hoping...

    P.
  • 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 t
    • You obviously have not played Sonic and the Secret Rings yet

      • You obviously have not played Sonic and the Secret Rings yet

        When IGN gives a game a 6.9, I'm not exactly filled with anticipation.
        • I think the IGN critic is way too harsh, the game is really good, Sonic has gotten a lot of beating in the recent past, but every Critic so far said that Secret rings so far is one of the best Sonic games there is. The downgrades usually come from, a) yet another sonic game, b) the mini games are trash (which is indeed true) c) the story is nothing to write about d) it is too hard (which is a non argument because it is not harder than the 2d sonic games). Dont get me wrong all this is true, but that is not
  • 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

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by 10Neon ( 932006 )
      At least when Nintendo cashes in (and they do for just about every game,) they put some effort into it. Be thankful for that.
  • Will they be competing against Gronk and Glunk? [mobygames.com]
  • throw in Bonk, Pac-Man, and whoever Neo Geo had and call it good.

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