Topic: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Announced

[Bloodworth]

Sonic, Mario, Tails, Knuckles, Luigi... all together in the same game for the first time ever. Weird tie-in, though.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=13225

 SEGA AND NINTENDO JOIN FORCES FOR MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

   

Legendary Icons Appear Together for the First Time in Video Game History

   

TOKYO (March 28, 2007) - SEGA Corporation and Nintendo Co. Ltd. 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. Developed for the Wii video game system and the Nintendo DS system, this momentous agreement marks the first time these two renowned stars have appeared together in a game.

   

Published by SEGA across Europe and North America, and published by Nintendo in the Japanese market, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games will be available for Holiday 2007 and is licensed through a worldwide partnership with International Sports Multimedia (ISM), the exclusive interactive entertainment software licensee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

   

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 favorite 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.

   

"We are thrilled to partner with Nintendo and ISM on this groundbreaking title," said Hisao Oguchi, President and Chief Operating Officer, SEGA Corporation.  "For the first time, two of the world's greatest games' characters come together to compete in the world's greatest sporting event and we couldn't be more excited."

   

"Mario and Sonic have been respectful rivals since the early days of video games," says Shigeru Miyamoto, Senior Managing Director and General Manager, Entertainment Analysis and Development Division, Nintendo Co., Ltd.. "In fact, for a long time they have been discussing the possibility of one day competing against each other.  Now that they have been given the perfect opportunity to meet at the Olympic Games, we may finally learn who is actually faster, Mario or Sonic?"

   

"The Olympic Games represent the true spirit of competition and passion," said Raymond Goldsmith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ISM.  "Bringing together intensely competitive and fun characters like Mario and Sonic in an Olympic setting helps showcase the sports of the Olympic Games in a new and compelling way for all generations."    

[BlackNMild2k1]

If this doesn't confirm Sonic in SSBB then I don't know what does.

p.s. Infernal beat you to the punch, and I already posted the exact same line above in his thread
I'm guessing his will get locked though.

[Shift Key]

Quote
Originally posted by: BlackNMild2k1
p.s. Infernal beat you to the punch, and I already posted the exact same line above in his thread

We could report the newsbot for spam. OH HO HO IRONY.

[Bloodworth]

yeah, I'm not sure when the announcement went live, but I'm glad I checked the news at 3:00 AM @_@

[Bill Aurion]

Oh wow, Mario and Sonic finally in a game together!  Time to go fap somewh...

Quote
Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Knuckles, Yoshi, Tails and more.

Ah shiiiiiiiiii...

[Infernal Monkey]

Sega's publishing it in America and Europe, so there goes any chance it had of being a success!

[BlackNMild2k1]

Nintendo is just trying to throw Sega a bone. The real question is who is developing it.

I'm not sure if Nintendo is allowed to talk yet, due to the stock sale issue, so maybe the are letting Sega announce. But even if Sega is developing, which team inside of Sega is developing? Is Nintendo supervising? Shigeru as Executive Producer? Who is developing!?

[Kairon]

O.M.G.

LEAST.EXPECTED.GAME.EVER.

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Bloodworth]

Nintendo posted the announcement on both their press site and Japanese site.  I'm curious to know who's actually making this thing too.

[Flames_of_chaos]

According to IGN Sega of Japan is with Miyamoto supervising the project.

[Michael8983]

I wonder if the "and more" could suggest we'll see the likes of Link, Kirby, Nights, or the Super Monkey Ball monkeys too. Could this be like Super Olympics Brothers with Mario and Sonic simply being the leading mascots? Or does it simply mean we'll see other less notable Mario/Sonic supporting characters?

A lot of people seem to take this as further evidence of Sonic being in Smash Bros but I dunno.
If anything it makes me worry it's less likely now. Like perhaps it WAS going to happen but they decided to create THIS instead.
I'm sure this game will be awesome and all but if we don't see Mario and Sonic fight it out in Brawl I'll be VERY dissapointed.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

This announcement makes me nauseous.  Sonic & Mario together?  Great!  Together in a Olympic sports compilation game?  Not so much.  I know  

[Michael8983]

I'm no big Olympics fan but it will make for an interesting variety of games.
Kind of like Wii Sports.

Plus the Olympics tie in will guarantee big sells.
It's the perfect mixture of hardcore and casual gaming love. Olympics and Wii Sports style gameplay for the casuals (non-gamers) and MARIO AND SONIC for the hardcore.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I want to know when this stupid stock thing is supposed to go through, I thought I read early to mid March?

[Klapaucius]

I just read the announcement on Nintendo.co.uk.

So long as it doesn't become a Mario Party with Sonic shoehorned in, it might be interesting.  

[Maximilian]

Great catching this Dan!  I'm dubious as to the quality of the game myself, though it is still a very exciting announcement.  I am hoping it is fun, most Olympic console games are not.

[Terranigma Freak]

Sega's developing the game? I think I'll pass then. I'd love to see an Olympics game done right, and Sega is not someone I could see pulling it off.

Also, how does this confirm Sonic in SSBB? For all we know, the rumors could have actually been spawned by this game. Maybe they were going to put him in SSBB, but decided to make Sonic more important than just a cameo so they pull him out and put him in the spotlight with Mario in this new game.

[Tansunn]

Doesn't it seem like Sonic would have an unfair advantage in the running events?  Or are they going to change the characters' attributes to make them more balanced?  Chances are, the Sonic characters are going to have their special moves taken away, as Knuckles' gliding and Tails' flying would give them unfair advantages in the long/high jumps.  Personally, I'm having a hard time seeing how this is a fair match up unless they take away all the qualities that make the Sonic characters unique...

[tssf]

Who knows, maybe the growing popularity in this series had a big part in this decision?

[Ceric]

I don't think this game will be very good.  Just a marketing for the olympics really.  If this game was them going at it in Olympic style with a merger of their respected universes then I be more interested.  Though it says it will be in the actual venue.  This makes it less interesting.  Though Miyamoto has some say so I'm sure it will be a good Olympic simulator.

Also I hope to see Miis in this game.  As playable characters or crowd at the very least.

[ShyGuy]

Who else thought of Laff-a-Lympics when they heard this?

The big question though, is can the Miyamoto forces of quality overpower the Sonic Team forces of disappointment?  

[NWR_pap64]

Wait, has this been confirmed to be a TRUE game? I'm sorry, but I am SO going to kill the guy that made April fools an official holiday...

Its cool that Mario and Sonic are FINALLY together, but it sucks that the first game won't be SSB Brawl.

Oh well, like someone already said, this should confirm that Sonic will more than likely be in Brawl.  

[Strell]

I'm thinking of this as "Wii Sports 2, but without Miis."

[Ian Sane]

Well I normally am quite uninterested in Mario sports games so this is a good way to make one stand out and seem like a big deal.  Though a Mario and Sonic teamup doesn't quite have the same oomph anymore now that Sonic, you know, sucks.  It's too bad.  My reaction on seeing this was "hey neato" when even five years ago it would have been "HOLY SH!T!!"

The choice of game is unexpected though an Olympics game allows for a lot of events which can keep the game interesting.  You'll get a lot of value for your money with multiple events that presumably offer different gameplay from each other.  I'll wager Sonic will be better at sprinting and Mario will be better at high jump.

But who is making this?  If Sega is then, f*ck it, I wouldn't give it even the slightest chance of being good until reviews came in confirming otherwise.  Sega has no name value to me anymore.  It's just safer to assume a Sega game, much less a Sonic one, will suck.  How much Nintendo is involved will have a direct effect on how good the game will be.

[NWR_pap64]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
But who is making this?  If Sega is then, f*ck it, I wouldn't give it even the slightest chance of being good until reviews came in confirming otherwise.  Sega has no name value to me anymore.  It's just safer to assume a Sega game, much less a Sonic one, will suck.  How much Nintendo is involved will have a direct effect on how good the game will be.

I think Nintendo will likely play a role on this. Unlike Sega, they are very anal about the games Mario stars in. Hell, people diss the Mario Party games, but its hard to deny that they are polished, well developed Mario games.

Also, its more than likely that Shiggy will have a say on how this game is developed.