Imagine my surprise when I got the following e-mail:
Over at the Sega website they have up and image of both Mario and Sonic together with the title “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games”. So it seems the characters that once symbolized the console wars of yesteryear are finally teaming up! The site shows the game going to both the DS and the Wii and arriving Holiday 2007.
This could be a great game for getting people into the spirit of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. And with all the Mario AND Sonic characters to chose from as contestants, this could be a great title if done right. I’ll bet Donkey Kong can throw a discus like nobodys business! I’m hoping for a kind of Wii Sports game, only with the focus on the Olympic events.
I still have fond memories of playing the classic Epyx titles Summer Games, Winter Games, and World Games. The mini games got boring fast enough on their own, but betting that world record set by someone else was an obsession. If they want to do this right they’ll open up the game to Nintendo WiiConnect24 and have a record of achievments and game world records for people to beat. Even if you only have to beat the records set by your Wii pals on your friends list, it would go a long way to making this a title that will keep us coming back long after Beijing 2008 is all done.
Bobloblaw
Holy crap. Seriously. And if you don’t believe him:
I don’t exactly know what to think about this. Is it awesome that Mario and Sonic are in a game together? Of course! But…”Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games” doesn’t exactly sound like an award-winning game. A news story over at 1UP gave more information about just what the game will contain:
As you might expect from the game’s title, Mario and Sonic will focus on real-world sporting events cribbed from the actual Olympic games (specifically the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, whose logo features prominently on the official website). The press release specifically mentions events like swimming, the 100m dash and table tennis being on the roster — though you can bet on more events being revealed as the game’s release date draws near. Playable characters will include all the fan favorites: Mario, Yoshi, Luigi, Tails, Knuckles, etc. and promises to make ‘innovative use’ of the unique control schemes for both Wii and DS (the website says expect a dual-platform release “Holiday 2007″) so expect plenty of waggling and tapping as you’re sprinting your way to the finish line.
Now, I’m not saying that the game will suck. I’m just saying that this will probably turn out to be Mario Party by a different name. Just look at the events (100m dash, table tennis, swimming, etc.). These sound like something I’d find in a Mario Party game (though it is a game based off of the Olympics.
Ah well. We’ll just see, won’t we. In case your wondering, SEGA is handling the US and Europe versions, while Nintendo is handling the Japan version.
This is not an April Fools joke! I swear! You can view Nintendo’s and SEGA’s press releases at their respective sites.
DAAAAAAAAMN!! This is gonna own!