Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (マリオ&ソニック AT バンクーバーオリンピック) is a sports game currently in development by Sega, to be published by Nintendo in Japan and by Sega in North America and Europe. The game is officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through exclusive licensee "International Sports Multimedia". The game is the third official crossover title to feature characters from both Mario and Sonic The Hedgehog's respective universes. It will be released on the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS in late 2009, and is the first announced video game based around the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games will enable players to assume the role of a Mario or Sonic character while competing against the others in Winter Olympic events.

Gameplay
Some of the events in the Wii game will use the Balance Board accessory. The multiplayer mode offers "co-op and competitive gameplay" whereas the DS version will use its wireless capabilities.

Development
In January 2009, an article in the Spanish Nintendo magazine Nintendo Acción mentioned a sequel to Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, to be created for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Both IGN and Eurogamer received confirmation on the games' existence, with IGN stating that game would be officially announced within the following month. Dennis Kim, licensing and merchandising director for the event, stated in February that a Mario & Sonic title "[is] being discussed and planned for Vancouver". Kim also stated that Vancouver 2010 and the IOC will share royalties from this game.

The official announcement did arrive within the month as predicted, the game's title being given as Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games at a joint press release by Sega and Nintendo on February 12, 2009.

Events
It is a possibility that there are different events on the Wii version then the DS version. Confirmed events include:

DS Version
Skeleton Race - lie on your stomach on a sled.

Snowboard Cross - Combination of skateboarding, skiing, and surfing.

Wii Version
Downhill skiing - slalom through gates at high speeds.

Bobsleigh - shows multi player features, four players can line up and work together to hop on the bobsleigh while speeding down the track.

Speedskating 500m - lean forward while swinging your arms, you must keep an even pacce to win.

Playable
The cast consists of the full roster from the previous game, as well as some new characters. These have not yet been confirmed.

Sonic characters


 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Amy Rose
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Blaze the Cat
 * Vector the Crocodile

Mario characters


 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Bowser
 * Princess Peach
 * Yoshi
 * Wario
 * Princess Daisy
 * Waluigi

Audience

 * Flicky
 * Goomba
 * Chao
 * Shy Guy
 * Chirps
 * Toad
 * Tux
 * Dry Bones
 * Porker
 * Koopa
 * Omochao
 * Pianta

Screenshots & Artwork
(Pending)

Trivia

 * Since the hacked charathers of the first olympic games were cut it`s possible that they will be fully playable but this is still unknown.
 * Also it`s rumored that the mascots of the winter olympics might be playable in the game
 * In the first trailer of the game it has a Sonic Unleashed styled theme playing from the start to the end that sounds almost like the theme from Unleashed The World Adventure.