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 by Sega, 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's been released on the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS on October 13, 2009, and is the first announced video game based around the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games enable players to assume the role of a Mario or Sonic character while competing against the others in Winter Olympic events. The EU release was on October 16th, 2009.

Gameplay
Some of the events in the Wii game use the Balance Board accessory. The multiplayer mode offers "co-op and competitive gameplay" whereas the DS version uses 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
Confirmed events include:

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

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

Figure Skating - Dance gracefully across the ice to score points.

Bobsleigh - Race down the course with a team, avoiding walls to maintain boost.

Wii Version
Alpine 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 - lean forward while swinging your arms, you must keep an even pace to win.

Ice Hockey - play ice hockey in team of four.

Figure Skating - dance greatly on ice by swinging the Wii remote.

Dream Snowboarding - Snowboard through various areas from both Sonic and Mario's worlds.

Dream Snowball Fighting - Throw snowballs at your opponent while avoiding Mario-themed threats.

Dream Gliding - Fly about attempting to knock down robots, as well as other opponents.

Characters
The cast consists of the full roster from the previous game, as well as some new characters.

Sonic the Hedgehog series

Super Mario Series

Other


 * Mii (Wii Version Only)
 * Santa Claus (Only During December as a VIP)

Sonic Stages

 * Radical Highway
 * Egg Factory
 * Sky Sanctuary Zone
 * Seaside Hill
 * Nocturne/Special Stage
 * Dream Figure Skating features 3 Sonic backgrounds: Green Hill Zone, Death Egg, and destroyed Station Square.

Mario Stages

 * Mario Circuit
 * Good Egg Galaxy
 * Bowser's Castle
 * Sherbet Land
 * Cool, Cool Mountain
 * Dream Figure Skating features 3 Mario backgrounds: World 1, Bowser's Castle, and Peach's Castle.

Face-Offs
Between each character, each have their own rival as based on either mission mode or by the starting prologue. Here are the following face-offs:


 * Sonic vs. Mario


 * Tails vs. Yoshi


 * Blaze vs. Daisy


 * Amy vs. Peach


 * Vector vs. Donkey Kong


 * Dr. Eggman vs. Bowser


 * Shadow vs. Luigi


 * Knuckles vs. Wario


 * Silver vs. Waluigi


 * Metal Sonic vs. Bowser Jr.

Official Artwork
Team Sonic