Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

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Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Development staff
Developer(s)	Sega Japan, Sega Sports
Publisher(s)	Japan: Nintendo Europe and North America: Sega
Producer(s)	Takashi Yuda
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto (Senior Producer)
Video game overview
Release date(s)	Wii JP 22 November 2007 NA 6 November 2007 EU 23 November 2007 KR 29 May 2008 AUS 22 November 2007 Nintendo DS JP 17 January 2008 NA 22 January 2008 EU 8 February 2008 KR 26 June 2008 AUS 7 February 2008
Genre(s)	Sports party game
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone) OFLC: G PEGI: 3+
Platform(s)	Wii, Nintendo DS
Media	Wii: Wii Optical Disc DS: DS Game Card
Input	Wii: Wii Remote and Nunchuk DS: Touch screen
Game order
Followed by	Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

Mario and Sonic compete for the Gold!

— Tagline

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (マリオ&ソニック in 北京オリンピック, Mario & Sonikku in Pekin Orinpikku^?, lit. "Mario & Sonic in the Beijing Olympics"), is a sports game developed and published by Sega for North America and Europe and was published by Nintendo for Japan.

The game was officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee through exclusive licensee International Sports Multimedia in 2005. It was the first official video game of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games to be released. The game was first announced by Sega and Nintendo on March 28, 2007. Sega showed the first screenshots and a movie of both versions of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games at E3 2007. Many users of the internet from both fandom used think this game was an April Fools joke from Sega before it was eventually officially released.

The game was known for being the first official crossover title to feature both Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, Nintendo and Sega's former rival mascots, along with other characters from the respective series. The player can assume the role as one of these characters while competing against the others in numerous Olympic events as well as fantasy events.

Characters

Team Sonic

Name	Skill Type	Stats	Flag
Sonic	Speed
Shadow	Speed		File:MyS emblem Shadow.jpg
Knuckles	Power		File:MyS emblem Knuckles.jpg
Vector	Power		File:MyS emblem Vector.jpg
Tails	Skill		File:MyS emblem Tails.jpg
Dr. Eggman	Skill		File:MyS emblem Eggman.jpg
Amy	All Around		File:MyS emblem Amy.jpg
Blaze	All Around		File:MyS emblem Blaze.jpg

In addition, Cream, Espio and Charmy act as referees in both the Wii and DS versions, and Big makes further background appearances on the Wii version.

Team Mario

Name	Skill Type	Stats	Flag
Mario	All Around
Luigi	All Around
Princess Peach	Skill		File:MyS emblem Peach.jpg
Waluigi	Skill		File:MyS emblem Waluigi.jpg
Bowser	Power		File:MyS emblem Bowser.jpg
Wario	Power		File:MyS emblem Wario.jpg
Yoshi	Speed		File:MyS emblem Yoshi.jpg
Princess Daisy	Speed		File:MyS emblem Daisy.jpg

In addition, Shy Guy, Lakitu, and Toad and act as referees in both the Wii and DS versions, and Koopa Troopa makes further background appearances on the Wii version.

Referees

File:Cream the Rabbit calls foul.jpg

Cream acting as a referee

Guard viewing:

• Cream
• Toad

Air viewing:

• Charmy
• Lakitu

Ground viewing:

• Espio
• Shy Guy

Gameplay

Each character has his or her own stats.

Mario & Sonic brings together the title characters and 14 more from both franchises to participate in environments based on the official venues of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. These environments are stylized to fit the art styles of the Mario & Sonic video games. Besides the characters from the Mario & Sonic games, Miis can also be used in the Wii version. There are also a few randomly selected non-playable characters acting as referees or the audience for certain events. Each playable character has their own statistics which can serve as an advantage or disadvantage depending on the event. They are divided into four categories: all-around, speed, power, and skill. All-Around isn't really its own skill, but more of just being good enough in the other categories. There is also a statistic for stamina.

The gameplay involves utilizing either or a combination of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk on the Wii or stylus and button controls on the DS in various ways to complete each event. The events can require a combination of speed, timing, and some strategy. Each competition offers a slight degree of difference. In the running events, for example, getting a starting boost in the 100 m dash will either make or break the player's place, while in a relay race, which can last for well over a minute, this may not determine place as effectively. The game also has leaderboards that make use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to show the best times and scores.

Mario & Sonic features a gallery mode, where brief facts of the Olympics can be found. There are five categories of trivia with matching mini-games that, once completed, will unlock the answer to trivia questions. Classic music from both series is available for use in the gallery once all levels in a category are cleared. There is also a standard gallery theme.

Events

Sonic and Knuckles facing off in a fencing event.

The Wii game has twenty Olympic events which are divided into eight different classifications; athletics, gymnastics, shooting, rowing, archery, aquatics, fencing and table tennis. All of these events are organized in the tournament and circuit modes. Some events such as 4x100 m relay race, allow the player to have a team of four characters. Circuit mode is where players compete for the highest overall score in a pre-determined series of events or design their own circuit. In the single-player mission mode, each of the competitors has six character-specific missions to complete, however each of the characters statistics are not as balanced as in the main game. For example, one of Mario's missions, beating Sonic, is more challenging here. Mario & Sonic on the Nintendo DS has 16 Olympic sports, most of them from the Wii version. Cycling and 10m Platform Diving are exclusive Olympic events on this handheld.

There is an unlockable version of four of the Olympic events in the Wii game called "Dream Events". They differ from their real-life counterparts by applying more fictional video game attributes from the Mario and Sonic worlds. As a result, these events also have recognizable locations, abilities, objects, and support characters from both gaming worlds. The Nintendo DS version has five exclusive Dream Events: canoeing, boxing, basketball, long jump and skeet shooting.

Icon	Type	Wii Events	Nintendo DS Events
	Aquatics	100m Freestyle 4x100m Freestyle	100m Freestyle 10m Platform (DS Exclusive)
	Archery	Archery	Archery
	Athletics	100m 400m Athletics - 4x100m Relay Athletics - 110m Hurdles 400m Hurdles Long Jump Triple Jump High Jump Pole Vault Javelin Throw Hammer Throw	100m 400m 400m Hurdles Long Jump Triple Jump Javelin Throw Hammer Throw
	Fencing	Individual Epée	Individual Epée
	Gymnastics	Trampoline Vault	Trampoline Vault
	Rowing	Single Sculls	None
	Shooting	Skeet	Skeet
	Table Tennis	Singles	Singles
	Cycling	None	Pursuit
	Dream	Dream Race (Sandhill Race Course) Dream Platform Dream Fencing Dream Table Tennis	Dream Race (Blue Sky Island) Dream Fencing Dream Table Tennis Dream Basketball Dream Canoe Dream Boxing Dream Shooting Dream Long Jump

Circuits

Yoshi, Tails and Knuckles ranking in a circuit

• Beginner's Class
  • Mercury
    • 100m
    • Long Jump
    • Hammer Throw
  • Venus
    • 110m Hurdles
    • Skeet
    • Javelin Throw
  • Jupiter
    • 100m Freestyle
    • Triple Jump
    • Trampoline
  • Saturn
    • Singles
    • 4x100m Freestyle
    • Individual epée
  • Moonlight
    • 4x100m Relay
    • Single Sculls
    • Dream Race
• Advance Class
  • Stardust
    • 100m
    • Long Jump
    • Hammer Throw
    • Archery
  • Planet
    • 110m Hurdles
    • Skeet
    • Javelin Throw
    • High Jump
  • Comet
    • 100m Freestyle
    • Triple Jump
    • Trampoline
    • 400m
  • Satellite
    • Singles
    • 4x100m Freestyle
    • Dream Race
    • Dream Fencing
  • Sunlight
    • 4x100m Relay
    • Single Sculls
    • Individual epée
    • Dream Table Tennis
• Master's Class
  • Meteorite
    • 100m
    • Long Jump
    • Hammer Throw
    • Archery
    • 400m Hurdles
  • Supernova
    • 110m Hurdles
    • Skeet
    • Javelin Throw
  • High Jump
    • Pole Vault
  • Cosmos
    • 100m Freestyle
    • Triple Jump
    • Trampoline
    • 400m
    • Vault
  • Galaxy
    • Singles
    • 4x100m Freestyle
    • Individual epée
    • Dream Race
    • Dream Platform
  • Universal
    • 4x100m Relay
    • Single Sculls
    • Dream Table Tennis
    • Dream Fencing
    • Dream Race
  • Big Bang
    • Dream Race
    • Dream Fencing
    • Dream Platform
    • Singles
    • 4x100m Relay

Gallery Feature

Both the console and the handheld versions feature a gallery where facts and trivia can be found. In order to answer the question, the player has to play a mini-game. As a bit of fan service, unlocking all mini-games in a section will unlock a tune from both series. The information, mini-games, and songs differ between Wii and Nintendo DS.

Wii

Unlockable Sonic songs

• "Green Hill Zone" (from Sonic the Hedgehog)
• "Star Light Zone" (from Sonic the Hedgehog)
• "Special Stage" (from Sonic the Hedgehog 2)
• "Sonic Heroes" [Instrumental] (from Sonic Heroes)
• "Let the Speed Mend It" [Instrumental] (from Sonic and the Secret Rings)

Unlockable Mario songs

• "Ground Theme" (from Super Mario Bros.)
• "Underground Theme" (from Super Mario Bros.)
• "Underwater Theme" (from Super Mario Bros.)
• "Ground Theme" (from Super Mario Bros. 3)
• "Ground Theme" (from Super Mario World)

Nintendo DS

Unlockable Sonic songs

• "Green Hill Zone" (from Sonic the Hedgehog)
• "Star Light Zone" (from Sonic the Hedgehog)
• "Emerald Hill Zone" (from Sonic the Hedgehog 2)
• "Right There, Ride On" (from Sonic Rush)
• "A New Venture" [Instrumental] (from Sonic Rush Adventure)

Unlockable Mario songs

• "Mario Puzzle Mix" (from Tetris DS)
• "Mini-Games Coincentration" (from Super Mario 64 DS)
• "Bowser Battle" (from Tetris DS)
• "Mini-Games Bounce and Pounce" (from Super Mario 64 DS)
• "Mario Circuit" (from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)

Face-Offs

Luigi facing Shadow in a hurdle race

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
• Shadow vs. Luigi
• Knuckles vs. Wario
• Amy vs. Peach
• Tails vs. Yoshi
• Dr. Eggman vs. Waluigi
• Blaze vs. Daisy
• Vector vs. Bowser

Development

Sega decided to use their characters that "young people love and are very iconic" instead of just developing a simulation. The corporation then requested and received approval from Nintendo to include Mario in the game Sega was going to use to help introduce young people into the Olympics. As a result of this and to ensure quality, Nintendo partnered with the developer in-house.

The creator of Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto, supervised the project and the game or one of its two versions may have been co-developed by TOSE, a developer known to not be credited for the games it produces. Sega revealed in early October 2007 that Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games release date schedule has been advanced by two weeks and the game has gone gold. Over 20 characters were originally planned including D.K, Birdo, Silver, Jet, Rouge, Bowser Jr, Diddy Kong, Omega and Cream,as well as some sports, such as judo; however, some of these were left out of the final release.

Reception

Publication	Score
1UP.com	C+ (Wii) C+
Edge	6 of 10 (Wii)
Electronic Gaming Monthly	6.3 of 10 (Wii)
Eurogamer	5 of 10 (DS)
GameSpot	6.0 of 10 (Wii) 6.0 of 10 (DS)
IGN	7.9 of 10 (Wii) 7.8 of 10 (DS)
Nintendo Life
X-Play

The Wii version of this game was awarded as the best game of 2007 on its platform at the Games Convention in Leipzig.

GameSpot praised the Wii game for its wide variety of events, but thought a number of them were too similar to each other. The reviewer called the motion controls utilized in the events as commonly "uninteresting and occasionally frustrating". X-Play agreed, calling the controls "non-intuitive" and some of the minigames require players to "wave their Wiimotes frantically while press several buttons at the same time, which can be a tad bit frustrating". An Electronic Gaming Monthly editor mentioned the controls are complicated for a game that should be a "pure pick-up-and-play party game".

Nintendo Life praised the game in terms of controls, and numbers of events. Nintendo Life stated that Wii version was the innovation SEGA brought to the table in terms of control, while every previous Olympic games relied on speedy button bashing.

IGN called the game a success in their minds in regard to the slight degree of differences each competition had to offer and generally most of the events were entertaining. However, the events within their own classifications felt similar, for example, the track events, the reviewer thought "five or six that feel nearly identical" and lacked diversity. Both IGN and GameSpot favored archery and the fantasy events Mario & Sonic had to offer which IGN states ends up "stealing the show".

Sales performance

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has received mixed reactions by critics, however it was commercially successful, exceeding Sega's expectations by selling over four million copies. The Wii version has sold half a million units during its first 7 weeks of sale in the UK. By June 2008, both versions reached 1.2 million copies combined in UK sales prompting Sega to create plans on re-marketing the game there.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games claims two-times of the top charts in the UK's Top 40 charts released by GameIndustry International and Chart-Track. According to the NPD Group, the Wii game was one of the top-ten best-sellers for the month of December 2007 in the United States, selling 613,000 units.

In just over three months of being released, Sega announced on March 5, 2008 that both versions have sold 5 million units worldwide combined. Simon Jeffery, president of Sega of America, in July 2008 showed interest in another game collaboration between the two mascots and has announced that the game has sold approximately 10 million units worldwide combined.

Videos

Trailers

• Teaser
• Cinematic
• Team Sonic
• Team Mario
• Mii
• Nintendo DS #1
• Nintendo DS #2
• Dream Event
• Hammer Throw
• 110m Hurdles

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) Teaser

MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES - Trailer

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games - Team Sonic trailer

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Trailer - Team Mario

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) Mii Trailer

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Nintendo DS 1

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Nintendo DS Trailer 2

The Dream Event - Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Trailer

Mario & Sonic at the Olympics Games - Hammer Throw Trailer

Mario & Sonic at the Olympics Games - 110M Hurdles Trailer

Commercials

• Final Countdown
• Mario and Sonic

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) commercial

Mario & Sonic (ALL COMMERCIALS) M&S at the Olympic Games

Trivia

• Both Mario female contestants wear clothing from sports games they have previuously been in. Amy and Blaze wear new sporting gear similar to what they wore in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity.
• This is Vector's first playable appearance since Shadow the Hedgehog.
  • This is also the debut of Team Chaotix on the Wii and DS.
  • This is also Charmy's first appearance on a handheld console.
  • This is also Vector's first time being the only playable Team Chaotix member in a video game.
• The only Mario characters with new artwork are Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy and Bowser.
• In the aquatic events, Sonic wears a lifejacket since he cannot actually swim.
• Silver the Hedgehog, Jet the Hawk, Cream the Rabbit, Big the Cat, Espio the Chameleon, Rouge the Bat, Donkey Kong, Birdo, and a Goomba were all supposed to be playable characters in this game, but were scrapped. They are still in the beta and are only available by hacking the game.
  • Donkey Kong and Silver were later made playable in following Mario & Sonic titles. Jet, Cream, Espio, Rouge, and Birdo would not become playable characters until Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
• In the track and field events, players can see Big the Cat in the entrance to the stadium. He is also seen being the referee of the Single Sculls event.
• In the USA Wii commercial of the game, the played song is called "The Final Countdown" by the Swedish hard rock, heavy metal and glam metal band Europe. It was released in 1986.
• In Shadow's artwork for this game, he is missing his tail.
  • Shadow's artwork also has him doing the same pose as Japanese artwork of Sonic for Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
• Peach and Daisy were planned to have swimsuits for the aquatic events, but the designs were rejected by Nintendo. They were later given swimsuits in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games along with Amy and Blaze.

External links

• Official website; Wii (Japanese)
• Official website; DS (Japanese)

Sonic the Hedgehog handheld games

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Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off games

Sega Master System	Sonic Spinball (1994) · Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1994)
Sega Mega Drive	Sonic Eraser (1991) · Sonic Spinball (1993) · Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993) · Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio (1994) · Knuckles' Chaotix (1995, 32X) · Sonic 3D Blast (1996)
Sega Saturn	Sonic 3D Blast (1996) · Sonic R (1997)
Sega All-Stars	Sega Superstars (2004, PS2) · Sega Superstars Tennis (2008, multi-platform) · Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010, multi-platform) · Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012, multi-platform)
Sonic Riders	Sonic Riders (2006, multi-platform) · Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008, multi-platform) · Sonic Free Riders (2010, Xbox 360)
Sonic Storybook Series	Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007, Wii) · Sonic and the Black Knight (2009, Wii)
Mario & Sonic	Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (2011, Wii) · Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (2012, 3DS) · Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (2013, Wii U) · Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (2016, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (2019, Switch)
Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Wii) · Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (2014, 3DS) · Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (2014, Wii U) · Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018, Switch)
Sonic Boom	Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (2014, Wii U) · Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (2014, 3DS) · Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom (2015, mobile) · Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (2016, 3DS)
Arcade and redemption machines	Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car (1991) · UFO SegaSonic (1992) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) · SegaSonic Popcorn Shop (1993) · SegaSonic Cosmo Fighter (1993) · SegaSonic the Hedgehog (1993) · Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1993) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) · Air Circus (1994) · Curling Holiday (1994) · Sonic's Space Tours (1994/1999) · Sonic the Fighters (1996) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1997) · Sonic & Tails Spinner (2002) · CR Sonic (2003) · Sonic Spinner (2007) · Sonic Live! (2008) · Sonic Sports Basketball (2010) · Sonic Sports Air Hockey (2010) · Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Arcade (2011) · Sonic Athletics (2013) · Sonic Ghost Shooting (2013) · Sonic Brain Ranking (2013) · Sonic Dash Extreme (2015) · Sonic Blast Ball (2015) · Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition (2016) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Arcade Edition (2020)
Other	Puzzle Construction (1991, TeraDrive) · Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld (1994, Pico) · Tails and the Music Maker (1994, Pico) · Sonic's Schoolhouse (1996, PC) · Sonic Shuffle (2000, Dreamcast) · Shadow the Hedgehog (2005, multi-platform) · Sega Splash! Golf (2008, PC) · Sonic the Hedgehog (2008, Didj) · Team Sonic Racing (2019, multi-platform) · Sega Streaming Theater Sonic Edition (2021, PC) · Sonic Speed Simulator (2022, multi-platform) · The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (2023, PC)
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