Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Australian game cover for Wii.
Developer(s)	Sega Sports Japan
Publisher(s)	JP Nintendo NA / PAL Sega
Series	Mario & Sonic
Platform(s)	Wii, Nintendo 3DS
Release date(s)	Nintendo Wii NA 20111115November 15, 2011 AU 20111117November 17, 2011 EU 20111118November 18, 2011 JP 20111208December 8, 2011 Nintendo 3DS AU 20120209February 9, 2012 NA 20120214February 14, 2012 JP Q2 2012 EU 20120210February 10, 2012
Genre(s)	Sports game
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ACB: G CERO: A ESRB: E PEGI: 3
Media/distribution	Wii Optical Disc, Nintendo 3DS Game Card

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (マリオ&ソニック AT ロンドンオリンピック^?) is a 2011 sports video game developed by Sega Japan. It was published by Nintendo for Japan and by Sega for North America, Europe, and all other regions. The game is officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through exclusive licensee International Sports Multimedia. It is the third installment in the Mario & Sonic series after the commercial success of its predecessors and will be an official video game of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The game was released on the Wii on November 15, 2011 in North America, November 17, 2011 in Australia, November 18, 2011 in Europe and December 8, 2011 in Japan. It will also be released for the Nintendo 3DS in February 2012.^[1] The game is the first to come in a yellow keep case instead of a standard white case,^[2] similar to how New Super Mario Bros. Wii, was the only game to have a red keep case.

Mario & Sonic on the Wii and 3DS is a collection of numerous events based on the Olympic Games. Players can assume the role of a Nintendo or Sega character while competing against the others in these events.

Gameplay

See also: Gameplay of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games is a collection of numerous events based on the Olympic Games.^[3] Mario & Sonic brings together the two titular characters and eighteen more from both franchises to participate in environments based on the official venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The characters are divided into four categories: all-around, speed, power, and skill^[4] A recent interview revealed that the same characters are playable as the previous game, with more focus being put on the events and gameplay.^[5]

Several Olympic events on the Wii, including soccer, badminton, and equestrian will debut alongside improved versions of previously existing events such as athletics, aquatics, and table tennis.^[6][4] The Wii game will introduce new "Dream Events", which are alternate versions of Olympic events taking place in locations from older games of the Mario and Sonic series.^[7] The Wii version also introduces new cooperative mechanics and a Party mode.^[4]

The 3DS version will have over fifty Olympic-based events in single-player and multiplayer.^[6]

Development

See also: Development of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

The first game in the series, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, is the first official crossover title to feature characters from both Mario and Sonic The Hedgehog's respective franchises.^[8] The Olympic Games were chosen as a setting since Sega and Nintendo felt its competitive sportsmanship was ideal for the once-rival mascots Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario.^[9] Sonic the Hedgehog is the protagonist of the video game series released by Sega in order to provide the company with a mascot to rival Nintendo's flagship character Mario in the early 1990s.^[10] Sean Ratcliffe, vice president of marketing at Sega of America commented on whether the Mario & Sonic series had a future past its second installment, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. He said, "I think the key factor that decides the ongoing building of this franchise is basically success. Is the game successful? Are consumers happy with it?"^[11]

A sequel was officially announced with a joint press release by Sega and Nintendo on April 21, 2011, after its predecessors sold over 19 million units combined.^[6] It is an official video game of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and is licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through exclusive licensee International Sports Multimedia.^[6] Early in its software developmental stages, a peripheral was considered to launch alongside the game.^[12] Both versions are being developed by Sega Japan and will be published by Nintendo for Japan and by Sega for North America, and Europe. According to gaming magazine CVG, over 100 people are developing the game.^[13] It will be released on the Wii in November 2011, and on the Nintendo 3DS handheld in February 2012.^[14][15]

References

1. ^ http://3ds.nintendolife.com/news/2011/10/mario_and_sonic_have_a_valentines_day_date
2. ^ http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/27/mario-and-sonic-at-the-london-olympics-release-dates-yellow-box/
3. ^ Zivalich, Nikole (2011-05-20). "Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games Hands-on Preview". G4 (TV channel). http://www.g4tv.com/games/wii/65275/mario-sonic-at-the-london-2012-olympic-games/articles/74555/mario-sonic-at-the-london-2012-olympic-games-hands-on-preview/. Retrieved 2011-05-20. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Davison, Pete (2011-05-16). "Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games Preview". GamePro. http://www.gamepro.com/article/previews/219437/mario-and-sonic-at-the-london-2012-olympic-games-preview/. Retrieved 2011-05-20. 
5. ^ http://www.sonicstadium.org/2011/06/e3-mario-and-sonic-london-2012-preview-and-qa/
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "London's Calling Mario & Sonic" (Press release). Sega/Nintendo. 2011-04-21. http://www.sega.com/news/?n=5048. Retrieved 2011-04-21. 
7. ^ East, Thomas (2011-05-16). "Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympics: Will you live the Dream?". Official Nintendo Magazine. http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/26281/mario-sonic-at-the-london-2012-olympics-playtest-wii-3ds/. Retrieved 2011-05-20. 
8. ^ Fitch, Andrew (November 6, 2007). "Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games (Wii)". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3164214. Retrieved 2008-01-08. 
9. ^ Thorsen, Tor (2007-03-29). "Q&A: Sega, Nintendo on the first Sonic-Mario game". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/wii/sports/mariosonicattheolympicgames/news.html?sid=6168338. Retrieved 2007-09-14. "Scott Steinberg: It's the perfect backdrop, since Olympics being synonymous with the spirit of sportsmanship. It's a great context for Mario and Sonic to come together in their first game. So it couldn't have been written in a better script." 
10. ^ Kennedy, Sam. "The Essential 50: Sonic the Hedgehog". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3134008. Retrieved 2006-06-03. 
11. ^ Gaudiosi, John (2009-04-06). "Sega shows off next big Olympics game, targets Wii and DSi". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 2009-04-09. http://replay.web.archive.org/20090409032834/http://venturebeat.com/2009/04/06/sega-shows-off-next-big-olympics-game-and-targets-wiidsi/. Retrieved 2011-04-22. 
12. ^ Smith, Jamin (2011-05-16). "Peripheral once planned for latest Mario & Sonic game". VideoGamer.com. http://www.videogamer.com/news/peripheral_once_planned_for_latest_mario_and_sonic_game.html. Retrieved 2011-05-20. 
13. ^ Robinson, Andy (2011-05-16). "Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games: Can success strike thrice?". Computer and Video Games. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/301489/previews/mario-sonic-at-the-london-2012-olympic-games-can-success-strike-thrice/. Retrieved 2011-05-20. 
14. ^ "Release Summary: Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Wii)". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/wii/sports/mario--sonic-at-the-london-2012-olympic-games/similar.html?mode=versions. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 
15. ^ "Release Summary: Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (3DS)". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/3ds/sports/mario--sonic-at-the-london-2012-olympic-games/similar.html?mode=versions. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 

External links

• Mario & Sonic at Sega.com
• Official website (Japanese)