Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics E3 trailer
Posted by Graham. Filed under G, News, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii. Tagged with Mario & Sonic, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Trailer, Vancouver 2010.
The original trailer for the new Mario & Sonic title really didn’t give us much of the game, just a teaser. This trailer doens’t actually show any gameplay, but at least gives a better idea of what to expect in the game and is far more exciting.
You see a variety of the characters performing in different events such as; snowboarding, bobsleighing, ice skating, skiing, slalom and ski-jump.
Most of the characters look like they are the same as from the original Mario & Sonic, but Sega has said that there will be some new characters that are going to be “revealed later.” But just watch the trailer and you will see a few of the new ones right there. Be interesting to see how many more they’ll add.
Can’t wait to play as Metal Sonic ;o)
[Source: Sega PR]
Them Brits just love their Mario… and Sonic
Posted by Graham. Filed under Europe, G, News, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Sonic. Tagged with Mario & Sonic, olympics.
It’s hardly brand new information that Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is selling pretty darn well. Many would say that it is selling “surprisingly” well, considering so many people (including some Sega Nerds) berated the idea, when Sega originally announced it.
Sega Europe has now announced that the Wii version of Mario & Sonic has hit sales of over 1 million, in the UK alone!  Combined with the DS version, figures are just over the 1.35 million mark.
“Mario and Sonic has made gaming history with over a million software units sold on the Nintendo Wii within the UK alone,” SEGA Europe North MD Alan Pritchard told MCV. “The title has been an immediate hit from launch and we will continue to re-invest and market this title throughout the rest of the year with a hope of reaching over two million sales by the end of our financial year.”
Now that is pretty impressive, considering the UK has a population of around 60 million, while the US has something in the region of 300 million people, and the UK sales alone make up for (approx.) 1/5 of the game’s worldwide figures.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this game hits the 10 million mark by the end of the year, it must be nearing the 6 million figure by now, and it will no doubt receive a surge in sales when the Olympic Games actually begin.
[Source: GoNintendo]
[Image from MCV]
Sega racing for the podium in the UK
Posted by Graham. Filed under Europe, G, Microsoft Xbox 360, News, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PC, Sony PlayStation 3. Tagged with Beijing 2008, Charts, Mario & Sonic.
Yeah ok, that title is a crap way of implying that Sega is currently standing in the UK charts with two sports titles. Olympic titles to be precise.
Beijing Olympics 2008 see’s itself climb four positions this week, hitting fifth place. And Mario & Sonic Olympics is still hanging in the charts, at number eight.
It would have been cool to see Beijing hit a higher position, however as I’m not a massive fan of Olympic titles, my only reason would be to see Sega beating out THQ’s Big Beach Sports -at number four.
The full top ten chart will appear after the break.
Review: Beijing Olympics 2008
Posted by Graham. Filed under G, Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Review, Sony PlayStation 3. Tagged with Beijing 2008, Mario & Sonic.
In my lifetime I have only ever played one Olympics game which I have really enjoyed, and that was (surprisingly) last year’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympics.
On the whole I can play them, and find some enjoyment - but when it all comes down to it, tapping two buttons constantly to make a guy run forward isn’t my idea of a good game. Which is why I found Mario & Sonic fun, because the controls felt more ‘realistic’ and made the game fun - plus the added bonus of watching Sonic swim with a life-jacket.
So this is Sega’s next attempt at recreating the Beijing Olympic games, but this time with a heck of a lot more realism. So how does it compare to the Wii-waggling fun of Mario & Sonic?
Olympics president says no achievement in games
Posted by Nathan. Filed under Multi-platform, Nathan, News, Worldwide. Tagged with Beijing, Mario & Sonic, olympics.
Jacques Rogge, the 66-year-old president of the International Olympic Committee, has blasted gamers worldwide by praising young people involved in sports and bashing the once-esteemed hobby of virtual visual entertainment.
“Kids are attracted to visual, interactive forms of communication,” Rogge said to the Times Online. “It’s not going to be easy for sport to counter that. You won’t hear me saying sport is not fun–it is. But it requires austerity and discipline. The answer is achievement. You will never achieve in a video game. It is not really success.”
Uhh, obviously Mr. Rogge has never heard of the Xbox 360 and its large selection of games, all of which feature a wide range of various achievements, some of which are pretty darn difficult to earn. 10,000 kills in Gears of War takes a seriously dedicated gamer, and I’d directly compare earning that to finishing a marathon. Both require extreme amounts of dedication and physical training and mental focus. The ONLY difference is that one earns you 50 gamerpoints while the other gives you a shot at Olympic gold and short-lived international fame.
Of course, I’m sure Mr. Rogge isn’t going to complain about Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games or Sega’s other upcoming game based on the Beijing 2008 Olympics, as his wonderful organization stands to share some of the profits thanks to licensing deals.
Sega snags three spots in UK’s top 10
Posted by Chris. Filed under Chris. Tagged with Mario & Sonic, Sega Superstars Tennis.
Sega has been pretty darn successful as of late in the United Kingdom, and it doesn’t appear that its momentum is slowing down by very much as proven by this week’s top 10 software chart. Sega was able to grab the third, sixth and ninth spot in this week’s charts, having the most titles of any publisher after Nintendo.
- Wii Fit
- Mario Kart
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)
- Gran Turismo 5: Prologue
- Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training
- Sega Superstars Tennis
- Game Party
- PES 2008: Pro Evolution Soccer
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS)
- Wii Play
We’re still amazed at how well Mario & Sonic continues to sell. It seems that this game just won’t die, and we expect it to stay in the top 10 for awhile due to all the Beijing Olympic buzz. It’s also nice to see Sega Superstars Tennis selling well, especially since it hasn’t sold nearly as well in North America.
[Via Gamasutra]
Review: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Posted by JamesC. Filed under James, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Review. Tagged with Mario & Sonic, Mario and Sonic, olympics, sega.
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, the most recent party game to hit the Nintendo Wii, tries very hard to add something new to the genre and in a lot of ways succeeds. Developed by Sega, in partnership with Nintendo, the game is surprisingly (at least to this reviewer) fun.
Shining with a good amount of polish, M & S offers up some high production values to get people interested, and to keep events engaging it employs a really challenging curve towards the latter events. All these elements keep things feeling competitive and fresh throughout nearly the entire game.
I say nearly because in some cases the game comes up just short- somewhat in the same way a fat Italian plumber would if he ever actually tried the long-jump. But ignoring a few faults and looking to where the game really excels, you could end up having a lot of fun for a very long time with this addictive game.
