For over a decade now fans have been wondering just what a team-up between Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog would be like. Everything from traditional platform games to complex role-playing titles have been suggested, but it?s fair to say nobody imagined that it would finally happen in the form of an athletics simulator. It?s officially licensed from the 2008 Beijing Olympics though (Sega already had the license for their own more traditional tie-in) and contains all the usual events you?d expect including the 100m sprint, swimming, judo, table tennis, hammer throwing and archery. Sega have even been talking about using the new Wii Zapper controller for a spot of clay pigeon shooting.

More than twenty-five characters from both universes will be playable in the game, including not just Mario and Sonic but also Luigi, Tails, Yoshi, Knuckles, Bowser, Doctor Eggman, Princess Peach and Amy. Other characters will have cameos as judges such as Cream the Cat and Toad. You?d expect some characters to be naturally better at some sports than others but each has their own strengths and weakness, with even Sonic?s incredible speed mitigated by his slow acceleration. The whole game is developed by Sega but overseen by legendary Nintendo creator Shigeru Miyamoto, with full tournament and missions modes as well as online leaderboards for all the different events. The name may sound like an April Fool?s joke at first but this crossover could well be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (November 15, 2007) SEGA Europe Ltd. and SEGA of America, Inc. today announced that Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Nintendo DS will release across Europe early 2008. This exciting game is part of an exclusive partnership between SEGA and Nintendo which brings one of the most legendary competitions, an epic face-off between Team Mario and Team Sonic to Nintendo immensely successful handheld system. Coming out for the Nintendo DS with exclusive new content, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is also being released for the Wii home video system on November 23rd 2007.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, created specifically to take advantage of all the features the DS has to offer, boasts 16 official Olympic challenges including two new events that are exclusive to the handheld game - 10m Platform Diving and Cycling. Using the unique Touch Screen and Nintendo DS stylus, players can interact with the game as they jump, swim, run, shoot, pedal and flip their way through authentic competitions to win Gold medals. The Nintendo DS edition also features eight Dream events a? five of which can only be found on the handheld game. Each Dream event takes an Olympic sport and brings it into a video game-inspired world filled with obstacles, power-ups and familiar opponents from the worlds of Mario & Sonic to challenge even the best players. These exclusive DS Dream events are: Dream Canoe, Dream Boxing, Dream Basketball, Dream Long Jump and Dream Shooting (Skeet). Dream events are available to play in both the single and multiplayer modes.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games presents DS players the chance to play as any one of 16 video game characters eight from the world of Mario and eight from the world of Sonic - each bringing their own talents and athletic capabilities to the competitions. The game is filled with challenges for all kinds of gamers thanks to the three game play modes - the Single Event Mode where players can choose one specific event to play, the Circuit Mode where players can choose a series of events to compete in, and the Mission Mode where players have the opportunity to fulfill a series of solo challenges that test their athletic capabilities, timing and reflexes. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games finishes up with the Gallery, where mini-games and Olympic trivia come together to bring more addictive DS fun.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games also offers irresistible multiplayer opportunities by taking full advantage of the DS wireless communications capabilities that offers both Single-Card and Multi-Card game play options. Multiplayer game play can be enjoyed in Single Event Mode - including the Dream Events - as well as Circuit Mode for up to four players. For gamers looking to see how they do on an international level, DS players can use the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection to upload their scores to the worldwide rankings and check how they rate against players around the world.