14 DAY TRIAL // SEGA has announced that the release date for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games has been set for October 13. The videogame has been developed for the Nintendo Wii and the DS and is intended as a sort of sequel for the first Olympic game starring the two iconic videogame characters, which was released before the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Leaving aside the fact that SEGA has chosen the 13th of the month to put the game out, it is worth mentioning that the real world Winter Olympic Gamers will only begin in Vancouver on February 12, 2010.
Mario and Sonic, along with a wide ranging cast made up of friends and enemies of the two main characters, will be competing in a lot of the sports that also appear in real life at the Olympics. Expect to see players battling for victory in events like bobsledding, hockey, snowboarding, skating and skying.
As always, the Nintendo Wii version of the game will be somewhat more engaging, offering the promise of co-operative multiplayer modes and of Balance Board use in some of the events. It's not clear whether curling will be included in the line up of games appearing in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.
SEGA has the publishing rights for the sports-oriented videogame in North America and in Europe, while Nintendo holds on to the rights for the Japanese market. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, which came out last year, managed to be a success, with 10 million units sold worldwide.
It's a bit unclear why SEGA and Nintendo have decided to release the game so early in the year and with about four months before the beginning of the Olympic in Vancouver. On the one hand, the publishers can expect the game to get a boost in sales early next year. On the other hand, the 2009 release date will probably lead to lower initial sales.