Top sales for a game that does one thing right: brings legends together

Mar 6, 2008 08:42 GMT  ·  By

It's crystal clear that a game featuring some of the most beloved game characters of all time is a definite hit and we can only wonder how come this game wasn't released on each and every existent game platform. Because Sega has just announced that Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games sold 5 million copies worldwide since its launch four months ago. I'm sure, though, that nobody is surprised by this.

Available for the Nintendo Wii and DS consoles, the game brought together the likes of Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Knuckles, Yoshi, Tails and more to compete in events that take place in environments based on the official venues of the real Olympic Games to be held in Beijing. This was considered from the start a winning hand - the game offers you the chance to run down the 100m track with one of your all-time favorite character, take it to play some table tennis or go swimming, everything for fun and gold - since this is what every participant at the Olympic Games really wants.

"With adored icons and fun game play, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has shot to the top of the sales charts and is clearly resonating with the growing audience of casual gamers that want an engaging and accessible gaming experience," said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America.

And his words are correct, since the game managed to gather some record sales in the US during the Holiday season, becoming one of the top ten bestsellers on the market and the same thing happened in Europe, where it became the best-selling video game in England across all formats and entered the top 10 in other countries as well.

This, unfortunately, proves one thing: as long as you have a great character (or, even better, a bunch of legendary ones), that is everything that matters. Am I the only one that feels the need to see and get a new one? Some characters should retire, really!