Q&A;: Sega, Nintendo on the first Sonic-Mario game
Scott Steinberg and Perrin Kaplan tell GameSpot how the two game icons qualified for the Olympics.
Earlier this week, Nintendo and Sega announced their two respective icons, Mario and Sonic, would appear together in a game for the first time. However, the game itself raised some eyebrows, as it has the mustachioed plumber and hyperactive hedgehog facing off...in the Olympics?
;)
For many, the 2008 Beijing Games doesn't immediately spring to mind as the setting for the first showdown between two of gaming's most recognizable characters. But for the team behind Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, which is due out this fall for the Wii and Nintendo DS, an event based on competition seemed the perfect choice.
To shed some light on this pairing of onetime bitter rivals, GameSpot caught up with Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo of America's vice president of marketing & corporate affairs, and Scott Steinberg, Sega of America's vice president of marketing.
GameSpot: So this is a pretty exciting...
Perrin Kaplan: Are you happy?
GS: Am I happy? I'm so happy right now. Can't you tell by my voice?
PK: I kind of can, yeah.
GS: Sorry, I'm not sufficiently caffeinated. OK, so who approached whom? I mean, you've got three elements here--you've got Olympic games, you've got Mario, you've got Sonic. Who came up with the idea, Sega or Nintendo?
Scott Steinberg: I'm not sure where the idea came out originally, but it's been in the works for a few years now. And the partnership between Sega and Nintendo has been rich since the Sega side got out of hardware, and our characters and properties have done extremely well on Nintendo's platforms. So that synergy has been there for a number of years. The discussions around this were kind of in a casual sense, been going on, and it was looking for that right context and that right venue to really give it an exclamation mark, and the context and backdrop of the Olympics is what really drove the conversations to a head and made it happen.
GS: Right. But who initiated the conversation?
SS: You know, I don't know if history will say who was the lightbulb-over-the-head person. I think it was a pretty easy notion for the companies to come together because of the style of games that they developed, and their approach to game development has been very similar over the ages. And we've been enjoying a closer and closer partnership, both in the US on the comarketing side and in Japan, as well. So, it just kind of came about that way. But it was not an idea that we thought of yesterday and kind of pulled out of our hat--it's been a fairly long-running strategy and plan.
GS: This is the first game with Sonic and Mario in it...so why the Olympics?
SS: 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.
GS: In the past, Olympics-based video games have had kind of a checkered history. What's going to set this apart from previous Olympic video games besides, obviously, the inclusion of Mario and Sonic.
SS: The big difference is, will be, that it's on a Wii and a DS. So, that in itself is going to make an Olympic-style game that much more physical and kinetic and fun. You throw in Sonic and Mario, and you're talking about a real fun action sports game. All that recipe together equals a unique and innovative approach on that theme.
GS: Right. So, well tell me, how is the Wii motion-sensing control going to be utilized?
SS: All those game-related questions will go in the "stay tuned" category, because we're really not announcing game-specific details at this time.
GS: OK, so which events will be featured? Are we going to see Mario throwing javelins?
SS: We've announced three Olympic events: the 100 meter race, table tennis, and the swimming heat. Of course, the structure is all about going for the gold. So it is a competition for who is going to have the gold medal at the end of the day. And that's really all that we're getting into related to the specific competitions and the gameplay. You can expect more later.
GS: No equestrian events, eh?
SS: Say that again?
GS: No equestrian events--I was trying to make a joke. [Laughs sheepishly] OK, so you've got Sonic, Mario, Luigi, and who else?
SS: Knuckles, Yoshi, and Tails.
GS: You said you haven't announced some characters?
SS: Oh, yes, absolutely. The six that we've announced are sort of a sneak peek. There are plenty more to come, and we'll be talking about that later.
GS: Now Mario and Sonic are two icons, but they've also got some very iconic developers behind them. How involved is [Mario creator Shigeru] Miyamoto going to be in this game?
PK: Very, in that he has teams that work on a lot of our games and that he does sort of a cursory review at the end. He will be very involved sort of during the development process and at the end, which we hope to people signifies the priority of this product for our company. And, you know, support that the Sega-Nintendo relationship...we're all very happy about it. I said to someone the other day that there's a thin line between love and hate, and we're in love.
GS: I see. [Awkward pause] And how involved is the Sonic Team, the Sonic developers, going to be in this game?
SS: It's not being developed by the Sonic Team, but it is being developed at Sega Japan.
GS: I know a big problem that people have with console games versus handheld games, sometimes the handheld version seems kind of truncated. What's going to differentiate the DS version of this game from the Wii? How is it going to take advantage of the touch-screen control?
SS: Well, I can tell you it will not be truncated. We're not really going into details on the DS specifics. But we are taking that platform extremely seriously, so do not feel like it's going to be an appendix or an afterthought.
GS: Right. So, if this works out, could we expect more Sonic and Mario crossovers in the future?
PK: You just never say never in this business.
GS: Yeah, tell me about it.
SS: That is a great way to think about this--never say never--because I think 15 years ago, you never would have thought this would happen, and so "never say never" is a great way to characterize it.
GS: OK, the Olympics don't even start until August of 2008. Why are you releasing this game so far ahead?
PK: Well, let me just say that Nintendo's not usually early on things, and there you have it!
GS: That's a pretty good way of putting it.
PK: Get it while you can, right?
GS: Yeah, basically.
SS: Yeah, you're right, the Beijing Olympics are starting in August [2008], but there will be a lot of attention, or there has been a lot of attention, to the transformation of China to get dialed up for the Olympics. This will be a perfect holiday product because it is, as Perrin was talking about, very pick up and play. Little kids will be able to play it. Adults will find it very inclusive for family fun. So it's an opportunity to get this out for the holidays and really let families enjoy both the Olympics and the gameplay around Mario and Sonic.
GS: Right. Now you mentioned the transformation of China pre-Olympics. Are there any cultural elements that are going to be kind of incorporated in the game? As far as the host country is concerned?
SS: That'll go into the aforementioned category of information that will be released as we get into more of the product details.
GS: Is the Olympic mascot going to be a playable character in this, too? I don't know what the mascot is for the Beijing games, but I know for the [2004] Athens games...
PK: We wish it was our character!
GS: Yeah, well, I was also wondering, will Mario and Sonic become the de facto mascots of the 2008?
PK: I think that they would charge us trillions of dollars.
SS: We should charge them, what are you saying?!
PK: That's right, baby.
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283 Comments
Man I just wish this were Brawl.
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sonic in brawl= never gonnna happen
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it is imposible for mario to defat sonic at sports or fighting. The only sport that sonic would loose at is swimming. Sonic can form a tornado by running, he can use his powerful homing attack, super sonic could use chaos control to freeze time and kill mario, and if he used speed break at mario mario would go flying.
Mario can jump on people and throw fire balls but those attacks are weak. Sonic can jump 10 times higher than Mario. Mario can punch and kick. But, Mario is slow as heck. he is a fat plumber! The strongest bad guy Mario has ever killed was Bowser, and Bowsers just a fat turtle with spikes. Sonic has beat guys 300 times the size of bowser and 300 times the power. Sonic has beat huge evil robots(Metal Sonic). Lava Monsters(Iblis). Evil Genies that can change the world(Erazor Djinn). Sonic has beat another hedgehog that can shoot energy spears and carries a gun(shadow). Sonic has saved the world, the book world, other planents, and other dimensions. all mario did is fight a stupid fat turtle with spikes. Oh wow!! A giant turtle is going to poke me to death, what will i do? MARIO IS A STUPID FAT PLUMBER> SONIC IS A SUPERSONIOC HEDGEHOG WHO HAS SAVED THE WORLD AND MANY OTHER WORLDS! NOW TRY TO SAY THAT MARIO IS BETTER AND ILL LAUGH!!!!!!!!!! MARIO SUCKS.
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People!!! We mustn't forget that mario CAN FLY!!! He can also turn into metal mario!!! Not to mention that if he's strong enough to throw Bowser into bombs from 30 ft. away he's strong enough to throw javelins or whatever the heck they throw in those games. But I don't care how much diet and exercise you get... Sonic will always prevail at anything involving speed unless Mario spikes his juice or something.
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The 100 meter dash thing is kind of stupid. Sonic would always win.
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Now that we know that MARIO and SONIC have a game together, kough*kough*, not that SEGA and NINTENDO are close friends but, WHAT REALLY JUST MATTERS ME, is, if this game is already TBA, then sonic will make a come at Super Smash Bros. BRAWL, right??
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the only way mario can win against sonic in the 100 meter race is only if they puy MAJOR speed limitations on sonic or if they gave mario a huge mushroom tht made him super big tht might help but ultimately its who moves the controller faster back and forth like running.
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Even if I wasn't a big fan of Sonic, wouldn't this be a no-contest thing? Clearly Sonic is more athletic then Mario. There will have to be major restrictions on Sonic's movement, something like: "Hey Sonic, when you beat Mario, try really hard NOT to break the sound barrier, OK? We can't afford more windows." Pooooor Mario...
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Let's just hope this is at least decent. I'd still rather have Sonic in the next Smash Bros.
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Mario against my favoruite character of all time, Sonic The Hedgehog. Why would they make it olympics??? 100 meter dash, woah what was that blue blur that just shot around the track? That was Sonic? Holy crap! Swimming, woah Knuckles swam so fast he got to the end before Mario got to the middle! Pole vault, woah look at how high Tails went in the air, the pole even went over the top and kept going! Mario Luigi and Yoshi are going against a hyper speed hedgehog, a steel crunching echidna who is an excellent swimmer, and an airborne fox, who is a pilot by the way, Tails rules the skys! I don't think there's an event that they can't do.
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Don't know if that'll really work... I'm just curious to see if Sonic and Mario will make this game great.
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at first i thought this was a joke but then i went to ebgames and you can preorder it
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it is imposible for mario to defat sonic at sports or fighting. The only sport that sonic would loose at is swimming. Sonic can form a tornado by running, he can use his powerful homing attack, super sonic could use chaos control to freeze time and kill mario, and if he used speed break at mario mario would go flying.
Mario can jump on people and throw fire balls but those attacks are weak. Sonic can jump 10 times higher than Mario. Mario can punch and kick. But, Mario is slow as heck. he is a fat plumber! The strongest bad guy Mario has ever killed was Bowser, and Bowsers just a fat turtle with spikes. Sonic has beat guys 300 times the size of bowser and 300 times the power. Sonic has beat huge evil robots(Metal Sonic). Lava Monsters(Iblis). Evil Genies that can change the world(Erazor Djinn). Sonic has beat another hedgehog that can shoot energy spears and carries a gun(shadow). Sonic has saved the world, the book world, other planents, and other dimensions. all mario did is fight a stupid fat turtle with spikes. Oh wow!! A giant turtle is going to poke me to death, what will i do? MARIO IS A STUPID FAT PLUMBER> SONIC IS A SUPERSONIOC HEDGEHOG WHO HAS SAVED THE WORLD AND MANY OTHER WORLDS! NOW TRY TO SAY THAT MARIO IS BETTER AND ILL LAUGH!!!!!!!!!! MARIO SUCKS.
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no waay!
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sonic would kill mario at sports and fighting
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it should have been a fighting game not a sports game, i still think it would be fun.
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Wii sports wasn't bad and I think nintendo is more than capable to make great sport games for the wii, so I wouldn't bet that it will be a bad game before I've tried it.
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Heh, I was kinda hoping that the first game that mixed Sonic and Mario would be good... Sports games suck.
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Would have been better as a action or platform game, I don't think an olympic game would intrest me. Ah well, at least from this we can hope that Sonic is in Brawl.
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Bit dissapointed its an olympic's game but sounds good!
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I can't wait to hear the mash up the sparse voices of a Mario game, with the absolutely terrible voice acting found in a Sonic game.
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damn it, when i clicked on the first link about this, i thought sonic was in SSB.
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Good duo!!! If its Nintendo quality it will probably be a good party game but the way Sega is taking Sonic is very disappointing. C'mon Sega I miss your quality in games!!!
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We all knew a Mario/Sonic game would happen eventually, just what quality is it gonna be? When is it going to be? Time will tell all our questions' answers.
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eh, Sounds like another game that I would not buy.
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man both r my fav wonder how it will be
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TKandPBC "why do people want sonic in SSBB so bad. i think he would suck"
because a sonic vs fox battle would be amazing, but I wonder what kind of moves sonic would have...
I thinks Shadow vs Fox would be a better suit they have pretty much the same moves
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"why do people want sonic in SSBB so bad. i think he would suck"
because a sonic vs fox battle would be amazing, but I wonder what kind of moves sonic would have...
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why do people want sonic in SSBB so bad. i think he would suck
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I've been waiting for a game with both of them its about time
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I'm going to faint. I mean, this is a joke, right? Right? No? Ya Sure? Positive? Well in that case, AWESOM- *faints of the wonderful excitement*
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Olympics? That just sounds so... bland. As long as they include the beloved Mario sports twists (and I guess some Sonic twists are obligatory), this will turn out okay. It just seems to restricted when they based minigames on something, you know, real.
Either way, is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking? SSBB is supposed to be released before before this one, isn't it? (If not this may very well get delayed.) What if... this WON'T be be Mario and Sonic's first appearance together? O_O
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Sonic and mario...at the olympics...? Im all up for Mario, not so much sonic (games suck, IN HIS WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLD, rock listened to by angsty teens, X-TREEEEME, etc) but I would...not buy this game. Know what, Im passing judgem,ent too quickly, it might be good. Still, it seems like a way to get some cash. Also, beijing olympics? What in the hell...
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Could this be a prelude to Sonic in Smash Bros. Brawl?
I can always dream.
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No matter what I am getting this game.
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Hmm it is probaly a joke, Sonic and Mario in the same game! sounds kind of crazy.
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Hmm... I think they'll probaly add Peach and Amy. What do you think? I'm sure they will, both are important characters not to mention it'll be sexist if they dont!
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Maybe there should be specific character attributes...
Sonic - speed
Knuckles - strenght (sphere/discus)
Yoshi - high jump
Tails - long jump
Luigi - balanced towards jumping (because of his high center of mass)
Mario - balanced towards speed (because of low center of mass)
Wario (he has to be in it) - good wrestling
Snake (why not) - any shooting events
Specialized attributes could give you help in events that you're not good at. If for example you can't perform well in high jump use yoshi.
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Hmm they'll really have to tone down sonic's abilities to make this game even. The concept of mario being more athletic in any way is just stupid. I mean how are we supposed to believe they could feasibly compete together in the 100m event? Sonic runs at the speed of sound and Mario runs at the speed of... well... a plumber!
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These people are cool to be interviewed!
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It's weird to know the normal extrem speed of sonic not wining on the 100m cours :S
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idk
If it is a joke, they initially had me.
If it isn't a joke, it should be a pretty creative game.
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While I am hoping this was just an April Fools joke, if it isn't, it couldn't be that bad since Shigeru Miyamoto would be involved. He isn't exactly known for letting poor games be released to the public. But please, let it be a joke.
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Olympics based games do tend to be boring, and with all the other sports games and mingames that will be out on the Wii by then, there doesn't seem to be much of a point to this one. But if it is deep and broad enough, and if they have super good Wii/DS specific controls, then the game could possibly surprise us...
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strange...o well...lets see how it'll turn out
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I suppose I'm just extremely hopeful, but I'd like to think the whole olympics part is an April First Joke. Not that I care about an Olympics game or not... but I care a great deal about finding out if a certain blue hedgehog ends up in a bit of a Brawl...
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Sonic and Mario in Greco-Roman wrestling... ewww
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CyphenX said,
"That was without a doubt the wierdest interview I've ever seen."
That's right, baby.
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I dont like the concept, The Olympics... maybe they crate a great history about this 2 characters in a imaginary world and make a crossover very original.
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It sounds good, but the whole Olympics thing ...... is strange.
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