Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is a sports game that places Mario, Sonic, and their various allies against each other in Olympic events. The game has the official Beijing 2008 Olympics license, and features environments based on actual Olympic venues.

Originally, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was considered an April Fools Joke as the game was revealed late March. However, soon after, Sega stated on their official website that the game is official, and that both Sega and Nintendo are working on this game project. Shigeru Miyamoto then soon confirmed that he is supervising the project, confirming Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games to be real.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is available for both the Wii and Nintendo DS. Both versions of the game utilize the new functions of these consoles completely. Mario & Sonic is compatible with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Playable Characters
The playable cast consists of sixteen characters; eight from the Mario series and eight from the Sonic series. These sixteen characters are broken up into four groups of four characters. All-Around, which consists of characters who neither excel or descend in any type of abilities. Speed, which consists of characters who are best at agility and stamina based events. Skill, which consists of characters who are above average skill and stamina, but have low power and top speeds. Power, which consists of characters who are best at strength and endurance based events. Also, in the Wii version, there is the choice of using the players own Mii as a playable character. When they are chosen, they seem to have no stats, so stats do not affect them, or it is safe to assume that they have 5/10 in all areas. In Dream Fencing and Dream Table Tennis, players can use special attacks, which are powerful moves that inflict more damage or knock the opponant out of the ring (Dream Fencing), or hit the ball with more power (Dream Table Tennis).

Other

 * Mii (Wii Version)

Non-Playable Characters

 * Fuwas

Referees

 * Espio
 * Charmy Bee
 * Cream
 * Lakitu
 * Shy Guy
 * Toad
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Pianta (Wii version only.)
 * Dry Bones (Wii version only.)
 * Big the Cat (Wii version only.) He also only referees the rowing event.

In addition to the above characters, the following were found in when hacking the European version of the game: Silver the Hedgehog, Donkey Kong, Birdo, and Jet the Hawk. 

Dream Events

 * Dream Race (Sandhill Race Course) – Get on your marks for this intense power-up filled race course, made for either one player, or as many as four.
 * Dream Platform (10,000M Diving, Tropical Reef Diving Area) – More like skydiving, soar through hoops and perform aerial tricks while avoiding obstacles and opponents to reach the finish line first.
 * Dream Fencing (Duel Wharf Fencing Beach) – With unique special attacks for each character, this jungle-inspired world offers the ultimate duel.
 * Dream Table Tennis (Speed Rally Table Tennis Stadium) – A sci-fi wonderland, this magical table tennis extravaganza offers a special ability for each character.

DS Events

 * 100m
 * 400m
 * 400m Hurdles
 * Long Jump
 * Triple Jump
 * Javelin Throw
 * Hammer Throw
 * 100m Freestyle
 * 10m Platform
 * Trampoline
 * Vault
 * Table Tennis
 * Shooting
 * Archery
 * Cycling
 * Fencing
 * Dream Race
 * Dream Basketball
 * Dream Canoe
 * Dream Boxing
 * Dream Table Tennis
 * Dream Fencing
 * Dream Shooting
 * Dream Long Jump

Wii Version

 * GamePro - 3.5/5
 * 1UP - 6/10
 * IGN - 7.9/10
 * Official Nintendo Magazine Uk - 90%
 * Nintendo Power - 7.5/10

DS Version

 * GamePro - 3.25/5
 *  - 6/10
 * IGN.com - 7.8/10
 * Offical Nintendo Magazine Uk - 42.0%
 * Nintendo Power - 7.5/10

Official Artwork
(Logo, first artwork and group artwork)

Team Mario
Note: The rest of the character artworks for Team Mario in this game are from previous Mario game series' installments including, but not limited to Mario Party 6, Mario Party 7, and Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.

Trivia

 * This is not the first time that Mario takes part in the Olympics. He also competed in an event called "Intergalactical Olympics" in the Club Nintendo comic "Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit".
 * An Ackpow in Super Paper Mario also suggested that Mario (or Peach, depending on the character in use) should join a type of Olympics parody known as the Gerbilympics, but this event was never seen.
 * The DVD set of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 was rereleased in a double pack with Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 1 to tie in with the release of this game.
 * Birdo, Donkey Kong, Silver the Hedgehog, and Jet the Hawk were supposed to be in this game, but were dropped for unknown reasons.
 * Although both Nintendo and Sega worked on this collaboration, most of the development was handled by Sega. However, as the game was finalized, Sega did publishing and marketing duties for all versions outside of Japan (United States, Europe, Australia, etc.). Nintendo did publishing and marketing duties for the Japanese version of this game.