SPOnG Interviews Sega and Nintendo on Mario/Sonic Olympics
Together at last! The dream!
In Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games those once-sworn enemies Sonic and Mario are (finally) to appear in a game together which has caused quite a stir since it was announced earlier this week.
Back in the 16-bit days, the Super NES and Mega Drive fought tooth and nail to be the top console
in the UK, with Mario and Sonic as their standard-bearers. Yuji Naka once famously described how he conceived Sonic, with his emphasis on speed, as a response to Mario’s deliberate lack of speed. (SPOnG is still keen to know how that in-game 100m dash is going to work out!?)
After hearing about the game SPOnG managed to collar Mike Hayes, Marketing Director, Sega Europe, and Laurent Fischer, Senior Marketing Manager at Nintendo Europe to quiz them on the project, here's some highlights from that interview.
Mainly, we just want to know more about what is the game going to be like, and Sega's Mike Hayes was all to glad to tell us that:
It’s inspired by the Olympics, and it’s the first time that the IOC [International Olympic Committee] and ISM [International Sports Management] have allowed a game that is not a pure simulation. What the Olympic movement wants to do is reach out to a younger audience. It’s going to be based on the Olympics, so the stadia will be based on what’s in Beijing, but it’s going to be Sonic- and Mario-ised, as you could imagine... We’re still working on the final list [of characters], but we’ve definitely got Tails and Knuckles from the Sega side and Luigi and Yoshi from the Nintendo side.”
Back in the 16-bit days, the Super NES and Mega Drive fought tooth and nail to be the top console
in the UK, with Mario and Sonic as their standard-bearers. Yuji Naka once famously described how he conceived Sonic, with his emphasis on speed, as a response to Mario’s deliberate lack of speed. (SPOnG is still keen to know how that in-game 100m dash is going to work out!?)
After hearing about the game SPOnG managed to collar Mike Hayes, Marketing Director, Sega Europe, and Laurent Fischer, Senior Marketing Manager at Nintendo Europe to quiz them on the project, here's some highlights from that interview.
Mainly, we just want to know more about what is the game going to be like, and Sega's Mike Hayes was all to glad to tell us that:
It’s inspired by the Olympics, and it’s the first time that the IOC [International Olympic Committee] and ISM [International Sports Management] have allowed a game that is not a pure simulation. What the Olympic movement wants to do is reach out to a younger audience. It’s going to be based on the Olympics, so the stadia will be based on what’s in Beijing, but it’s going to be Sonic- and Mario-ised, as you could imagine... We’re still working on the final list [of characters], but we’ve definitely got Tails and Knuckles from the Sega side and Luigi and Yoshi from the Nintendo side.”
What about the days when Sega and Nintendo were at each other’s throats?
Mike Hayes opines, “I remember those days well, having worked at Nintendo from 1989 to 1994 – it was all part of that Nintendo-Sega rivalry. In those days, we used to get written up in all the glossy magazines, about how Nintendo stands for The Beatles and Wrangler jeans, while Sega stands for The Rolling Stones and Levis – all that kind of stuff. For me, personally, working for Sega is something I never would have thought would happen in those days, and bringing together these two characters is just unheard of. It’s momentous...”
Nintendo's Laurent Fischer wades in at this point:
What is important for us with this announcement is that it puts together a lot of things we are trying to achieve with the Wii and DS platforms...and we’re using Sega’s skills in developing for both platforms, within the general nice mood of the Olympic Games. All those things put together are a gamer’s dreams come true.
For more juicy Sega and Nintendo together-at-last tidbits read the full interview right here on SPOnG.
Read More Like This