Mario and Sonic at the 2012 London Olympic Games Intro (2011, Sega/Nintendo)
10Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (マリオ&ソニック AT ロンドンオリンピック Mario ando Sonikku atto Rondon Orinpikku, lit. "Mario & Sonic at the London Olympics") is a 2011 sports and party game developed by Sega Japan. As with the previous two Mario & Sonic titles, it was published by Nintendo in Japan and by Sega in all other regions. The game is officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through exclusive licensee International Sports Multimedia. It is the third installment in the Mario & Sonic series after the commercial success of its predecessors and is an official video game of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The game was released on the Wii on November 13, 2011 in Europe, November 15, 2011 in North America, November 17, 2011 in Australia, and December 8, 2011 in Japan. It was also released for the Nintendo 3DS in February 2012. The game is the first, and the only one to come in a yellow keep case instead of a standard white case, similar to how New Super Mario Bros. Wii was the only game to have a red keep case.
Mario & Sonic on the Wii and 3DS is a collection of numerous events based on the Olympic Games. Players can assume the role of a Mario or Sonic character while competing against the others in these events. The game received mostly positive reviews from critics.
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games is a collection of numerous events based on the Olympic Games. Mario & Sonic brings together the two title characters and eighteen more from both franchises to participate in environments based on the official venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The characters are divided into four categories: all-around, speed, power, and skill[8] A recent interview revealed that the same characters are playable as the previous game, with more focus being put on the events and gameplay.
Several Olympic events on the Wii, including football (soccer), badminton, and equestrian will debut alongside improved versions of previously existing events such as athletics, aquatics, and table tennis.[8][10] The Wii game introduced new "Dream Events", which are alternate versions of Olympic events taking place in locations from older games of the Mario and Sonic series. The Wii version also introduces new cooperative mechanics and a Party mode.
The 3DS version has 57 Olympic-based events in single-player and multiplayer. It also contains an exclusive "Story Mode" which entails the characters from Mario and Sonic's worlds working against the antagonists, who are trying to use fog machines to prevent the games from being held.
Both versions of the game feature various musical tracks from the Mario and Sonic series arranged by various members of Sega's Sega Digital Studio group. The game also features original music written for the game, with both versions mostly sharing the same soundtrack.
The game received mostly positive reception. IGN gave the Wii version a 7.5, stating "The only great parts of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games are the parts that have nothing to do with the Olympics. The new reality-ignoring Dream Events, the multiplayer London Party mode and the presentation of London itself are all wonderful here -- pick up a copy of the game if one of those items catches your eye. But the actual sports? They're the same here as they were four years ago, and anyone who's already got a copy of the first Mario & Sonic Olympic game sitting on the shelf doesn't need to double-dip." They gave the 3DS version, which did not contain the "London Party" mode, a lower 6.5 score. Nintendo Power gave the 3DS version a 7.
The Wii version sold 2.4 million copies in North America and Europe in its first two months of release.