Sega and Nintendo have now officially announced Mario & Sonic at The Olympic Winter Games, detailing some of the events and features we can expect in the frigid follow-up to last year's summer outing.
While we knew it was coming before we knew it was coming, now it's officially coming, as if Sega and Nintendo would just abandon the series after the original Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games moved more than 10 million copies worldwide. No, Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games was inevitable, and now we've got the first official details on the second game produced from this unholy union.
The official press release delves a bit deeper into the new game, mentioning new characters without going into specifics, along with two of the new events - Alpine Skiing and Speed Skating - with plans to slowly tease us with event reveals leading up to the game's late 2009 release on the Wii and DS.
Balance Board support was also announced in the official release, meaning it is probably a safe bet that we'll see some sort of snowboarding event in the final game, because developers look at that thing and immediately see a snowboard.
"SEGA has been a valued publishing partner of Nintendo for many years and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is the ultimate representation of that relationship," said Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO, Nintendo of America. "We look for this game to continue the tradition its predecessor started by bringing new events, new characters, and new gameplay experiences to fans worldwide."
And of course, both Nintendo and Sega look forward to selling another 10 million copies of a mediocre game fueled solely by star power.
Head over to the official game website to view the first teaser trailer for Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games.