MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES SPRINTS ONTO THE DS EARLY 2008

SEGA Europe SEGA America today announced that Mario& Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Nintendo DS will release across Europe early 2008.

This exciting game is part of an exclusive partnership between SEGA and Nintendo which brings one of the most legendary competitions - an epic face-off between Team Mario and Team Sonic - to Nintendo's immensely successful handheld system. Coming out for the Nintendo DS with exclusive new content, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is also being released for the Wii home video system on November 23rd 2007.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, created specifically to take advantage of all the features the DS has to offer, boasts 16 official Olympic challenges including two new events that are exclusive to the handheld game - 10m Platform Diving and Cycling. Using the unique Touch Screen and Nintendo DS stylus, players can interact with the game as they jump, swim, run, shoot, pedal and flip their way through authentic competitions to win Gold medals.

The Nintendo DS edition also features eight Dream events - five of which can only be found on the handheld game. Each Dream event takes an Olympic sport and brings it into a video game-inspired world filled with obstacles, power-ups and familiar opponents from the worlds of Mario & Sonic to challenge even the best players. These exclusive DS Dream events are: Dream Canoe, Dream Boxing, Dream Basketball, Dream Long Jump and Dream Shooting (Skeet). Dream events are available to play in both the single and multiplayer modes.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games presents DS players the chance to play as any one of 16 video game characters - eight from the world of Mario and eight from the world of Sonic - each bringing their own talents and athletic capabilities to the competitions. The gameis filled with challenges for all kinds of gamers thanks to the three gameplay modes - the Single Event Mode where players can choose one specific event to play, the Circuit Mode where players can choose a series of events to compete in, and the Mission Mode where players have the opportunity to fulfill a series of solo challenges that test their athletic capabilities, timing and reflexes. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games finishes up with the Gallery, where mini-games and Olympic trivia come together to bring more addictive DS fun.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Nintendo DS also offers irresistible multiplayer opportunities by taking full advantage of the DS wireless communications capabilities that offers both Single-Card and Multi-Card gameplay options. Multiplayer gameplay can be enjoyed in Single Event Mode - including the Dream Events - as well as Circuit Mode for up to four players. For gamers looking to see how they do on an international level, DS players can use the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection to upload their scores to the worldwide rankings and check how they rate against players around the world.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Nintendo DS will release across Europe early 2008.