Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is a 2007 crossover sports video game developed and published by Sega for the Wii, with Nintendo publishing it in Japan. It was released for the Nintendo DS the following year. It is the first installment in the Mario & Sonic series, a crossover between Nintendo's Mario and Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series, and the first licensed crossover game to feature characters from both franchises. Being the first official video game of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, it is licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through exclusive licensee International Sports Multimedia (ISM).
Mario & Sonic on the Wii and DS is a collection of twenty-four events based on the Olympic Games. Players assume the role of a Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog character, using the Wii Remote to mimic sports actions such as swinging a paddle. The DS version uses the stylus and button controls. Both games follow rules and regulations of the specific sports. Sega adopted the IOC's mission of promoting sportsmanship and interest young people in the Olympics by using its characters; following this theme, Nintendo allowed Sega to include Mario with Sonic the Hedgehog, created by Sega as a mascot to rival Mario in the early 1990s.
Critics praised the multiplayer interaction of the Wii game, and variety of events of both versions, but criticized the Wii version for its complexity and its DS counterpart for not offering the same interaction between players. The Wii game was awarded the "Best Wii game of 2007" at the Games Convention in Leipzig. Mario & Sonic sold over 10 million units and started a series of related sport video games to coincide with upcoming Olympic events.
