Eurogamer – The Sonic Stadium

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SEGA held an event in Vancouver for the press to play some curling and try out Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games for the Wii and DS. There are brand new screenshots and impressions from the new mascot-branded, mini-game collection for you to check out, but I’d just like to point out one thing:

Multiplayer is unlocked from the start of the game. Thank you for correcting an awful design choice, SEGA.

The article also highlights Wii Balance Board support for sports like downhill skiing and bobsledding. On the DS front, all sports will be sharable with up to 4 DS systems with a single cartridge. Wow! Producer Eigo Kasahara says:

“Actually I wanted to make all the events available for free download last time, but because of time constraints it was difficult. With this version, maybe players will bring the cartridge to school and play with their friends. Then kids will go home and ask their Mum to buy them a copy… So it’s a kind of viral marketing almost.”

All I need now is some hockey. I mean, you can’t have the Winter Olympics (in Canada, no less) without hockey!

Eurogamer Hands-On with M&S: Winter Olympics

At a recent event in London where Sonic Team’s upcoming Sonic and the Black Knight title for Wii was being showcased, Eurogamer managed to grasp a video interview with Tetsu Katano, who is well known for his work on past achievements such as Sonic Adventure 1 & 2.

In the interview, Tetsu responds to feedback about recent Sonic game gimmicks, his awareness of the criticism and how they implemented into the game. When asked about returning to Sonic’s 2D gameplay, Tetsu let’s us know they do like to target the core Sonic users but it’s under discussion at the moment and he can’t say alot about it. A new game for the hardcore Sonic fans in development, perhaps?

Yuji Naka also had a look at the new game while he was at the event, and explains his feelings on the recent Sonic since he left Sonic Team. Naka-san explains how he is happy to be free to work on new projects now he doesn’t have to work so hard on Sonic. He sees today’s Sonic as one that is breaking out of the mould he made and taking a new direction, and hopes this will be one the fans can enjoy.

You can check out the video interviews here. Yuji Naka on let’s Tap: 0:00-06:09, Tetsu Katano: 6:10 and shortly afterwards Yuji Naka’s thoughts on recent Sonic.

What are your oppinion’s on these statements? Do you like Sonic’s recent direction? Is the TSS front page getting too clogged up with Yuji Naka love? Let us know in the comments.

Eurogamer Hands-On: M&S Winter Olympics

Tetsu Katano and Yuji Naka on recent Sonic