MARIO AND SONIC GO FOR THE GOLD IN MARIO & SONIC AT THE SOCHI 2014 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES

New Olympic Winter Event Snowboard Slopestyle Makes its Debut in Wii U Game

With the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, fast approaching, Mario™ and Sonic have been training extra hard to make sure they are ready for the biggest competition of the year. The two iconic video game characters are teaming up with their friends in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games™ launching on Nov. 15 for the Wii U™ console. In the game, some of the most loved characters from the Mario and Sonic universes like Mario, Sonic, Princess Peach™ and Tails compete in Olympic Winter Events like snowboard slopestyle, which is making its debut in both the game and the real-life Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, as well as over-the-top Dream Events that can only exist in the world of video games. And for the first time in the Mario & Sonic series, players with a broadband Internet connection can compete in select events online against other players around the world, earning points for their home countries.

“Two of the biggest names in video games are teaming up again for another Olympic Games-sized competition,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Everyone in the family will be up off the couch, joining in the fun with all the other Olympic hopefuls.”

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games contains unique and intuitive controls using both the Wii U GamePad and Wii Remote™ Plus controllers. In the four-man bobsled, one player can stand at the front of a line and use the GamePad like a steering wheel, while the other players stand behind him or her and use Wii Remote Plus controllers to lean into each turn on the track. In pairs figure skating, two players will swing, twist and pose in sync while sometimes holding the same Wii Remote Plus controller to perform cooperative moves. In biathlon, players must switch between the GamePad and Wii Remote Plus controllers to shoot and ski, respectively. And in snowboard slopestyle, players race down a slope on a snowboard, performing jumps and tricks using the touch screen on the GamePad controller to score points.

In addition to events that will be featured in the actual Olympic Winter Games, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games features a selection of Dream Events that take place in the fantastical worlds of Mario and Sonic. These events feature extreme actions and power-ups, like Roller Coaster Bobsleigh, which finds players speeding down the icy, looping Speed Highway level from the Sonic the Hedgehog series and Snow Day Street Hockey, which takes place in the tropical setting of Delfino Plaza from the Super Mario Sunshine™ game.

Players can compete online with up to four players all over the world in four fun events: ski cross, snowboard cross, speedskating and Winter Sports Champion Race, which combines many sports into one epic event. Every time players win a medal in online game play, they will win points for their home country, which can be viewed through persistent online rankings.

For Wii U owners who do not yet own a Wii Remote Plus or just want to add a cool, blue controller to their collections, the Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games bundle with Wii Remote Plus controller can be purchased in stores at a suggested retail price of $59.99. The standalone game can also be purchased in stores or in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U for $49.99.

Jamie Anderson, slopestyle snowboarder and Olympic hopeful, teamed up with Mario and Sonic to create a fun video about Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The video can be viewed by visiting http://youtu.be/K33Yyd3l_8M.

For more information about Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, visit http://www.olympicvideogames.com/en_US/.

Remember that Wii U features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu.

TM IOC/SOCHI2014/USOC 36USC220506. Copyright © 2013 International Olympic Committee ("IOC"). All rights reserved. SUPER MARIO characters © NINTENDO. Trademarks are property of their respective owners. Wii U is a trademark of Nintendo. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG characters © SEGA. SEGA, the SEGA logo and Sonic The Hedgehog are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation.

All other trademarks and copyrights are properties of their respective owners.

About Nintendo: 
The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U™ and Wii™ home consoles, and Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ families of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.1 billion video games and more than 659 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™, Nintendo GameCube™ and Wii systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.