Speaking at the Tokyo Game Show, a Sega executive has predicted that sales of
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Wii and Nintendo DS will reach 4 million units following its release this Christmas.
Corporate director Masanao Maeda made the prediction at a press conference, as
reported by Bloomberg, but failed to specify whether the total would be reached this year or over the game’s entire lifetime. The prediction would be equivalent to nearly 20 percent of all games sold by Sega Sammy in their current financial year, ended March 31st.
Announced in March this year, the game is the first ever crossover between the two company mascots who were once bitter rivals, before Sega exited the home console business. The game features an official International Sports Multimedia (ISM) license from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is being developed and published by Sega, with input from Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto.
If Sega’s predictions prove accurate then the game will become one of the bestselling titles of the year, competing against a diverse line-up of other titles including
Halo 3,
Super Mario Galaxy and
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction.
