Players assume the role of a Nintendo or Sega character, using the Wii Remote to mimic sports actions such as swinging a paddle.

Mario & Sonic sold over 10 million units and started a series of related sport video games to coincide with upcoming Olympic events.

Both versions of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games have three similar modes of gameplay: Circuit, Single Match, and Mission.

[4] The Wii version's Circuit and Single Match can have an additional one to three players competing simultaneously while its DS counterpart has an extra option dedicated to multiplayer called Versus Play.

[12] The types of Wii events are classified as athletics, gymnastics, shooting, archery, rowing, aquatics, fencing, and table tennis.

Taking place in locations and using objects from older games of the Mario and Sonic series, Dream Events allow players to use the special abilities of characters and display dramatic moments in slow motion.

[17] The developer adopted the IOC's mission to promote a sporting spirit and wanted to interest young people in the Olympics with its newly acquired license.

The corporation decided to base the sports game around its characters that "young people love and are very iconic" instead of creating a more realistic simulation.

[20][21] Both companies felt that the competitive sportsmanship of the Olympic Games provided an ideal choice as a setting for the once-rival mascots.

[7][17] The president of Sega Europe stated that they originally planned a number of events, including judo, to fully epitomize the Olympics.

[37] Both versions were published by Nintendo for Japan (where it is known as Mario & Sonic at the Beijing Olympics (マリオ&ソニック AT 北京オリンピック))[28] and by Sega for North America, Europe and all other regions.

[44] By June 2008, both Wii and DS versions reached combined sales of 1.2 million copies in the UK, prompting Sega to create plans on re-marketing the game there.

[59] Although the Wii version of the game was praised for being an entertaining multiplayer experience,[55] it was criticized for shallow gameplay and complex rules and instructions.

[56][61] GameTrailers concluded that Mario & Sonic's lack of "polish and simplicity" leaves the improbable grouping of mascots as its main attraction when compared to other party video games released for the platform.

[5] X-Play's Morgan Webb agreed, calling the controls "non-intuitive" and commenting that the minigames required players to "wave their Wiimotes frantically while pressing several buttons at the same time".

[59] Mark Bozon of IGN called Mario & Sonic a success due to the entertainment value derived from the slight variety of competitions offered in the game.

[4][5] On the Nintendo DS, Mario & Sonic was regarded as virtually the same game in design as its Wii counterpart;[2][6][14] however, opinions on its control scheme varied greatly.

[68] Andrew Fitch of 1UP.com assured readers in his review that the less physically demanding gameplay of the DS version made the game accessible for extended periods of time.

Fitch further stated that in nearly "every case, events [were] far more enjoyable on the DS" due to the requirement of the human body's finer motor skill abilities to control the characters.

[14] Craig Harris of IGN had a similar opinion, stating, "Rapidly drumming the controllers is far more challenging than quickly stroking the touchscreen.

"[6] Harris felt the DS version lost some relevance to its marginally superior Wii counterpart since had a similar design and released almost three months afterwards.

[6] Most publications agreed that the Wii counterpart of Mario & Sonic had clean textures and well-done animations; N-Europe's Iun Hockley thought that each character was pleasingly rendered,[66] and Thomas added that the graphics were "crisp and colorful".

[6][14] Due to the inability to compete against other players online, Harris regarded Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games' limited use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection on the DS as a "missed opportunity".

[76] Sean Ratcliffe, vice president of marketing at Sega of America said, "I think the key factor that decides the ongoing building of this franchise is basically success.