Not as obscure as I thought

Y'know, when I first heard that Nintendo and Sega were collaborating on a game with their two companies' beloved mascots, I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. I mean, sure, it's cool that the two biggest characters ever in video-gaming history would finally get to go head-to-head against each other, but pitting them in the summer Olympics seemed like an odd fit.

"And besides," I told myself, "this is the kind of news that delights video-game geeks, but leaves non-gamers scratching their heads in bemused confusion." So I chuckled quietly to myself and shelved the topic, figuring that it wasn't as noteworthy as yet another example of Republican corruption or the attack of a giant Michael Jackson robot.

But when I saw that even USA Today deigned to cover the story, I reconsidered. After all, if even the safely-mundane USA Today thinks this is big news, who am I to disagree?

So. Anyway...

Mario, yeah, that's a given, since he's insanely popular these days. And Sonic is a definite, since Sega is the company that got the rights to the Olympics license -- and while his latest games have been a mixed bag of late, he's not yet reached Don Rickles level of celebrity obscurity. Pitting these two at the Olympics is a somewhat odd choice in my opinion, given that the characters are most reknown for their platforming games, but that's doubtlessly driven by the license itself. And there's some potential for some fun there -- while Sonic would be a shoo-in for track events, Mario has been featured in numerous sports games, and fanboys with more time than me are doubtlessly debating the pros and cons of each franchise's characters already.

I have no idea how well (or poorly) the final game will be, but given the runaway success of Nintendo's motion-sensing Wii and the included Wii Sports game, even a halfway decent effort should see record sales from the combined might of Nintendo fanboys, Sega fanboys, and casual fans of sports video games. In any event, this is a milestone day in video-gaming history, comparable to the bombshell that was Superman vs. Spider-Man.