Mario Sports Mix will be released on February 7, 2011 exclusively for Wii announced publisher Nintendo and developer Square Enix.
Once again Mario will be returning to the sports game on consoles. He was last seen on consoles with 2009’s Wii GameCube update of “New Play Control – Mario Power Tennis” and 2008’s Mario Super Sluggers baseball title. There was also 2007’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and 2009’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games which helped fill out the Mario sports void nicely.
Two years later, Mario returns with a bang in Mario Sports Mix which is the first dedicated Mario Sports title to feature more than one sport! And since Square Enix honed their skills with the ONLY Mario basketball game ever released (2006’s Mario Hoops 3-On-3 for the DS), Mario finally returns to the hardwood floor with the first console Mario sport game to feature basketball as a major component. In addition, Mario Sports Mix adds not only Basketball, but Volleyball, Dodgeball and Hockey to the pot!
“Mario has a long history as a sports fan. Throughout his storied career he has pursued an interest in Golf, Tennis, Baseball, Soccer the Olympics and Go-Karting, to name just a few. Now Mario’s tackling four different sports at the same time, all of them included on one disc for the Wii console. The game Mario Sports Mix lets players jump into games of Hockey, Basketball, Volleyball or Dodgeball.
Mario Sports Mix presents these four familiar sports – but with a Mario twist. Players can choose from a variety of playable Mushroom Kingdom characters and can even challenge Mario and friends directly by playing as their own Mii characters. Each game contains a number of Mushroom Kingdom power-ups that can turn the tide of a game in an instant, such as banana peels, green shells and even mini mushrooms. In over-the-top Mario sports fashion, each character can unleash his or her unique special move that ranges from Mario’s fire dunk in basketball to Yoshi’s rainbow attack in dodgeball.
Players can also elect to hold their matches in a number of interesting venues. For example, the Wario Factory has conveyor belts that affect how the players move on the court, while in Peach’s Castle, fountains go up and down to block certain areas of the net in Volleyball.
Up to four friends who are in the same room can join in the fun, while up to four players (one or two at each location) can compete over a broadband Internet connection via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Players can play online against friends with whom they have traded friend codes, or anonymously against other opponents.
Here is a trailer for the game.