Today, Sega and Nintendo announced that Mario and Sonic will again be coming together in a new Olympic-themed game, confirming a report from earlier this week. The new game, titled Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, will release late in 2009, just in time for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

"We are extremely happy to again team up with Nintendo and ISM on what promises to be another global success." says Naoya Tsurumi, CEO of Sega. "Sonic will partner with Mario once more beneath the spotlight of the legendary Olympic Games. Together they will face new athletic challenges that will provide gamers with more of the exciting experiences unique to this series."

Like Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, this game will be developed by Sega with the guidance of Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto. The game will feature a collection of playable characters with events ranging from Alpine Skiing and Speed Skating. The Wii version of the game will feature Balance Board control for some events.

"To once again have Mario and Sonic and friends compete in Olympic sports and events in a winter setting is tremendously exciting for the Olympic Movement and the millions of gamers worldwide who enjoyed the characters' previous match up," says Raymond Goldsmith, Chairman & CEO of ISM.