SEGA explains why Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games doesn't have online

“We’ve done the research through online questionnaires and focus testing to see the demand for online multiplayer and we actually found out that there’s not much demand for online multiplayer from the fans of this series. At the same time, not many people have the infrastructure or the facility that’s required for online multiplayer so that’s one thing. The other thing is some of the events are quite short. An event like the 100 metres only lasts ten seconds or 20 seconds maximum so would you really go through all the trouble of connecting with your friends on the other side of the world for ten or 20 seconds?” - Nobuya Ohashi, producer

I’m not devastated to find out that the game doesn’t support online, although I’m sure it would have been nice for some events. Altogether, I see this as a game much better suited to local multiplayer.

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