SEGA drops the first video with today's announcement of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. In the video, we get a brief CG look at the upcoming Wii/DS sporting game. This time, it takes place in snow and ice with the additional party game element of the Wii Balance Board.

I guess I'm in the minority having not played the original Olympic Winter Games (which sold over 10 million to date), but I had a stellar time with Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party and found the addition of Wii balance board games a bit hindering. While the gameplay is definitely fun to do yourself or with a friends, having an actual "party" of players becomes a hassle since everyone has to go one-by-one. In the end, we just tended to skip the balance board games in favor of the standard ones to keep the game's pace intact. I'm curious to those casual/party gamers out there (particularly TV Party fans!). What are your thoughts on Balance Board gaming within the realm of a large "party" session.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games heads to the Wii and DS late this year while the actual Vancouver Olympic Games kick off February 12th, 2010.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Announcement Trailer