Beijing 2008 (video game)

Beijing 2008
Amanda Beard, Tyson Gay, Nastia Liukin and Reese Hoffa appear on the U.S. cover art for the game.
Developer(s)	Eurocom
Publisher(s)	Sega
Platforms	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date(s)	PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 AUS 20080626June 26, 2008 EU June ??, 2008 NA 20080708July 8, 2008 JP 20080731July 31, 2008 Microsoft Windows NA 20080804August 4, 2008 AUS 20080807August 7, 2008 EU 20080808August 8, 2008
Genre(s)	Sports (Olympic)
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

Beijing 2008 is the official Olympic video game of the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing. Developed by Eurocom and published by Sega, the game was the second video game based on the 2008 Summer Olympics to be released, the first being the fantasy-based Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games which appeared in late 2007; however, Beijing 2008 is a realistic sports simulation.

Beijing 2008 features 32 national teams and 38 events. In addition, a career mode similar to that seen in Sydney 2000 returned, and for the first time in Olympic video games, an online mode is included.

Disciplines

The following events are in the game:

Track 100 m 200 m 400 m 800 m 1500 m 100 m hurdles (women only) 110 m hurdles (men only) Field High jump Pole vault Long jump Triple jump Shot put Discus throw Hammer throw Javelin throw Aquatics 50 m freestyle swimming (men only) 100 m backstroke swimming (men only) 100 m butterfly swimming (men only) 100 m breaststroke swimming (men only) 3 m springboard diving (women only) 10 m platform diving (women only)

Gymnastics Parallel bars (men only) Vault (men only) Rings (men only) Floor exercise (women only) Beam (women only) Uneven bars (women only) Shooting (all men only events) Skeet shooting 10 m Air Pistol 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol Other Archery, individual (women only) Weightlifting, +105 kg (men only) Cycling, team pursuit (men only) Canoeing/kayak K1, kayak single (men only) Judo, 81–90 kg (men only) Table tennis, singles (men only)

In addition, the game supports competition in the male decathlon or the female heptathlon, 5, 10 or 20 random events, or all of the events. It is possible to take part in all male and female events individually.

Nations represented

File:Beijing2008map.png

Playable countries

• Australia
• Austria
• Bahamas
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• Cuba
• Denmark
• Ethiopia
• Finland

• France
• Great Britain
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• Italy
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Kenya
• Mexico
• Netherlands

• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Russia
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• United States

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings (PS3) 59.11% (X360) 59.06% (PC) 49.50% Metacritic (X360) 60/100 (PS3) 58/100 (PC) 52/100 Review score Publication Score GameSpot 3/10

Beijing 2008 has received generally mixed reviews from critics. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version a 59.11% and 58/100, the Xbox 360 version a 59.06% and 60/100 and the PC version a 49.50% and 52/100. GameSpot gave the game a 3/10, stating that "rapidly pushing buttons is not fun", and pointing to excessive difficulty.

See also

• Olympic video games
• 2008 Summer Olympics

External links

• Beijing 2008 at Eurocom

Preceded by Athens 2004	Official video game of the Summer Olympics 2008	Succeeded by London 2012
Preceded by Torino 2006	Official video game of the Olympics 2008	Succeeded by Vancouver 2010