Summer Olympic Games events vs. the 10 from Greece. Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the Olympic Games, consequently Athens was perceived to be an appropriate choice to stage the inaugural modern Games. It was unanimously chosen as the host city during a congress organised by Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue and historian, in Paris, on 23 June 1894. The IOC was also established during this congress. Despite many obstacles and setbacks, the 1896 Olympics were regarded as a great success. The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. Panathinaiko Stadium, the first big stadium in
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Hedgehog, created by Sega as a mascot to rival Mario in the early 1990s. Critics praised the multiplayer interaction of the Wii game and variety of events of both versions, but criticized the Wii version for its complexity and its DS counterpart for not offering the same interaction between players. The Wii game was awarded the "Best Wii game of 2007" at the Games Convention in Leipzig. "Mario & Sonic" sold over ten million units and started a series of related sport video games to coincide with upcoming Olympic events. "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games" is a collection