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The Decline of the Video Game Mascot

Posted by Zonk on from the get-hooked-on-the-brother-huh! dept.

Ant writes "Ryan Cullen, of Access Gamer, writes: "This is the beginning of a recent fad that I have noticed the past couple years. Lately it seems that the mascot video game character has declined in popularity. Names like Mario and Sonic, characters who were once able to make the video game world suddenly stop and pay attention, are now either shells of their former glory, or they are just not as huge as they once were. Why is this?""

1 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. Well by Golantig · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They didn't start out as mascots, they started out as characters in a game which became so popular that they became synonymous with the hardware vendor they were created by.

    Sony's original IP is tied to their methodology of creating new markets which requires innovation in technology and is not character based.

    You could argue that Halo is synonymous with the Microsoft XBOX, but the faceless dude in a space suit wouldn't be recognised by many people outside of gaming circles.

    Pokemon is synonymous with the Gameboy for many kids. All their parents would know this too - they buy the shit.