Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Whatever Happened to the Gaming Mascot?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the sonic-now-in-rehab dept.

Ground Glass writes "Back in the days when consoles were measured in bits, they were also measured by their mascots - interestingly-designed characters that easily encapsulated everything the machine and its parent company stood for in gaming. Today they are no more than hangers-on, surviving either by cynically marketing to the very young or by remaining vestigial elements in games that would have been great with or without them. The next generation is coming, but mascots are nowhere to be found - so where did they go?"

6 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. They're all dead. by akissner · · Score: 5, Funny

    Samuel L. Jackson mistook them for snakes.

    --
    nothing humorous to say.
  2. Akuma by MassEnergySpaceTime · · Score: 4, Funny

    Akuma killed them all.

    --
    Respect the laws of physics, for the laws of physics have no respect for you.
  3. Well, that's not so hard. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    1. The companies that relied heavily on mascots-- like Nintendo and Sega-- declined in importance, while the companies that had no history or fondness for mascots-- like EA-- got really really big.

    2. A vast increase in the number of games where the main character is "you". First person shooters, MMORPGs, and even to an extent with something like GTA's "everyman" sort of main characters, you spend more time trying to look through the eyes of your avatar than actually looking at them. This is not an environment where mascots thrive.

    3. Gaming stopped being so cartoony. When your game is based around someone really really realistic, like a random urban italian gangster, or Master Chief, it's a lot harder to make them distinctive than it is say a huge blue hedgehog. Master Chief or that guy from GTA3 may be really deeply written characters.. uh, I guess.. but they're not really visually distinctive and it would be very hard for them to be. When it comes down to it, Master Chief has to be just a guy in a military mech suit. There's only so many ways you can present that. And if you can't make someone visually distinctive, they can't be a mascot-- that's practically what a mascot is.

    1. Re:Well, that's not so hard. by damsa · · Score: 4, Funny

      I disagree, EA has John Madden as a mascot, Microsoft had Bill Gates, and Sony had the Walkman.

  4. Where are they now? by Kaenneth · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sonic: Methanpheamine overdose
    Pac Man: Heart attack caused by overeating
    Bomberman: Joined Al'Queda, bombed while hiding in a cave in afghanistan
    Kirby: Ruptured a lung attempting to huff from a helium tank
    Lara Croft: Kidney Failure, breast Implants leaked toxic chemicals
    Mega Man: Went too close to an MRI machine
    Cloud Strife: Shot while attacking a policeman after being caught shoplifting hair gel
    Mario: Died from a turtle shaped bowel obstruction

  5. Re:Wait, mascots are normal? by assassinator42 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I might call Master Chief the mascot for the Xboxes. I'm not sure about PS2.