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PlayStation largely lacks brand defining, eternal mascot character/characters. And that is absolutely okay.
- Thread starter Hey Please
- Start date
GOW IP was very lucky. Ascension was meh, SM had a cancelled game and Shu first reaction to the 2018 game was to leave the studio without a word because it was "terrible" lmao
Argg... Awful choice if so. Impersonal if you ask me but that is kind of Sony's MO. They don't need one though because their first party is top of the class right now coming out of this generation based off variety.
Yes they do.
And here's a nice modernized version that someone whipped up.
To me, a mascot isn't a universal logo or a game that sells 10 million copies. All that matters is if you dress up as them/it for Halloween, will adults and children recognize your costume?
Even Master Chief is a maybe whether anyone will instantly recognize you since the costume would need a lot of detail to not look like a generic space marine. But I think it passes the test for most people who play console games on occassion. An obvious mascot character is something like Sonic or Mario of course but other ones I can think of are the most popular Marvel or Street Fighter characters. For those, I definitely think most people in the zoomer/millenial generation would know what you're dressing up as.
Oh as far as whether any of this matters? No not at all unless you're into gaming culture or really like Halloween.
Even Master Chief is a maybe whether anyone will instantly recognize you since the costume would need a lot of detail to not look like a generic space marine. But I think it passes the test for most people who play console games on occassion. An obvious mascot character is something like Sonic or Mario of course but other ones I can think of are the most popular Marvel or Street Fighter characters. For those, I definitely think most people in the zoomer/millenial generation would know what you're dressing up as.
Oh as far as whether any of this matters? No not at all unless you're into gaming culture or really like Halloween.
To this day I'm upset we don't have a Sly Cooper cartoon. The IP is so great, and the cast has so much charisma. Ugh.
Yes they do.
And here's a nice modernized version that someone whipped up.
No. They don't. I'm pretty sure it was never official
and even if it was it was almost immediately abandoned after the 60-61 season.
I mean, aside from Master Chief, what does Microsoft have in the way of mascots? I'd be hard pressed to consider Marcus Fenix, the gruff dude wearing a durag caked in blood and branding a chainsaw rifle a "mascot." A sports car isn't a mascot either, Turn 10, no matter how many times you bring one out into the E3 stage!
Sony doesn't have shit in this department either but the fact is that it doesn't really matter - mascots aren't the end all, be all for console manufacturers anymore. Nintendo's mascots are just lucky enough to have survived, they're grandfathered in.
Let Crash and Spyro do the mascot thing on a third-party basis. As long as Microsoft and Sony keep pumping out high quality first-party games, I don't care if the characters on the box represent the brand.
Sony doesn't have shit in this department either but the fact is that it doesn't really matter - mascots aren't the end all, be all for console manufacturers anymore. Nintendo's mascots are just lucky enough to have survived, they're grandfathered in.
Let Crash and Spyro do the mascot thing on a third-party basis. As long as Microsoft and Sony keep pumping out high quality first-party games, I don't care if the characters on the box represent the brand.
I hear ya, but Honda has a robot too displayed in their cars UI. A "Cortana-like" help bot.
It's a neat touch if I'm honest. Astro Bot is charming, brings all kinds of interest from people to the brand......then once you're checking out Playstation you'll see the stellar lineup of first party offerings.
I'd say Ratchet is their Kirby. Nathan Drake is on the level of a Marcus Fenix or Samus Aran... If the Tom Holland movie is a hit even moreso. Kratos is on the level of Master Chief. Aloy has a shot to be iconic if HZD II and III are as well received as the first. Nothing will touch your Marios and Sonics and Pikachus but they're no slouches especially from last gen to present.
Master Chief and Metroid? If we are talking about recognizability, at least stick with Mario, Pokemon and Steve. Nobody outside of gamers would recognize Master Chief or recognize a metroid if they saw one. Even Sonic is pushing it there.
Sony should really have the Ape Escape monkey for a mascot, unfortunately they don't see that
Sony should really have the Ape Escape monkey for a mascot, unfortunately they don't see that
The Ape Escape monkeys and Sackboy/girl are the most perfectly versatile and endearing mascots that they've ever had. But Sony have done a great job of squandering the evergreen appeal of those IPs. What a waste.
I kinda agree. I was thinking my most anticipated PS5 game was a PS4 sequel (Horizon), while Xbox has not strayed to far since the 360 and Halo is still their flagship IP even though it's getting a bit long in the tooth. X1 did a real bad job of creating new X1 flagships out side of Sea of Thieves.
Sony still has a few franchises that have stuck around for a long time, but really only Ratchet and GT seem to the holdovers from PS2 and PS1 era.
Sony still has a few franchises that have stuck around for a long time, but really only Ratchet and GT seem to the holdovers from PS2 and PS1 era.
Exactly.
Astrobot is fun and stuff, but looks just like Eve from Wall-E (2008). Hardly unique.
The way Sackboy controlled definitely hurt the long-term appeal of that series. Having that as a foundation handicapped its potential growth from the get go. And the incremental improvements they made throughout the years with each new game and update were never enough.
It's a real shame. Cus of all the characters he's the only one that's really unique and stands out amongst media in general, let alone Sony's video games.
Cus that's what you need to be iconic, to stand out amongst all media just visually. To be something different and associated only with that games.
You show your grandparents a picture of Pikachu, they'll relatively know it's a pokemon. You show them Mario they'll know who that is. Even Minecraft and Halo and they'll know of the game. He's a space soldier in armor so he must be the Halo-Man.
But you show them that Sony line up and I guarantee you the only thing they'll probably recognise is Spiderman. And even then they'll be thinking of the Toby Maguire films, not the PS4 game.
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That's not what iconic means though.
Iconic means nearly anyone recognises it, not just people into the hobby.
Anyone into gaming or who plays games knows who Nathan Drake or Kratos is. People who don't play games probably don't recognise them at all but definetly recognise Halo.
Sony's mascot is their branding. The controller symbols and PS logo is iconic. Each gen is swammped with so many lengendary characters it's hard to pick one. Crash on PS1 would always be the best though.
Wait... God of War 2018 was "terrible" the first time Shu saw it? Was it then rebooted or they got it on track or...?
If I had to pick the characters who are "Sony mascots" it'd be
Spider-Man (in the same way that James Bond was an N64 mascot)
Aloy
Kratos
Astro Bot
Sackboy
Spider-Man (in the same way that James Bond was an N64 mascot)
Aloy
Kratos
Astro Bot
Sackboy
I am glad we are over mascots. I am in my 30s now and i just cant get myself to play mascot games. Give me games like RDR2 and TLOU2 and Im happy. I hope they retire franchises like Horizon, TLOU, Spiderman and Ghost of Tsushima after a couple of sequels because I would love to continue to see these studios do something different.
Cant wait for Cory's new Space opera.
Bloodborne was made by a third party.
Cant wait for Cory's new Space opera.
this is funny because only three first party sony exclusives have 90+ metacritic this gen. TLOU2, GoW and Uncharted 4.
Bloodborne was made by a third party.
Sackboy is in his 8th (9th if include mobile) own brand game now, plus appeared in 5 or 6 other games as guest character. In only 12 years.
At what point are they a mascot?
At what point are they a mascot?
I feel like Sony should keep Nathan Drake around as a secondary mascot despite being "retired"
Not really the focus of an advertisement but always there on an adventure or telling tales like
and
Not really the focus of an advertisement but always there on an adventure or telling tales like
and
Crash is the closest thing PlayStation has ever had to a mascot. They tried to make Sackboy work but something didn't quite stick. A mascot isn't just "character from the franchise that sold the best" It's something marketable that can immediately be associated with a specific brand.
Mario and Sonic are cartoons, so they're easy to use in a variety of situations. Master Chief is essentially a very distinct (faceless) suit of armour that can also be thrown around a lot due to his ambiguity. Gruff brown haired guy and angry shirtless guy just aren't cut from the same cloth. Marcus Pheonix from Gears would face similar problems if Microsoft tried to make him the face of Xbox.
Master Chief only works because you don't see his face. He's just pure iconography.
Yeah I'm drawing a blank here.
Mario and Sonic are cartoons, so they're easy to use in a variety of situations. Master Chief is essentially a very distinct (faceless) suit of armour that can also be thrown around a lot due to his ambiguity. Gruff brown haired guy and angry shirtless guy just aren't cut from the same cloth. Marcus Pheonix from Gears would face similar problems if Microsoft tried to make him the face of Xbox.
Master Chief only works because you don't see his face. He's just pure iconography.
Yeah I'm drawing a blank here.
Astro Bot isn't the mascot (yet), most gamers likely don't even know who that is because their only title was a VR exclusive.
I agree. Astrobot has great potential. I hope the upcoming game is good.<<<<<<Hopefully this little guy will do well this gen.
That doesn't make something a mascot. I can name only 2 mascots from the Premiership but every team has them.