Over the years with Sony the mascot always changed, never the same.
PS1 - Crash Bandicoot
PS2 - Kratos
PS3 - Sackboy (is it really Sackboy?)
Now other companies:
Microsoft - Master Chief
Nintendo - Super Mario
Sega - Sonic
For gods sake, can't Sony stick the *beep* up with one mascot eternally like the other companies? It's much better than always changing.
Was Kratos really the mascot for the PS2? I don't play God of War, so I didn't even know who that was until I Googled it.
Honestly, I associate that "fwomm" boot-up sound the PS2/PS3 make with Sony's consoles more than anything else.
And, yeah, where are you getting the Kratos-as-a-mascot theory from?
What about the electronic voice that goes "Play Stah Shon"
From here they say it's Kratos for PS2 -> http://uk.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26495486
And some say Solid Snake?! Are you joking? LOL!! Solid Snake isn't Sony's exclusive nor Jin Kazama or whatever.
The only ones that are still Sony exclusives are God of War (Kratos) and LBP (Sackboy).
*Still*
Before GoW 3 was released one of the dev's said that PS2 had the capability of running GoW 1&2 this is some big bull-crap, just by playing and seeing the hardware details of the Xbox it's clear that, Xbox had superior hardware but it's all past.
Meh, I've had enough of killing gods on GoW and LBP boring game, I played both games so I can state my opinion.
Maybe Sony doesn't even have an actual mascot, and the media are the ones associating certain popular characters with the different models of the Playstation. Seeing as both Sega and Nintendo have actually said that Sonic and Mario are their respective mascots, Sony hasn't really ever made a statement like that.
I believe Parapper the Rapper was an official Mascot for a short time.
No mascot will ever compare to Segata Sanshiro. Let it be remembered.
(http://media.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/533856/553279.jpg)
Quote from: FamicomRetroGamer on April 28, 2010, 07:13:49 am
Over the years with Sony the mascot always changed, never the same.
For gods sake, can't Sony stick the *beep* up with one mascot eternally like the other companies? It's much better than always changing.
It sounds like you're saying:
Sony's not like the others, so they need to be the same. :P
Quote from: L___E___T on April 28, 2010, 01:46:59 pm
No mascot will ever compare to Segata Sanshiro. Let it be remembered.
(http://media.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/533856/553279.jpg)
Maybe the Saturn wouldn't have died in the U.S. if he were there.
To be honest I think the industry has moved on quite a bit since the glory day to the point where mascots are null and void. They've been replaced with flagship, exclusive franchises, which essentially fulfill the same goal anyway. Mascots in the old days had to represent your whole brand personified.
Now we have the internet, gametrailers.com, more TV ads, journo blogs and forums, we don't really need mascots and let's be honest they were always pretty fickle.
I'm with Joe - Playstation's mascot is simply the PS family logo.
I like Xbox Japan's X mascot. Just a dude in an office shirt with a 360 globe for a head and a synthesised voice that only utters "X" in cries of endearment :D It's like a bizarre reverse localisation scenario of those 'rad' Nintendo ads in the 80s.
Kratos certainly comes to mind for me as a Mascot, but personal bias and nostalgia for the first PS1 game I ever played (rented along with a rented system), makes "Sweet Tooth" the main face I associate with Sony... (still hoping for a new Twisted Metal on PS3...)
Sony fanboys protect Sony a lot but they don't have a mascot, that's a shame, such a company and doesn't have their own mascot.
Sony fanboys can stfu. ;D
If anything I'd say Sackboy is Sony's mascot right now. GOW did't do at all well in Europe but LBP is successful globally and they really push it.
I always thought Krazy Ken Kutaragi was Sony's mascot... ;)
Videogame mascots have been dead since the 32-bit era. There are no longer any mascots for any of the companies, just popular characters associated with the companies because the games they're from are good enough to be system sellers.
It used to be the other way around: a video game mascot game would be made and the company would hope it was good.
I suggest you all listen to the retornauts podcast that addressed this very issue.
http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?pager.offset=4&cId=3156908
Mascots are dead and I don't miss them.
I thought Kevin Butler was Sony's mascot currently, it sure looks that way in the ads. As long as it's not that Marcus n00b.
I think 'face' of SONY is a better descriptor, certainly Kevin Butler is currently the consumer face of the PS3 and Marcus is the face of PSP.
Sony have always relied on their brand strength though, the name of SONY alone, because they were already an established electronics manufacturer.
Nintendo and Sega didn't have that strength, so mascots were useful in winning over kids back in the day.
"It used to be the other way around: a video game mascot game would be made and the company would hope it was good. "
Um.. actually it used to be the other way around. Nintendo didn't set out to make a mascot, they just ended up with one. They made some titles, and picked the one they liked best to bundle with the system, and since it became popular, used it as their mascot later.
Sega I guess you could say "set out" to make a mascot, but thats just because they wanted to copy Nintendo.
Mascots are cutsy. Cutsy isn't really part of Sony's marketting strategy, they are trying to sell themselves as more serious. The Halo dude isn't a mascot either.
If you think about it, logos have really replaced the need for mascots. The Playstation logo is what you think of first when you think Playstation, not any one game or character. The same with Microsoft's Xbox and the Wii.