Does Playstation have a mascot?

[TOM 002]

We all know about the current big 3 of video game consoles: Gamecube, PS2, and XBOX. And we all know that each console has their own little group of fans. However, I never occurred to me until now that Playstation never really had a solid mascot and I'm wondering why.

For Gamecube, look no further than everyone's favorite Italian plumber. It's a Nintendo system, and who better to represent Nintendo than Mario himself?

As for the Xbox, the clear choice appears to be Master Chief. Anyone can tell you that Halo and Halo 2 were the biggest titles to hit the box, and with Halo 3 coming out for the X360, it seems like Master Chief is going to continue his legacy as the symbol for the Xbox.

Playstation....well that seems rather ambiguous really. I used to think it was Crash Bandicoot, but his games were released for multiple systems. Unlike GC and Xbox, there hasn't really been those games that screamed, "THIS is what Playstation is all about!" the way Halo or any Mario game has done. Not that I'm ragging on Playstation for having bad games, on the contrary I believe that having tons of good games is what makes the Playstation a strong system.

But if anyone were to pick a character to be Playstation's mascot, who would it be and why?

[David Lucas]

During the last generation of consoles, (Saturn, 64, PSX), I would have said Solid Snake.

No one on this planet is as cool as that guy. The game was superb.

When MGS2 came out, I thought, "Finally, we have a mascot to root for." But then all the ports started coming out for Xbox, and GC got a MGS remake that to this day I can only dream about playing as I don't have a GC.

So, I dunno, Dante from DMC? That's all us PS2 owners, right?

[Noukon]

In the sense that Mario is a mascot, neither the PS2 nor the Xbox has one; they just have characters from major exclusives that can be marketed as part of their "identity." Even Master Chief isn't really a mascot in the strictest sense of the word.

[Obi]

In Japan, the Ape Escape monkeys are pretty much the Playstation mascot.

[Eddy]

The King of All Cosmos.

[veemonjosh]

Last console generation: Spyro and Crash.

This console generation: Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, and Sly, Murray, and Bentley.

And it looks as if Daxter may become the PSP's mascot at this point.

[Nin-Nin69]

It use to be both Crash and Parappa the Rapper until Sony made an official statement saying they're not represented by any mascot. So Naughty Dog desided that they didn't have to limit Crash or Spryo anymore to just Playstation and thus the multiple releases.

[veemonjosh]

It use to be both Crash and Parappa the Rapper until Sony made an official statement saying they're not represented by any mascot. So Naughty Dog desided that they didn't have to limit Crash or Spryo anymore to just Playstation and thus the multiple releases.For the record, Spyro was owned by Insomniac Games, not Naughty Dog. Also, Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games have absolutely NO part in new games using Spyro and Crash. They sold their half of the rights to Universal (who owned the other half of the rights), who in turn got Traveller's Tales to make the multiple console releases.

So, Naughty Dog/Insomniac Games only put Crash/Spyro on the PS1 and no other system.

[Artimus Gigan]

Polygon Man


now and forever

[sdp]

they had polygon man but he never stuck, then they found Crash and they used him as the mascot for a long time until, like veemonjosh said naughty dogs didn't have the license anmore, now they don't really have a mascot and they don't want one,

[Neo Yi]

The question is more "Who was the unofficial mascot" for the Playstation and for the longest time, on the PS1, it was Crash Bandicoot. It made sense, he was a character made by a virtually unknown American company starting in 1994 and has reached stardom by the time Crash 2 was out. And not just in America, but also in Europe and Japan. He was popular in all three of those area during his days in the PS1 and that is saying a lot. Not many games/characters can reach popularity in all three of the major gaming world.

With Sony constantly adverstizing him (and damn, was that guy advertised), Crash did end up as the "unofficial" mascot. Sony didn't ask for a mascot, but they certainly appreciated him representing the system. You couldn't go anywhere without Crash. He practically was the Playstation (One) King.

The PS2 is more harder to define since more mainstream games have made their way. Cute mascots do not really appeal to the average PSX consumer anymore, but during PS1's 1996-2000 run, Crash ruled the PS1 world.
~Neo

[fuchikoma]

The age of mascots is over. It ended when the Playstation gained dominance in console gaming though later on Sony did create a mascot for their pocketstation, i.e. fancy memory card. Nintendo holds on to a mascot dependency since without them their games would tank or their profit margin would be razor thin. Their fanbase and most other gamers don't buy their titles for the sake of gaming. They buy into the Nintendo name brand but more importantly they buy into the mascots Nintendo generates. The other console developers don't survive on title after title of games which are just excuses to use mascots.

Master Chief is not a mascot since a mascot is a prominent character that is used more times outside of the franchise they originated in than in it. If you ever see Halo Kart Racing, Halo Party, or Super Smash Master Chief Bros. then you know it is on the road to being a mascot.

[Classic Speedy]

I'd have to agree with fuchikoma. Having said that, probably the closest PS1 got to a mascot was either Crash, Spyro, or Solid Snake. But even THEY weren't mascots like Mario is a Nintendo mascot, or Sonic is a Sega mascot (and even THAT isn't true anymore, since Sonic games are on PS2 & XBox!).

[Noukon]

Nintendo holds on to a mascot dependency since without them their games would tank or their profit margin would be razor thin. Their fanbase and most other gamers don't buy their titles for the sake of gaming. They buy into the Nintendo name brand but more importantly they buy into the mascots Nintendo generates. The other console developers don't survive on title after title of games which are just excuses to use mascots.
You're looking at things a little too black-and-white here, all for the sake of needless aggression against something you personally don't like, and honestly, I find it a little insulting. I'm part of Nintendo's "fanbase," and I do, in fact, buy their titles for the sake of gaming. Many of their titles don't rely on well-established IP to sell, and most of their franchise-based titles are high quality. Hell, even the Mario sports titles tend to be pretty good (pretty much the entire company I work for is addicted to Super Mario Strikers at the moment, and it has nothing to do with the fact that it stars Mario characters), and using them as fodder for insulting Nintendo gamers (and Nintendo itself) is ignorant.

"The other console developers don't survive on title after title of games which are just excuses to use mascots"? That's completely off-base. The term "mascot" is, truthly, meaningless - Microsoft and Sony certainly don't have a mascot in the same sense that Nintendo does, but they have franchise titles that fill the role quite nicely in driving software sales. What are the big sellers on the PS2 and Xbox? GTA San Andreas and Halo 2? Madden 2006? It's unfortunate, but games sell based on franchises, and every major game publisher relies on them. Unique games get stomped in the marketplace no matter how good they are (see: Psychonauts, Beyond Good & Evil).

Also, I'll point out that Nintendo is more profitable than either of the other console manufacturers, so be careful about using terms like "dependancy" and "survive" when referring to them. It's like Bill Gates publicly decrying Nintendo as a "niche player" when his own company is taking billion-dollar losses and barely even beating them in sales.

[Tak Mazé]

Wouldn't a mascot have to be a character by Sony themselves? Like Nintendo's and Sega's are? If so then they have none. I will forever associate Crash and Spyro with Playstation though.

[MGFanJay]

Crash was really the PlayStation's mascot, until Sony realized they didn't own the character, and stopped running the Sega and Nintendo-bashing ads with him due to that. In hindsight, it makes Crash games on Nintendo systems even more ironic.

[Zach]

When Sony starts making their own games, maybe they will have a mascot. :D

[MGFanJay]

Yikes, that could easily end up like EA's "original" Nemesis characters. The ads for that were hilarious, mentioning them alongside classic comic characters, as if they were equals.

[Eidan]

PlayStation's mascot is cash. Cold hard cash.

[SimpsonGuy100]

The only true mascot of Sony PlayStation and all it's other consoles is this colo(u)rful little guy:

http://www.scee.presscentre.com/MediaPath/PlayStation%20logo%20-%20white_0003.jpg

;)

[Tenku]

http://www.scee.presscentre.com/MediaPath/PlayStation%20logo%20-%20white_0003.jpg



...it is at this time that I've finally realized that the symbol is a P standing and a S on the bottom. :sweat:

[Artimus Gigan]

...it is at this time that I've finally realized that the symbol is a P standing and a S on the bottom. :sweat:When I first saw the logo years ago it took me a whole to realise that as well

I initally thought it was a P with an infinity sign behind it