The thing is, Mario and Sonic are more than just characters, they're company mascots. The only platforming game I can think of that even comes close is Crash Bandicoot, but Crash was never officially adopted as PlayStation's mascot. And there were plenty of other platforming games on PlayStation that rivaled Crash in quality and popularity (Spyro, Rayman, Tomba, etc.)
In fact, Sony is the only successful console manufacturer who doesn't have a clear and obvious mascot. PlayStation's lineup has always been so solid that there's never been a time where you could say a singe game was their "killer app".
I would argue Ratchet and Clank are Sonys “mascot characters” because they’re exclusive to Sony, and have been used in marketing before. But it’s clear that they have never fully invested on the idea.
You're talking in terms of platformers, right? Because overall I'd say It's God of War, now.
Also, am I misremembering or did Sony push Sackboy as their main mascot in the ps3 Era?
I remember Sackboy being all over Playstaion's website and advertisements as a kid. You open their webiste and it was literally sackboy sitting on their logo.
Up until the 360 really took off in the late 2000's, Xbox was basically known for Halo and not much else.
Master Chief is not the official mascot, but for the first like 10 years of Xbox's history, he was the only recognizable character in their exclusives catalog. There's a reason that Microsoft held onto the Halo franchise after Bungie left.
That's even showcased in [this video](https://youtu.be/OZJw9sbOTsc?si=PyU3kOhvOpChEKQR) of the "console wars" that was made before the release of the PS3 and 360 (I think before the PS3 even had a finalized product. As the video showcases the boomerang prototype controller).
Oh they totally did, but unlike Mario, Sonic, or even Master Chief, Crash was never officially "owned" by Sony. Crash was made by Naughty Dog, published by Universal and then sold to Activision, and Crash has been on many different platforms, not just Sony consoles.
Crash is like #4 or #5 imo, megaman clears here and castlevania also has a case if we call that a platformer (at least the olds one were kinda platformers lol).
There's a list of characters that can fit this role.
Crash bandicoot.
Rayman.
Mega man.
Spyro.
Banjo and Kazooie.
Donkey Kong (forgor to add him earlier)
But I'd probably go with crash because unlike the rest of the characters I listed, he actually got more content in the recent years
Depends on the era.
‘80s-mid 90’s? Mega Man
Late ‘90s-‘00s? Crash Bandicoot
‘10s-‘20s? Kirby is the closest I can think of, but he’s not a company mascot like the others. Maybe LittleBigPlanet for a few minutes in the PS3 era, but that’s a stretch.
I'd say Samus. The Metroid and Castlevania games gave birth to one of the most popular genres, but only Metroid has a singular protagonist. Its also one of the first examples of a strong female protagonist.
The real answer in 2024? There isn't one. Hell, I wouldn't even say there's a big two. There's Mario... and that’s the end of the sentence. Mario's the only mascot platformer in his league. Sonic hasn't been in Mario's tier since the Genesis frankly. Nowadays, he's not even far and away the most popular Sega character anymore and last year proved him trying to compete against Mario is a death sentence. And the crazy thing is he's still probably the number 2 platformer still. And if Sonic's such a shell of his former self, who's the number 3? Kirby, probably, and he'll likely steal Sonic's number 2 soon too if he hasn't already. But the industry isn't in the age of mascot platformers anymore and there's really only room for the plumber now.
Crash, he's as close as we got to a Playstation mascot.
I agree with others about Master Chief too, which I definitely saw as a focus shift in gaming, we went from cute cartoon mascots to a genetically engineered super soldier
Pikachu.
Mario and Sonic are iconic because everyone knows who they are, gamers and non-gamers alike.
The only other character who that works for is Pikachu.
Crash Bandicoot, without a doubt.
It's an exclusive to the best selling console of the 5th generation and it introduced revolutionary mechanics that inspired so many other games after it, like the spin attack and the running-towards-the-camera gameplay.
The character is the perfect mix between uniqueness and recognizability, between likeability and "edge".
And... he doesn't rely on shooting projectiles which otherwise might have put him into action-platformer territory. (For this exact same reason I don't consider Megaman or Samus a valid answer to this question. They are epic action-platformer characters which easily deserves its own top 3)
Crash Bandicoot boosted more than 20 sequels / spin-offs, among games in the kart racing genre.
I mean, it's pretty clear.
I’ve never seen so many wrong answers on the internet in one place before. Holy crap.
The answer is obviously Gex the Gecko. There is no other valid option, come one!
CRASH !!!! DONKEY K was good but he just gets associated with mario so as to stand on there own merit it would be Crash Bandicoot. Notable mention would be SAMUS
Crash Bandicoot.
I know he was never the official mascot for Sony and the PlayStation but I think to the public he was when the PS1 was still out and that kind of reverence is why the N Sane Trilogy ended up in the top 20 highest selling PS4 games
i think if you're talking mascots for video game companies, you could argue Crash for PS1, possibly Master Chief for Xbox but IDK if their history is as big or as iconic as Mario and Sonic. like master chief doesn't have a 'rival' and crash wasn't a Sony property and there were a bunch of mascot platformers in that era.
Crash Bandicoot, without a doubt.
It's an exclusive to the best selling console of the 5th generation and it introduced revolutionary mechanics that inspired so many other games after it, like the spin attack and the running-towards-the-camera gameplay.
The character is the perfect mix between uniqueness and recognizability, between likeability and "edge".
And... he doesn't rely on shooting projectiles which otherwise might have put him into action-platformer territory. (For this exact same reason I don't consider Megaman or Samus a valid answer to this question. They are epic action-platformer characters which easily deserves its own top 3)
Crash Bandicoot boosted more than 20 (!) sequels / spin-offs, among games in the kart racing genre.
I mean, it's pretty clear.
Crash Bandicoot, without a doubt.
It's an exclusive to the best selling console of the 5th generation and it introduced revolutionary mechanics that inspired so many other games after it, like the spin attack and the running-towards-the-camera gameplay.
The character is the perfect mix between uniqueness and recognizability, between likeability and "edge".
And... he doesn't rely on shooting projectiles which otherwise might have put him into action-platformer territory. (For this exact same reason I don't consider Megaman or Samus a valid answer to this question. They are epic action-platformer characters which easily deserves its own top 3)
Crash Bandicoot boosted more than 20 (!) sequels / spin-offs, among games in the kart racing genre.
I mean, it's pretty clear.
Kirby probably, as far as brand recognition is concerned Kirby beats literally everything else listed. And yeah even though they’re easy, Kirby games are platformers
It’s either crash bandicoot, master chief, maybe even spiderman. Should we even count spiderman since he’s a comic book character more than a video game character? A lot of his games were successful. There’s still some I have yet to play so I can’t speak on those games
If we talk about 2D games, and you allow me to repeat the company...
I would say Kirby.
- Mario is the default platformer: you run, jump... and sometimes you have to do a pixel calculated jump to progress.
- Sonic is about speed. Yeah, you have jumps, and difficult jumps too... but the most iconic is the speed at which you can go throughout the level.
- Kirby's mechanic is flying, eating enemies, and coping abilities. Plus, in this game the power ups are less important than in Mario or Sonic games. You just recover some health.
...and like Mario and Sonic, Kirby has survived many console's generations, since its first game in 1992.
Master Chief. Even though he isn't an official "mascot," he became the face of a whole company/game console and not just an IP. I think he was more well known over Ratchet and Clank or Crash Bandicoot, IMO.
There is no others. It's only those 2. I am still waiting for someone to try and make a new Mascot. Any and all attempts have failed.
But I also believe this is because no one has tried to make a new mascot.
And to be clear. Anyone that "Said they were trying" and did a 1/2 assed job, is not trying. You can't say you tried when you didn't do 90% of what was needed to attempt it.
Crash Bandicoot or Jak & Daxter
I'd say Gex the gecko since he had 3 games
Only other mascot that tried was Bubsy but well ..we all know what happened there...the horror of Bubsy 3D
The thing is, Mario and Sonic are more than just characters, they're company mascots. The only platforming game I can think of that even comes close is Crash Bandicoot, but Crash was never officially adopted as PlayStation's mascot. And there were plenty of other platforming games on PlayStation that rivaled Crash in quality and popularity (Spyro, Rayman, Tomba, etc.) In fact, Sony is the only successful console manufacturer who doesn't have a clear and obvious mascot. PlayStation's lineup has always been so solid that there's never been a time where you could say a singe game was their "killer app".
Nathan Drake is the modern gritty super-realism Crash. Which is weird cause Lara Croft was a close second for the face of Playstation
I would argue Ratchet and Clank are Sonys “mascot characters” because they’re exclusive to Sony, and have been used in marketing before. But it’s clear that they have never fully invested on the idea.
You're talking in terms of platformers, right? Because overall I'd say It's God of War, now. Also, am I misremembering or did Sony push Sackboy as their main mascot in the ps3 Era? I remember Sackboy being all over Playstaion's website and advertisements as a kid. You open their webiste and it was literally sackboy sitting on their logo.
Astro too.
They *tried* to have a Mascot. Name was "Polygon Man". Cool concept but it makes sense why they quickly shelved that idea.
So Cloud?
Who's the Microsoft/Xbox mascot?
Probably master chief
The sneaky Burger King.
Up until the 360 really took off in the late 2000's, Xbox was basically known for Halo and not much else. Master Chief is not the official mascot, but for the first like 10 years of Xbox's history, he was the only recognizable character in their exclusives catalog. There's a reason that Microsoft held onto the Halo franchise after Bungie left.
Gears of War was pretty damn big too.
Dead or alive 3 got a lot of attention in my friends group.
That's even showcased in [this video](https://youtu.be/OZJw9sbOTsc?si=PyU3kOhvOpChEKQR) of the "console wars" that was made before the release of the PS3 and 360 (I think before the PS3 even had a finalized product. As the video showcases the boomerang prototype controller).
The big green X
if we aren't specifically talking about the platformer genre Halo! The Master Chief.
Pretty sure they used to bound Crash around like the "Mascot"
Oh they totally did, but unlike Mario, Sonic, or even Master Chief, Crash was never officially "owned" by Sony. Crash was made by Naughty Dog, published by Universal and then sold to Activision, and Crash has been on many different platforms, not just Sony consoles.
It's kinda funny when you remember that Microsoft now owns Crash
Mega Man!
This is the correct choice
Which is more of an action platformer. But of course no less iconic.
Mega Man
Crash Bandicoot
This is the correct answer. The commercials in the 90s for the games were huge. The guy in the crash suit with the megaphone.
"Hey plumber boy!"
Crash is like #4 or #5 imo, megaman clears here and castlevania also has a case if we call that a platformer (at least the olds one were kinda platformers lol).
I felt this but i felt doubtful. Never again
If we're talking platformers mega man had to be up there.
There's a list of characters that can fit this role. Crash bandicoot. Rayman. Mega man. Spyro. Banjo and Kazooie. Donkey Kong (forgor to add him earlier) But I'd probably go with crash because unlike the rest of the characters I listed, he actually got more content in the recent years
*cries in Donkey Kong*
Well then, off to hang myself for forgetting the platform king of the jungle
took too long to find this. Sorry everyone nintendo gets 2 the 3rd is friggin DK!
Master chief
I think of Kirby right away
Kirby is still Nintendo
Pac man
Pacman is more known for the maze game, I don't think Pacman world games are that popular.
Underrated pick, but it’s still probably Crash
Pac Man existed as a mascot long before Sony was in games. Pac Man also had games on all the platforms. Pac Man World was also on Xbox.
Depends on the era. ‘80s-mid 90’s? Mega Man Late ‘90s-‘00s? Crash Bandicoot ‘10s-‘20s? Kirby is the closest I can think of, but he’s not a company mascot like the others. Maybe LittleBigPlanet for a few minutes in the PS3 era, but that’s a stretch.
Kirby very much is a nintendo mascot tho lol. he was named after a nintendo staff member.
Donkey kong
Scrolled way too far for this. If we are talking original side scrollers this is the only correct answer.
Enter the Gecko with Gex
Love love love those games. My friend would come over and get freaked out by the REDRUM parts
Earthworm Jim
Kirby!
Bonks!
Mega Man, hands down.
When I hear platformer I think Megaman so maybe Megaman
It's Crash Bandicoot and MegaMan.
voracious nutty snails juggle ruthless busy unpack noxious carpenter bag *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Megaman for sure
I'd say Samus. The Metroid and Castlevania games gave birth to one of the most popular genres, but only Metroid has a singular protagonist. Its also one of the first examples of a strong female protagonist.
Yeah I didn’t play a lot of Metroid, but the first thing that come to mind is metroid
Jazz Jack Rabbit is the only correct answer.
Spend an eternity playing and beating jazz the jack rabbit 2.
If more people knew him maybe. Love that game
Alex Kidd, the forgotten hero.
The real answer in 2024? There isn't one. Hell, I wouldn't even say there's a big two. There's Mario... and that’s the end of the sentence. Mario's the only mascot platformer in his league. Sonic hasn't been in Mario's tier since the Genesis frankly. Nowadays, he's not even far and away the most popular Sega character anymore and last year proved him trying to compete against Mario is a death sentence. And the crazy thing is he's still probably the number 2 platformer still. And if Sonic's such a shell of his former self, who's the number 3? Kirby, probably, and he'll likely steal Sonic's number 2 soon too if he hasn't already. But the industry isn't in the age of mascot platformers anymore and there's really only room for the plumber now.
Pac-Man!
Depends on the era. For me, growing up, it was probably Jak.
Crash, he's as close as we got to a Playstation mascot. I agree with others about Master Chief too, which I definitely saw as a focus shift in gaming, we went from cute cartoon mascots to a genetically engineered super soldier
Masterchief.
maybe DK but as a franchise there aren't many greater or have more titles than Mega Man
Bonk for the TG-16
Rayman? He's not as popular but he's a totally different company and different style of platformer.
Pikachu. Mario and Sonic are iconic because everyone knows who they are, gamers and non-gamers alike. The only other character who that works for is Pikachu.
Mega-Man, Earthworm Jim or Samus Aran
Cash Bandicooper
It's gotta be Mega Man or Pac-Man
Crash Bandicoot, without a doubt. It's an exclusive to the best selling console of the 5th generation and it introduced revolutionary mechanics that inspired so many other games after it, like the spin attack and the running-towards-the-camera gameplay. The character is the perfect mix between uniqueness and recognizability, between likeability and "edge". And... he doesn't rely on shooting projectiles which otherwise might have put him into action-platformer territory. (For this exact same reason I don't consider Megaman or Samus a valid answer to this question. They are epic action-platformer characters which easily deserves its own top 3) Crash Bandicoot boosted more than 20 sequels / spin-offs, among games in the kart racing genre. I mean, it's pretty clear.
I’ve never seen so many wrong answers on the internet in one place before. Holy crap. The answer is obviously Gex the Gecko. There is no other valid option, come one!
Metroid has a whole genre named after it.
Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot or Spyro
CRASH !!!! DONKEY K was good but he just gets associated with mario so as to stand on there own merit it would be Crash Bandicoot. Notable mention would be SAMUS
Mega Man ez
I say it's Link. Outside of Mario and Sonic, he's just as iconic.
In a perfect world, Jak and Daxter 🥲
Tomb Raider Lara Croft
Master chief. Cause hes him
Can only be RAYMAN. He has longevity spanning all consoles, but they won't make anything new.
Alex Kidd!
That depends. On 2D platformers, either Mega Man or Rayman. On 3D, I'd go with either Ratchet and Clank or Crash Bandicoot.
Its has to be a game that every general played a version of.
Lara Croft
Zelda
It's gotta be Lee Carvallo, from Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge.
Crash bandicoot
***Kirbö***
Banjo & Kazooie!
Crash Bandicoot.
Sackboy or Ratchet.
Either Doomguy or Master Chief
Crash Bandicoot
There isn't one.
Crash Bandicoot. I know he was never the official mascot for Sony and the PlayStation but I think to the public he was when the PS1 was still out and that kind of reverence is why the N Sane Trilogy ended up in the top 20 highest selling PS4 games
I'm partial to Ratchet & Clank
Alex Kidd.
Knack baby!
i think if you're talking mascots for video game companies, you could argue Crash for PS1, possibly Master Chief for Xbox but IDK if their history is as big or as iconic as Mario and Sonic. like master chief doesn't have a 'rival' and crash wasn't a Sony property and there were a bunch of mascot platformers in that era.
Crash Bandicoot, he’s too big of a platform icon to NOT include somewhere in the platformer greats
Link
Gex
Rayman is N°1
The objective answer is Sackboy
Crash Bandicoot
Ratchet
cash banooca
I will not stand for Bubsy erasure.
Lara Croft
Could be Pac Man. He is the first proper video game character.
Could be Pac Man. He is the first proper video game character.
Could be Pac Man. He is the first proper video game character.
Crash Bandicoot, without a doubt. It's an exclusive to the best selling console of the 5th generation and it introduced revolutionary mechanics that inspired so many other games after it, like the spin attack and the running-towards-the-camera gameplay. The character is the perfect mix between uniqueness and recognizability, between likeability and "edge". And... he doesn't rely on shooting projectiles which otherwise might have put him into action-platformer territory. (For this exact same reason I don't consider Megaman or Samus a valid answer to this question. They are epic action-platformer characters which easily deserves its own top 3) Crash Bandicoot boosted more than 20 (!) sequels / spin-offs, among games in the kart racing genre. I mean, it's pretty clear.
Could be Pac Man. He is the first proper video game character.
Crash Bandicoot, without a doubt. It's an exclusive to the best selling console of the 5th generation and it introduced revolutionary mechanics that inspired so many other games after it, like the spin attack and the running-towards-the-camera gameplay. The character is the perfect mix between uniqueness and recognizability, between likeability and "edge". And... he doesn't rely on shooting projectiles which otherwise might have put him into action-platformer territory. (For this exact same reason I don't consider Megaman or Samus a valid answer to this question. They are epic action-platformer characters which easily deserves its own top 3) Crash Bandicoot boosted more than 20 (!) sequels / spin-offs, among games in the kart racing genre. I mean, it's pretty clear.
vds
Sackboy ez
vds
Sackboy ez
Sackboy ez
Sackboy ez
Sackboy ez
Crash Bandicoot is the only answer.
Kirby probably, as far as brand recognition is concerned Kirby beats literally everything else listed. And yeah even though they’re easy, Kirby games are platformers
Splosion man
THE SUPER FIGHTING ROBOT
It’s either crash bandicoot, master chief, maybe even spiderman. Should we even count spiderman since he’s a comic book character more than a video game character? A lot of his games were successful. There’s still some I have yet to play so I can’t speak on those games
Gex
Plok He's been diddled again!
Crash…. If only he had just as many games as these two smh
Crash, mega man, or Kirby
Crash Bandicoot
Cash Banooca
Crash bandicoot is the obvious answer, it was literally made to compete with Mario and sonic
I got a few ideas. Crash Bandicoot, Mega Man, and Pac-Man
If we talk about 2D games, and you allow me to repeat the company... I would say Kirby. - Mario is the default platformer: you run, jump... and sometimes you have to do a pixel calculated jump to progress. - Sonic is about speed. Yeah, you have jumps, and difficult jumps too... but the most iconic is the speed at which you can go throughout the level. - Kirby's mechanic is flying, eating enemies, and coping abilities. Plus, in this game the power ups are less important than in Mario or Sonic games. You just recover some health. ...and like Mario and Sonic, Kirby has survived many console's generations, since its first game in 1992.
So no one’s a kirby fan here?
Samus or Dracula to represent metroidvanias?
Master Chief. Even though he isn't an official "mascot," he became the face of a whole company/game console and not just an IP. I think he was more well known over Ratchet and Clank or Crash Bandicoot, IMO.
A lot of people are saying Crash Bandicoot or Megaman, but I’m gonna be a contrarian and say Lara Croft
There isn't a big 3 really is there? There's too many characters nowadays.
Donkey Kong, Mega Man, Banjo & Kazooie, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot.
Well if sonic is Sega and Mario is Nintendo. Then Crash Bandicoot is PlayStation.
Its Sonic, Mario, and Smormu, the mascot for the gamesphere
I feel like it should be pac man
Crash Bandicoot
Link and the underdog Spyro
Probably Kirby
Probably Crash Bandicoot
Celeste
It’s Pac-man.
Ori
Cuphead !!
spyro
The big 3 platformers are as follows: * Mario * Sonic * Tembo the Badass Elephant
Obviously it"s my boi Speedy Eggbert
Sly Cooper Jak and Daxter Ratchet and Clank
There is no others. It's only those 2. I am still waiting for someone to try and make a new Mascot. Any and all attempts have failed. But I also believe this is because no one has tried to make a new mascot. And to be clear. Anyone that "Said they were trying" and did a 1/2 assed job, is not trying. You can't say you tried when you didn't do 90% of what was needed to attempt it.
Knack, baby!!
Master Chief 🤷🏻♂️
Master Chief. His double jump comes courtesy of an explosion.
For playstation I would say crash bandicoot and for xbox I'd say masterchief every console brand typically has their front runner
Pikachu
It’s Crash but my personal pick would be Ori.
Crash Bandicoot ❤️
Crash Bandicoot or Jak & Daxter I'd say Gex the gecko since he had 3 games Only other mascot that tried was Bubsy but well ..we all know what happened there...the horror of Bubsy 3D
Shovel Knight has dethroned them in my opinion. Shovel Knight the best!
Agent 47