Posts Tagged ‘sackboy’
Video Game Purists Ep 83: Spot On Casting
As always, we say “nothing happened” but yet we go on nearly an hour about this nothing. Then it’s time to go to the Switch where updates discover bluetooth, games were announced (and released), and we learn of the best casting ever for the 2022 Super Mario movie. On the gaming front, Trees continues with Car Mechanic Simulator, wraps Maneater and leaps into the Truth Quest DLC, customizes boats in AC Valhalla, and plays around with the perspective bending Superliminal. Fred has been going all arcade with Cruis’n Blast, engages heavy with Magic the Gathering Arena thanks to the Innestrad: Midnight Hunt set, and drags his way to the finish line of Sackboy. He also contemplates Halloween gaming and how his play habits may be in direct contradiction to his decision making on what to play.
Video Game Purists Ep 75: Nothing Happening
This week was relatively uneventful for our hosts, but that doesn’t stop the discussion. From the demonic nature of the loon to bandoleers of beer, life finds a way. On the gaming front Trees has upgraded his DLC in Car Mechanic Simlator, explored Billions Road further, and continues to grind Minecraft Dungeons with his son. This transitions to a dual discussion on Maneater, which Fred has also started this week. Fred also wraps up Cold War, enjoys some retro on the MiSTer, and has a serious fit over the Panzer Dragoon franchise, particularly Orta. It all wraps with some quick words on Sackboy’s Big Adventure and the addicting but also slow moving nature of Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
Feature: Mascots
Mascots, you have to love them. No, wait, you don’t. For the most part mascots have been one of the dark spots on a game publisher’s marketing blitz. At first there was only one iconic mascot, Mario from Super Mario Bros., and frankly he was an accidental mascot that Nintendo had never imagined would become its poster child. After Mario other companies were consistently trying to establish mascots no matter the negative cost to the consumer. Mario is an exception not because he’s a particularly good or mistakenly genius mascot, he’s just iconic because his game was the catalyst to the return of video games after the crash of 1983. During the mid 80s Nintendo established a handful of strong franchises that are beloved by many fans and despite Mario being the “leader” per se, he’s definitely not alone when Nintendo wants to sell a product. I would argue that Link (from Legend of Zelda), Kirby (from Kirby’s Dream Land), Pikachu (from Pokemon), and to certain extent Donkey Kong (from Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Country) and Samus (from Metroid). Much like Disney, Nintendo brings with it a cast of characters and franchises that all assist the overall brand in creating long running quality games. Everyone wanted to have that same wonderful family in the 90s (all of the above named characters had at least one title on the NES by 1992), but they seemed to miss the point that these characters were not created to be mascots, they just happened to get popular enough to become mascots.
Gaming History 101 