The idea of the video game mascot has been around since the early days of gaming, with names like Pac-Man and Mario becoming synonymous with the medium. Video game mascots are often created with the intention to not only be cute cartoon characters, but also a representation of the brand.
The 1990s saw the video game market flooded with over-the-top mascots that attempted to cash in on the success of edgy Saturday morning cartoon characters such as Ren & Stimpy. While some of these mascots turned out to be great, the majority quickly disappeared. Let’s take a look at some of the more memorable video game mascots that struggled stay relevant and are likely better off forgotten.
15. Bubsy
First appearance: Bubsy (1993)
Mascot for: Accolade
Drawing inspiration from the Super Mario Bros. and Sonic The Hedgehog franchises, the 1993 release of Bubsy introduced gamers to the titular anthropomorphic bobcat created by Accolade. Bubsy would go on to star in a series of games released for the Super NES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Jaguar, PC, and PlayStation in the 1990s. In addition to the games, a pilot was created for a Bubsy cartoon based on the video game series, but it failed to be picked up and never saw the light of day.
In 2015, a compilation of the first two games was released for PC through Steam by Retroism, the video game software subsidiary of Tommo. Unfortunately, the games weren’t very good and the Bubsy character never really made the impression that Accolade was hoping for.
Via TV Tropes