Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Intelligentsia’s Panama El Machete, Jim Lampley’s The Fight Game on HBO, or Charlize Theron as Snow White, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
On Friday, my industry pal Michael and I were talking about PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Obviously the game it’s most compared to is Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. The characters in Sony’s upcoming game simply don’t have the history of the characters in Nintendo’s games. That isn’t to say that the Sony characters are bad or inferior; they just haven’t been around long enough to invoke the feelings of nostalgia that the Super Smash Bros. games conjure.
The conversation moved onto discussing Sony’s mascots. Nintendo has a host to choose from, like Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Samus, etc. Millions of people automatically think of the Microsoft Xbox when Master Chief is mentioned. As for Sony…there are several candidates, but which ones stand out to you? Some great characters have been revealed for PlayStation All-Stars, but most of them are relatively new. Even the game’s oldest ones — Parappa the Rapper and Sweet Tooth — aren’t exactly mascot material.
In the original PlayStation days, there was an effort to make Crash Bandicoot the Sony PlayStation mascot. That was dropped when the character went to Unviersal Interactive. A generation of mascot making was lost as Crash and Spyro made way for Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank. They were joined by great characters like Sly Cooper, Cole MacGrath, Kratos, etc.
Sony Defense Force members will say that the company simply has a lot of great games to choose from and that Microsoft put too many eggs in its Halo basket. Microsoft fanboys will argue that Sony has done a poor job at establishing its mascots. What say you? Are you a Kratos worshipper? Is Sackboy your man? In your mind, who are the best Sony PlayStation mascots?
@ Quick clarification
Kristen Stewart is Snow White, and Charlize Theron is the Queen.
@ Topic
Jak and Daxter immediately come to mind when I hear the phrase "Sony mascot". I'm also old school, so Solid Snake makes the list too. I know a Metal Gear game is coming out for Xbox, but is Solid even in it? I still think of Sony when I think of Solid.
Norman Jayden (the FBI agent from Heavy Rain) could be cool in a game like this too. All that stuff he does with the ARI glasses could kick ass.
@ side topic
John Travolta
I agree about the Xbox Fanboy comment that Sony has not done a good job of establishing their mascots. When I think "Sony's 1st-party games", I think Spyro and Crash Bandicoot before anything else. I think the problem lies in how each character up there in the picture is either relatively new or not very popular. Nintendo gets away with their character choices because each one is either a part of an extremely popular series or a nostalgia factor. Sony hasn't established their first-party series as much as Nintendo in that aspect; Spyro and Crash are nostalgic, so everybody thinks of them. But Nathan Drake and Kratos? No nostalgia.
I haven't really played a sony console since I stopped playing my original playstation, so when I think mascot I also think Crach Bandicoot and a little bit Spyro. After they stopped making games for them my friends always played God of War, so I thought of Kratos. Also, I used to always think of GTA until it finally came to xbox.
Both of the statements made by fanboys are partially true though. Microsoft has put a lot of their eggs in the Halo basket, but Sony also has not been consistent with a franchise mascot. Sure I initially think of Halo when I think xbox, but there are still a lot of other great games out there which makes Sony's argument that they just have too many good series to choose from a weak sounding argument.
I think the idea of a "mascot" is overrated honestly. It may matter in marketing, but I don't think having a mascot necessarily translates into games that I actually want to play. I don't play my XBOX more because of Master Chief or my PS3 less because they don't have a decent mascot. It's fair to say that the ultimate mascot is Mario, and I barely play my Wii.
This.
However; I would like to offer Sackboy as a point of contention. If I am not mistaken, I believe that Sony pumped a lot of money into a marketing campaign to make Sackboy the official Sony mascot (akin to what Mario is for Nintendo). This strategy has failed for the most part. Whether intentional or not, Mario is Nintendo’s flagship as Halo is with Xbox. Sony really didn’t (or doesn’t) have a proprietary flagship game/character that it started with from the beginning. I think Sackboy was their attempt to rectify this problem, but it was too little, too late.
You are right. A mascot is nothing more than a small slice of the marketing pie for any company. It is really not necessary to have one to be successful. It only serves as a visual reminder of the company and, at best, will trigger positive reactions and moods that will lead to future purchases on the part of the consumer. Typically, this methodology is used (and effective) on little kids or dumb people. Ronald McDonald is a textbook example of this. When little kids see him, they think "Happy Meal" and get their parents to buy them one. When you or I see him, we think that it may actually be Pennywise the Dancing Clown from "IT" and soil our underpants.
-M
I read a long essay on McDonalds beating Burger Ring because of its superior mascots. Grimace > Earl of Fries.
Never underestimate the power of McDonald's fries. They trump everything on the BK menu.
I hate McDonald's fries. In fact, I hate everything McDonald's serves with the exception of their ice cream and the Big Mac. The problem with the Big Mac, is even though it's delicious, I always feel sick after eating one.
Whopper > Big Mac
-M
same here. I love those things, but just don't like eating them because I don't feel well afterwards. that the mcflurry, and the apple pies are the only things I really like on their menu, and those two things are easily found somewhere else.
edit: Big Mac > Whopper any day of the week.
When it comes to the Whopper vs the Big Mac (and this is indeed worthy of it's own Coffee Talk), I have to side with the Whopper because it's more filling, doesn't make me feel sick, and doesn't make me think I'm eating plastic and Play-Doh with heavy artificial Big Mac flavoring.
However, I haven't had a Big Buford in forever, but I remember loving those things.
Rally's is amazing, this makes me want to go get a Big Buford tomorrow. White Castle is even better IMO, though. I would agree that this is worthy of a coffee talk.
I have a very bad health reaction to onions. I say I'm allergic to close the issue quickly, but really what they do is make my intestines swell up and it's painful as hell. So, White Castle is off the list for me.
But it's so bad that even when my wife gets onion rings from BK, if they put them in the same bag as my fries, I'm doubled over all night. It really sucks.
But anyway, last time I had Rally's was during my move to CA 7 years ago. There was one in the ghetto by my house in PA that we'd hit up all the time, but then it closed like 5 years before I moved. So, it might just be nostalgia talking on my end.
The Big Carl at Carl's Jr. is pretty good too (may be only in CA for all I know).
Dudes, you've got it all mixed up. None of these fast food restaurants are good enough to be the best, because none of them beat Five Guys! I mean, come on, have you ever had their fried before? You haven't lived until you have their fries!
PS: Wendy's is still the best of the Big-3 (McD's, BK, Wendy's).
I've never even heard of Five Guys before.As for Wendy's I'm definitely a fan. But… I worked next door to a Wendy's for like 3 years and got totally burnt out. I do still crave their Doubles though. A fresh Wendy's burger truly is amazing.Let's not forget about Arby's either.Plus, I may be the only person in CA that hates In N Out Burgers.
Five Guys seems to be a pretty small chain right now, but it's becoming popular (kinda like Chipotle). It's a restaurant that sells only 5 items on the menu: Small Hamburger, Regular Hamburger, Hot Dogs, Fries and Drinks. The thing is that they also have a list of toppings you can add – cheese, condiments, veggies and such – that greatly expand on the basic menu. PLUS, even though it's pretty expensive (a small burger is $5 by itself), the portions are GINORMOUS. One large fry is two Regular-sized soda cups full of fries! Plus they taste amazing!
Maybe it's a local thing, then. Cincinnati has 11 Five Guys, and I know there are more elsewhere. It has been rated #1 Best Burger and #1 Best Value for nearly 10 years in a row by ZAGAT.
Five guys also here in Virginia…and yes it is delicious. I just don't refer to it as "fast food"….because it is expensive as hell, and I wouldn't say it was fast.
Totally understand that perspective, but I classify it as fast food as opposed to a burger restaurant like The Counter (so good!).
I'm so jealous of your California Fast food. I've never even seen an "el pollo loco"…did I even spell that right?
The Counter is nationwide and highly recommend. You did spell El Pollo Loco correctly. I always envisioned Ricky Martin singing "Living El Pollo Loco" in a commercial.
I hear los pollos hermanos is the best though…
Pollo is crazy delicious. It's like KFC with a mexican twist and the chicken isn't fried, I think it's baked, but if it is fried, it's not batter dipped. They give you tortillas, salsa, and regular fajita toppings and what you're supposed to do is break the chicken off the bone then wrap it in the tortilla with the fixin's.
Then they also have premade stuff, but that's not the way to go. Get the bucket and do it yourself, very worth it.
Sides however… KFC has better sides.
I've had Five Guys up here by chicago and there were about four of them just on the east end of Indy. First time I ever had them was in DC at the restaurant that all the rave reviews are about (the signs they hang up in all their stores for best burger, etc.). That's a burger that can fill me up.
Research tells me I live about 40 miles from the nearest Five Guys.
It's actually very close to the Guitar Center I hit up regularly. Next time I have to swing down there, I will hit them up and say "Lunias sent me, so where's my discount?"
Sure, go ahead and tell them that. I'm not too sure it'll net you any discounts, though XD
Nate, Five Guys are popping up in SoCal. The fries are excellent and you get free peanuts…though I have to resist the urge to stomp on the shells as if I were at a baseball game. As far as fast food burgers goes Shake Shack > Five Guys > In-N-Out.
Also, new Big Mac vs. Whopper Coffee Talk and Poll is up!
I have to try them both.
We do live in the fast-food Mecca of the world.
That's too bad. I love getting 6 sliders with cheese and no pickles with fries and a red cream soda. That is a tasty meal. I also love onions.
I think Rally's is actually pretty good, but they don't have as many locations. Maybe a little bit of nostalgia, but I still eat there and enjoy it. Never had Carl's Jr., but I've heard of it. Don't know if it is only in CA or not.
Dude, I have no problem with the taste of onions, they just tear me up.
Carl's is everywhere out here. Granted, I live like 30 minutes from the first McDonald's ever (not Ray Kroc's, but the McDonald brothers restaurant that Ray Kroc bought)… and it's in the ghetto of San Bernardino. My father-in-law lived a block away from it until like 2 years ago.
Last time my brother came out here, he was like "I want some local food" when he got off the plane. I suggested McDonald's as kind of a joke and he said "No dude, actual local food" when I explained that technically it was since I was talking about the very first McDonald's. We ended up driving past it, he saw the neighborhood and realized that the food was just like any other McDonald's, so we went for Hawaiian BBQ.
Taco Bell was invented in the same area too.
I think I figured out the mystery game…
It's Karate Champ, isn't it?