If there's one thing Sony's lacked since it started the PlayStation brand, it was a viable mascot. Back in the day, it looked like Crash Bandicoot would have the honor, or maybe Lara Croft, but no character ever felt truly representative of Sony's hardware in the same way that Mario did with Nintendo, Sonic did with Sega and even Master Chief does with Microsoft. However, maybe with LittleBigPlanet and Sackboy, Sony has found its ambassador.  

"We want LittleBigPlanet to lead the charge into a new genre of gaming and turn Sackboy into the next emblematic character for the PS3," stated LBP marketer Mark Valledor. "We have coined 2008 'the year of the PS3', and are confident that with the launch of LittleBigPlanet we will continue to see the momentum build throughout the end of this year and on to the next ... This is a very big title for us."

It was obvious that Sony had a goldmine on its hands when it introduced the endearing and adorable characters of LittleBigPlanet to the world. Unlike the brooding and vicious Kratos, these clothy sack creatures appeal to nearly everybody with their wretched cuteness. It's no surprise that Sony views the characters as ones that could promote the PlayStation 3 brand.

Up until now, the PS3 has had a very cold, faceless, "we are pure technology and you will obey," public image. LittleBigPlanet should help make the entire system look far more friendly and help shift some units in time for Christmas.

source

Sackboy looks Awesome, so I'm not surprised Sony want to use him as a mascot.

Sackboy would be an awesome mascot... however, I still think he's a bit creepy looking, lol.

I agree with you lm-x, he is a little creepy with the zipper and all that, but if LittleBigPlanet is going to be the holy grail for the PS3 with it's user-generated content, then this new "mascot" might just be a home run for Sony.

even his creepiness is cute. i've been saying since the beginning that even though i will never own the game because i can't buy a PS3, i WILL get my hands on a sackboy, even if it kills me.

that being said, sackboy is awesome and all, but is Sony prepared to create a series of LittleBigPlanets for him to be the mascot? because if he's not kept up in the industry, he'll just become a cute thing that had its moment and then died.

Not entirely, as it stands Master Chief appears to have ended his run in Halo. Yet he is still considered the Microsoft face.

domo kun anyone?

For a system toughted to be the mature gamers console of choice, Kratos would be the better choice. However, if Little Big Planet meets/exceeds the hype (which should be pretty hard to do), I have no problems with it. Sackboy is quirky, yet familiar enough to push a franchise a la Mario.

Eh, but he still has games coming and probably always will.

As for Sackboy being the mascot... I just realized that after all this time (Over a decade?) Sony still doesn't have a face. :p I think Kratos should be that face honestly. Sackboy would be swell and all, but he's not really a character. He's just sort of a shell.

Maybe that's the point Ricky.  Sackboy is actually you and I in a game, so Sony is technically making the gamers their mascot in a round about way.  What better way to give ownership to a brand name then to tell gamers that we don't need a character to promote our system that has a long and drawn out history, because we have you making history everyday.

-----------btw

I like the idea of gaming being about me and not a plumber, a blue hedgehog or a bandacoot (sp). Those characters can age in the gamers mind and need to be updated, sometimes in very bad ways, but a character that is a shell can always be fresh and new, because as gamers, we're changing all the time.

This post was last modified: 08-13-2008 12:09 PM by gft77.

Finally. Me and my friends are always discussing who was Sony's mascot. Sackboy is cool enough for that.

Sackboy >>>>>>>>>>> Master Chief.

LBP XIII confirmed!

I guess that's where our opinions differ again. I like the idea of a mascot with a story behind it. The feeling I get from Mario and MC are "these characters are what personify the system". Mario is someone everyone can relate to, young and old while MC is for the upper-teen/adult crowd interested in the FPS genre. :p Kratos would better represent the Sony IMO.

madden should be the face of playstation, that game sold so well everyone had a copy

but sack boy is fine with me, as long as the game is as good as advertised

Sackboy would be an amazing mascot!!

YHAYS!!!!!

Well just recently it seems like Microsoft might be changing their mascot to Banjo. Either before BKNB comes out in November (to help boost sales) or after (depending on how good it sells).

You didn't just say Madden...

You heard it here first!

They could have Sackboy AND Kratos.

Kinda like Nintendo has Mario, Link AND Samus.

Yeah but Mario is the 'official' mascot. He's the main guy. Link and Samus are really second bananas. (and besides, Luigi would go before Link and Samus wouldn't he?)