http://segaretro.org/Professor_Asobin I've made a start, but I need more info Here's the old topic I started on cult. It references a segagaga interview but the link is dead. Any hopes that we can find it again? here is a page on the advice given by Professor Asobin and Dr. Games At least one guy's interpretation of the history of sega mascots Mine is more along the lines of SG-1000 era: Professor Asobin Mark III (east) era: Opa-Opa Master System (west) era: Alex Kidd Mega Drive era: Sonic Saturn era: Segata Sanshiro Dreamcast era: Ulala(?)
Were having a Sega mascot topic? Coooooooool. Also being a Genesis Kid myself I had no idea who Professor Asobin was until now, I can't believe there is someone who is even more ignored then Alex Kidd! God rest Segata Sanshiro's soul, He died in his last commercial, ironically the commercial being for his own game, and I mean the character not the actor, the actor however is Kamen Rider 1 (And still alive today :p)!!! Also I don't think Ulala was a Sega mascot for the Dreamcast, sure she's forever a Sega Allstar and all but I think either the mascot was Sonic or the Dreamcast didn't have a mascot. I think that's about it for mascots from Sega, Sonic's the main one now sence the Genesis, but if I may recommend Doc how about we list all of the Sega Allstars. I'll start. Joe Musashi (Shinobi Series) Gillus Thunderhead (Golden Axe) Robo and Mobo (The Bonaza Bros.) Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding (The Streets of Rage series) G (The House of the Dead) Bug! (Bug! series, and yes I'm stretching this a bit) Ristar (Ristar) Chuck D. Head (Decap Attack) Ecco (Ecco the Dolphin series) Akira (Virtua Fighter) Dr. Daniel Caine/The Ooze (The Ooze) Sketch Turner & Roadkill (The Comix Zone) Chuchus (Chu Chu Rocket, Never played the game on the Dreamcast but I have it for the GBA) Billy Hatcher (Billy Hatcher & The Giant Egg, Was I the only one to get this game when it came out?) NiGHTS (NiGHTS Series, concidering it has a sequel it's safe to say it's a series now) Hornet (Daytona USA) Ryo Hazuki (Shenmue series, I really do got to play those games one day) Crazy Taxi (Crazy Taxi series, I forgot the first characters name, so someone fill me in on that one.) Amigo (Samba de Amigo series, LOVE this game on the Wii, feel really bad I never got it for the Dreamcast) Beat (Jet Set Radio Series, I do have JSRF for the Xbox, but currently my 360 won't run the game, MOTHERF***ER) ... You know what I can't list them all there are WAY too many characters Sega has when you start making a list, hell they rival in number even Nintendo, Capcom, and Namco almost! Which makes you think why the hell Sega doesn't bring a lot of these series back, okay some have gotten new rereleases and all but still with Daytona USA out now maybe we'll see these old favorites back once more, oh and I vote for Sonic & Sega Allstar Fighters.
Axel Stone was definitely a Sega mascot. Why? Because he pretty much had the same colour scheme as sonic. Sega blue jeans and headband, with red and white sneakers.
For the record, Strider Hiryu had almost the exact same colors as Sonic's sprite. I didn't need to edit any of his art for the Strider Hiryu in Sonic 1 hack.
Where's Toejam & Earl on that list? *runs* Also the original Streets of Rage characters should be mentioned, as they had a lot of popularity back in the day.
I think, and I might be wrong about this but you're mistaking actual mascots adopted by the company for a "my favourite characters" list.
Don't know whether you remember, but for a short time Virtua Fighter 1's iteration of Akira Yuki was the face of Sega in the early Saturn era in Europe.
In the US, I would replace Segata Sanshiro with Nights. He was far more prevalent in US ads than Sanshiro, even if lamer. Otherwise, your list seems to fit my own recollections of the periods.
Sanshiro didn't leave Japan... IDK if SOA/SOE had a mascot for the Saturn. I also don't know how far they pushed Alex Kidd as a "mascot" for the Master System...
Neither Sanshiro nor Yukawa ever left Japan, which is a pity because they were both hillarious. I remember this. On topic: The Cult topic. You linked to a webpage that is dead now and the way back machine archive doesn't provide half the stuff it had before. However, it got reuploaded elsewhere. Worthless for what you ask, though. I was not aware that the rabbit predated the old man. edit: I cleaned the image a bit, if you want.
May I also note that Sega also had separate mascots for Sega Channel? The US side had "Sega Pat", the all-blue humanoid-shaped TV Holding.... guy, who was prominent in both advertising and the BIOs of the service. The Japanese side had... what was his name? Well, thaat blue...bird... http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/rig_veda/61789942.html ... yeah.
(Note: the girl in that picture represents the Game no Kanzume series, not Sega Channel; she, or possibley relatives, shows up in the two Mega CD entries.) Does Sega of Japan still use something resembling a mascot? It looks up they're big on Phantasy Star and Shining in particular...
Don't forget this little fella. Always brings a tear to the eye. So cute. :v: However, is this a mascot or an iconic character? Sega's 80's arcade or the DC library alone have a legion of iconic characters. Where do we draw the line on what's a mascot and it isn't? I honestly can't tell. I see it sometimes referenced that NiGHTS became Japan's unnoficial mascot for the Saturn days and was supposed to replace Sonic, but I wonder about the truthfulness of that. Anyway, another character that can be considered iconic for the Saturn days would be Sakura Shinguji. Nowardays, I think Japan still uses Sonic as mascot, though not as generalised like in the west. They use him on WC signs and instructions and everything. An iconic character in Japan nowadays (or at least a year or so ago), would be Kazuma Kiryu. I'm reluntant to say Hatsune Miku. She's not Sega's, but I've seen her being paired with Sega way too much in Japan (and even in the west).
