ABSTRACT
When most people think about 2D platformers, they will go with a mascot platformer. The 2D mascot platformer started with the original Super Mario Brothers in 1985. The Sega and Nintendo companies put out marquis platformers that set the standards for mascot-driven games. The success of Mario in terms of worldwide appeal has placed the character in the same realm of brand awareness as Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny, and started the mascot platformer trend. Mascot platformers are titles where the player controls a recognizable character—either from an existing property or created for the game. Mascot branding is a major part of advertising, and something far too vast to cover. The reason why mascot branding took over came down to marketing. The console game industry up until the mid-1990s became dominated by mascot platformers on every platform available.
