The Weekly Recap: Dressing Down
EyePet review
No More Heroes 2 review
Wings of Prey Review
Nike to sports, McDonald’s to hamburgers, Apple iPod to mp3 players; almost every major consumer industry has a handful of iconic companies that embody almost everything that industry is about. But what about the video gaming industry? An industry that has existed for decades, is the love of schoolkids everywhere and whose subject matter sparks the interest of art galleries, movies, the Guinness Book of World Records, must have icons of its own!
This list hopes to pick out the icons that not necessarily look the coolest or the most beautiful, but are recognisable and punchy like the Nike tick.
Number 5: The NES Controller
Everyone who plays games knows what the NES controller looks like, even if they haven’t used one! This highly unergonomic but punchy device began a revolution in gaming for the masses. While not the first gamepad, it was the first to take off and become popular.
Prior to the NES controller, gamers had two button joysticks, remote controls, even keyboards with teletype printers to receive game messages. The ease with which we kick back and relax in our couches with our wireless controllers was done almost as well two decades ago with this controller. In addition, wIth its bold black Dpad and bright red button design, it definitely stood out from the pack, and its simple image remains burned into the heartfelt memories of many millions of veteran gamers today.
Number 4: The Space Invader
Just like every other popular icon, the Space Invaders arcade game concept is one that has been burned into the public consciousness. Everyone knows that you’re a little ship that shoots these guys. What is most interesting about the space invader however, is that it is the only icon in this list…with multiple forms.
Few people have a solid idea of what the Space Invader looks like, but everyone knows a space invader when they see one. This room for interpretation has allowed the Space Invader to literally invade our world, from crop circles, memes, even underwear! A truly iconic piece of gaming history that is worthy of this list.
Number 3: The T-shaped Tetris block
In spite of its relatively tender young age of 23, Tetris is a game that feels as old as time. It has graced almost every gaming platform and operating system conceived since its birth, and whose concept is so simple it makes an ideal practice piece for fledgling gaming programmers.
It has a mental quality named after it, features prominently in Japanese television, and may even cure post traumatic stress! More importantly though, of all the different tetrominoes, why the T-shaped one?
Because it’s a T which stands for Tetris!
Number 2: Mario Mario
Quite possibly the most popular of video game icons today, Mario has been around for so long and invaded so much of our culture, Nintendo may have created someone more badass than Chuck Norris! Mario has appeared in hundreds of games crossing multiple genres from beat-em-ups, racing and even RPGs, creating some of the most memorable games in videogame history.
The Mario theme is one of the best known songs in gaming history, Mario’s italian accent is one of the most distinctive voices in gaming history, and even his game’s sound effects have more punch and notoriety than the rev of a Harley Davidson! What icon could possibly beat that?
Number 1: Pacman
Now this, is an icon. Everything an icon requires – simplicity, distinctiveness, global recognition, if there’s any icon to represent all of gaming, it’s Pac-Man. But you may protest, why did he beat Mario? First, unlike Mario, Pac-man is so simple that he could actually be a logo – not a mascot! Second, while many may think of Mario to represent all of gaming, he can’t be because he’s Nintendo’s mascot!
Playstation, Xbox, PC, mobile and every other form of gamer needs an icon as well, and Pac-man is the only icon with enough character and distinctiveness to do so…without any loyalty to a specific platform.
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Chris Carter
Totally agree with the list. Awesome job!
January 27th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Chris
Wow, great article; the way you layed it out and then explained in detail and to great effect on how all these icons have come to shape our gaming culture and history, great work, I wanna’ see more!
January 27th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Jacob
Um…Xbox has a mascot…Master Chief. What are you smoking? The PC does too…Gordon Freeman. The Playstation has too many top titles to really make any of them stand out. I guess the Helghast will suffice though.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Jacob
Nope…
Kratos.
Sorry.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Hung-Su
Master Chief might serve as a mascot for Xbox360. Gordon Freeman might be able to serve as a mascot for PC gaming. Kratos might be able to serve as a mascot for Playstation gaming.
But for the same reason as Mario, they cannot represent all of gaming because of that affiliation. This list chooses Icons. Mario was included because even though he is a mascot and not an icon, his history was too long to ignore. None of those characters has such history.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Matt
Gordon can’t be a mascot for PC, Half-Life has seen SEVERAL console releases. I agree to all except #5! I’m not really sure what would fill it’s place, but I know for sure I never think about that when I think about gaming.
January 27th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Hung-Su
Hi Matt,
That’s precisely why it’s so low on the list. The Nintendo Entertainment System was the entry point of a huge number of today’s mature console gamers, and the controller was its logo. The NES controller defeated the Sony Dualshock for that position purely because of its simpler, more punchy design which is better suited as an icon for gaming.
January 27th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Adam M
Great article Hung, it was a short and sweet read, but feels so big.
January 27th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Hung-Su
Thanks Adam, I was very very concerned that I didn’t “pad” this article enough, I’m glad I made the right choice. :]
January 27th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Chris Carter
People need to realize that recent gaming characters/designs that have had 1, maybe 2 games are not “Icons” yet. Look up the definition of an icon.
January 27th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
WHAT?!
No Sonic? This list is bunk.
January 27th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Solstice Zero
Good list. Keep up the good work.
January 27th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
poster
my post got deleted i love fun
January 27th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Kevin
Sonic definately should have been on there.
January 27th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Hung-Su
I LOVE Sonic. I was EXTREMELY sad to have to remove him from this list. He was removed because although he is a fantastically well designed character (I greatly prefer his sleek look to that of the rotund Mario), fact is, his legacy is fading away. He doesn’t have “cult” status anywhere except within the gamer community. The general population doesn’t know him anymore.
January 27th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Rick
@ Jacob
The Helghast? Okay…
I can show my mom a picture of Pac-Man and Mario and she’ll know who they are instantly.
I could probably walk down the street and show a picture of a helghast to 100 people and maybe 5 of them will give me an answer and even so, that answer will probably be something like…
“Uhh… a ghost monster from da playstation…”
January 27th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Pff
this list is beyond your time
January 27th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
ok
No atari logo?
January 27th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Adam M
Would have been cool to have the Atari logo but it’s not with this article just not right.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:09 am
OkiDoki
Wheres Sonic?
January 28th, 2009 at 12:50 am
nick13b
Fist of all great article I think it does a great job at listing the best icons. Show mario and pac man to anyone in the world and they know who it is but as for master chief and crash bandicoot, I only know of their existence cause I play slot of video games. My family would not have a clue who the chief is let alone sonys whatever their nonexistent icon is…
January 28th, 2009 at 2:56 am
Ironman195
Sorry, but the Atari 2600 Joystick (with ONE button) is way more recognizable than the NES pad. Maybe the tots won’t recognize it but anyone else of age should be able to.
January 28th, 2009 at 8:35 am
David Macphail
Sonic The Hedgehog and Crash Bandicoot should’ve made this list.
January 28th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Adam M
No Crash David sorry, it just hasn’t been around for so long like the others. It’s been around a fare amount of time, not enough to be an icon though.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Hung-Su
I suppose if I were to rewrite this, I could probably replace the NES controller with Sonic, as they both have legacy within the gaming community, not so much within the general population.
Atari logo definitely is not embedded in public consciousness like the others.
The Joystick was considered – it’s definitely more “distinctive” than the NES pad, but the NES pad redefined how we played games, and was also a far more popular controller on a more popular console. Few people kept the original Atari joystick to my knowledge, because it sucked.
Thanks Nick and Adam :]
January 28th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Nicholas
YES! Master Chief and Halo have been left out of a list for once – finally, they realise they are not that great and is not the best set of games of all time. I sould have guessed probably Sonic or the Mushroom to be on that list too, but those are some great selections. Finally, IGN has not pushed out another rubbish article!
January 28th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Eward
i disagree with Hung. Sonic Should have been on the list instead of the NES controller. In case you forgot there is also a Sonic cartoon. Ask anyone : blue Hedgehog? and they’ll know who you’re talking about. You actually could have added the Contra code to this list: up, up, down, down, L, R, L,R, select, start (it’s fun to play with a friend).
January 29th, 2009 at 7:56 am
Hung-Su
Nicholas: lol, I’m not sure if I should be flattered or confused to be compared to IGN…so I’ll pick flattered, thanks xD
Eward: Actually, you agree with me. Look a whole two comments above you. And contra code is an icon within the gaming community, not the public consciousness.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Eward
@ Hung-Su to be more clear I felt you should have had Sonic on the list, and i believe Sonic has a little bit more pull in the general community than other gaming icons because of the cartoons. You should have actually made the list just a tad longer, maybe 6 or 7 most recognizable gaming icons.
I should have said this before good article by the way
January 30th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
@ Edward
If this was a top 10 list, sonic would be on, but it isn’t.
Sonic does NOT have more pull than these 5 amongst non-gamers. My mom doesn’t know Sonic’s name off the top of her head, but she sure as hell knows what the rest of them are.
January 31st, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Adam M
Sonic is cool but I think the NES controller is something that anyone knows.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
JYamato
I kind of disagree with your T-shaped tetris block, usually the I shape is the more recognizable for me (only block you can get tetris with of course). maybe a joystick or something would be better for something.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Jill
Everyone saying X should have been on is forgetting the fact that the icons are supposed to be recognizable by everyone, young and old, gamer and non-gamer. This list has all those qualities. Sonic, Atari, etc. do not have those qualities. In fact, I don’t even know what image to associate with Atari. I’ve heard of it before but that’s about it.
February 16th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
DrBlindsy
Hm. I LOVE this list. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything I COULD disagree with. I might have chosen the “L” block for Tetris though haha, just because its my favorite block. Other then that, this list is the bee’s knees!
February 27th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Chris
Awesome list. Couldn’t agree more. 5 seems a bit on the short side for a list, but I can see where you run into the trouble of picking exactly what to put. Like, the Playstation logo would be recognizable, but I wouldn’t call it an icon. And hardly any non-gamers would even recognize the Atari logo anymore.
June 16th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Doubledown Tandino
2 I think should be on the list:
The Atari logo
and
The pong board
June 16th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
I2oi3
these would make for some good images/symbols to use on my blog! Thanks for compiling!
`Rob
http://www.mytextsecret.com
June 17th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
popurls.com // popular today
popurls.com // popular today…
story has entered the popular today section on popurls.com…
June 17th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
William
PacMan does NOT have an eye.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Alexis
“The (Atari) Joystick was considered – it’s definitely more “distinctive” than the NES pad, but the NES pad redefined how we played games, and was also a far more popular controller on a more popular console. Few people kept the original Atari joystick to my knowledge, because it sucked.”
– That is why it should be on the list. The list is not about the best, but the more recognizable.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
okay
this is retarded
June 17th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
umm
I’ve never heard of any of these characters.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Name Name
Nothing from the current decade?
June 17th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Bill Hartzer
I still have an NES controller (hooked up to my kids’ tv). We still like to play duck hunt on it.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Shrayas
Agreed !
June 17th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
id
What about the “Quake” symbol? I can even recount how many hours of my life were wasted playing Quake1/2/3.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Ripped off from “Getting Old Sucks”
When I was a kid, video games only cost a quarter! And all you were was a dot, who ate _other_ dots!
June 17th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Budo
You replace the NES Controller with the Atari 2600 joystick, and you have yourself a perfect list there.
June 17th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
DrSparc
I agree with the others that the Atari 2600 joystick is more of an icon than the NES controller.
June 18th, 2009 at 1:02 am
rahnyc4
good article. all of these are instantly recognizable. i would also list the original gameboy, but thats me. oh and the atari 2600 isnt a more iconic controller than the nes, so i disagree. if you showed the average person that atari controller, they wouldn’t even able to tell you what system it belong to. the nes is basically the most familiar video game controller there is.
June 18th, 2009 at 2:51 am
Sergio
I think I would have shifted the Space Invader to number 2, I believe it has a much greater iconic status than you give it.
June 18th, 2009 at 7:19 am
Hung-Su
Hi everyone, thank you for the comments.
Chris: Yes, I did feel that the article was a bit short at first, but I cannot honestly think of how the article would be “improved” or made more appealing by making it longer.
Doubledown Tandino: Atari logo is a flat no for reasons already discussed. The pong board is just a rectangle. You can’t show it to someone and expect them to think of games.
William: True, but the image was so simple, especially compared to Mario just before, that I didn’t feel that making it simpler would feel right.
Alexis: “Distinctive” is not the same as “recognisable”. I meant distinctive in the sense that if you put the 2600 joystick in a pile of other controllers, it would stick out. But the NES controller is burned in the memories of more people. It’s more “recognisable”.
umm: You are a rare specimen.
Name name: No, I don’t feel that any of the public gaming icons/mascots have burnt themselves into PUBLIC consciousness. Just about EVERYONE knows Mario and Pac Man. EVERYONE. Characters from this decade have burned themselves into the minds of current gamers, but not the general public on a worldwide scale.
Bill Hartzer: Please shoot the dog.
Shrayas: :]
id: I do love quake, and wasted most of my high school life playing quake 2 with eraser bot. But, it’s an icon only within the PC gaming community, not the worldwide general public.
Ripped off: I suddenly feel quite young. :]
Budo: Such a list is so subjective, it’s impossible to be perfect. :/
DrSparc: See my discussion above with Alexis.
rahnyc4: The gameboy was a tough one. I ended up settling for the NES, because the NES was a family device while the Gameboy lent itself to being the schoolkid’s plaything. That, and the NES controller is simpler and more punchy looking.
Sergio: Arguably, the Space Invader could be swapped with the Tetris block, but I don’t think I could move it ahead of Mario.
June 18th, 2009 at 8:11 am
tylor
IMO Sonic doesn’t deserve a place, but it’s odd to say he doesn’t have cult status anymore given the longevity of his comic book series and the fact that’s he’s starred in at least one cartoon series.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:32 am
tylor
Great article though : ).
June 18th, 2009 at 11:33 am
The 5 Most Recognisable Gaming Icons Ever « Relevant Editorial
[...] Written by Hung-Su [...]
June 18th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Ruben
I was wondering who could have beaten Mario, but after seeing the yellow chomper, I could only smile and agree. Great article. xD
June 20th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Hung-Su
tylor: You’re quite right, Sonic has plenty of cult status left. And he probably has plenty of iconic power left, so on recollect, he could probably have beaten the NES controller.
Ruben: Thanks a heap for that :] Appreciation is always appreciated xD
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:34 am
Roy
Great write up. Not too short or too long.
July 6th, 2009 at 12:29 am
Luke
Pong > Tetris block
July 24th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Chris Carter
Have your own top five?
http://gamerlimit.com/blogs
August 6th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
ice365
love the list but the t-block was a serpise you could of made it link or one of the other zelda people
January 3rd, 2010 at 10:08 pm