R0ger Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Well certainly Atari has very iconic logo, and so does Commodore. I think mascots are simply Japanese thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Rockford? Hans Kloss? Brenda the Brat? Mama Roo? Some random Zylons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yautja Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) 18 hours ago, ilmenit said: Nintendo has Mario, Sega has Sonic. Who would be for you the most iconic Atari character? Rockford from "Boulder Dash" is very multiplatform, the same with Panama Joe from "Montezuma's Revenge" (this character is even trademarked). Pitfall Harry? Robbo? Anonymous guy from Zybex? ? Zybex´s characters are named Rinser and Cassalana. Edited January 3, 2020 by Yautja Grammar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yautja Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 The most iconic should be Pac-Man for all Atari plataforms (video consoles, arcade and home computers). Also come to my mind: Frognum from Draconus. Jolly Jack from Black Lamp. Henry from Henry's House. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 The square dot from Pong. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 The Duck... I mean Dragon from adventure 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twh/f2 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 To me this would be Bentley Bear. At least it could have been the iconic and friendly character if Atari only had some professional marketings guys in their late days. https://wreckitralph.fandom.com/wiki/Bentley_Bear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwilove Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Bounty Bob would be a candidate - as he appeared on the Atari hardware first - via Miner 2049'er. I could reimagine he being used in a new platformer game - if he gets loads more animation frames used in which more varied jumps are possible... But the Paperboy coin-op artwork came to mind also - since it's one of the games that stood out in the mid-80s' that was a unique Atari game. No such conversion has appeared on this old Atari hardware - I think because it's so hard to get it looking any good. But if anyone wants a real challenge to take on - this would be one. There was nothing special about the gameplay but I guess it's a scenario that looked well implemented in terms of game design. It would be a real challenge to design graphics for - but possibly some unique graphic style could be worked out that looks effective. Harvey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam1977 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 The most iconic Atari character for me is Mr. Atari himself, the pipe smoking, hot tubbing Nolan Bushnell 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 10 hours ago, ZuluGula said: The square dot from Pong. I'd argue the square from Adventure is more iconic! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Atari could have several potential iconic mascot characters. - A spaceship shooting an asteroid, with pew-pew-pew sounds. - the Centipede. - Bentley Bear. picking up gems. - the Adventure square holding his “arrow sword” against the duck dragon. - pong or breakout paddles hitting the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrentropy Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Bentley Bear would be my pick, and would work well as an animated Saturday morning TV show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I have to go with Bentley Bear as well. He was on the 2600(And 5200?) and A8 computers in Crystal Castles, has a "new" home-brew game on the 7800 and was the main iconic character in Atari Jaguar's Mario Kart clone Atari Karts. He was the character most spread around (which isn't much) in different games on different Atari platforms, even post Atari Inc./Corp. like Nintendo did with Mario(to a much greater extent). He even made the Atari wall posters that came in some Atari games/systems boxes with the art on one side and ads, comic strip or instructions on the other. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 On 1/2/2020 at 1:41 PM, Rybags said: That was one of Atari's problems without them realising it. Despite practically inventing the industry they never really had an iconic character on any platform including arcades. Also "platform" is the operative word there too. Most of Mario's and the Kong's early appearances were in platformers or scroll/jump/collect games which were an evolution of platformers. Sonic from Sega, scroll/jump game. Crash Bandicoot was probably Sony's icon - 3D jump/collect game. Microsoft? Maybe the Halo characters? Atari? Not that many games even used recognisable living characters. Centipede - unclear WTH that thing's supposed to be - a snake head maybe? The dude from 720? Too late to become an icon and too minor, plus that game wasn't ported to many Atari home systems. At least a few of the systems had their killer apps - Star Raiders on the 800, Space Invaders on the 2600. But I can't really name any for 7800, Lynx or Jaguar. They created the Oliver The Elf character (and spark firing magic wand) for home versions of Centipede, but never seemed to do anything with the character afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 The fact that we have to think hard about this is telling -- the most memorable things of the Atari original games were not characters, but things and objects. Remember the surreal Halloween costume? Quirky characters were from other companies, and well known corporate mascots for video games didn't come til later. Too bad for Atari that Coleco scooped up Donkey Kong. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
José Pereira Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Just now, Lost Dragon said: Oliver The Elf character Who, Atari? Don't know who is, can you show? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, José Pereira said: Who, Atari? Don't know who is, can you show? This. https://atariage.com/comics/comic_thumbs.php?MagazineID=44 not "iconic" IMHO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Flojomojo said: This. https://atariage.com/comics/comic_thumbs.php?MagazineID=44 not "iconic" IMHO. I agree. That actually is quite telling of the lack of Atari icon characters; they dug deep for Centipede as a comic character. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Flojomojo said: This. https://atariage.com/comics/comic_thumbs.php?MagazineID=44 not "iconic" IMHO. Anything but Iconic, but my understanding is the character and backstory for home versions, was created purely to give the game more commercial appeal when it came to selling Centipede across all those formats. I'm more used to seeing him appear as: https://images.app.goo.gl/g8J7Bp812QrgezveA He wasn't even kept for Millipede, instead your simply controlling The Archer: https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=683&image=2 Edited January 3, 2020 by Lost Dragon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poison Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Draconus. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 12 minutes ago, Poison said: Draconus. Also the original name of Menace on the Amiga.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emkay Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 If Rockford isn't the main iconic character, there is just one other : That imaginary guy that was playing in the games, that protagonist without a face who flew the ships in Rescue on Fractalus, Koronis Rift, Starraider , Starraider 2 , and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 The problem with Rockford, Bounty Bob, Pac Man, etc is that they aren't Atari-owned characters And things like Centipede, Asteroids/Spaceship, Combat Tank, are things, not really characters becuase they don't exhibit much personality. That's why I think the only Atari-owned character from that era that fits the bill is "Bentley Bear" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magmavision2000 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Big Cheese, Atari's only true mascot: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Rockford in reality probably is the most recognisable Atari (originating system) character. Problem is, like so many Atari originals he'd be more identifiable by most people as a C64 character. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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