Sony is investing 10 billion yen (£46.5 million) in a programme to develop new mascot characters for use across anime, films, and other intellectual property, as part of a broader strategy to strengthen its portfolio of recognisable characters. The initiative, reported by Japanese financial outlet Nikkei, is intended to create characters that can be leveraged across Sony's various businesses, not just PlayStation.
Sony's £47m mascot push
The investment, equivalent to approximately £47 million, marks a significant shift for Sony, which has largely stepped back from the mascot-driven approach that defined the 1990s gaming era. During that period, characters like Mario, Sonic, Lara Croft, and Crash Bandicoot became cultural icons, but by the end of the PlayStation 2 generation, Sony and Xbox had moved away from family-friendly mascot games.
According to the Nikkei report, Sony is looking to emulate the success of characters like Hello Kitty, which can be used in a wide variety of products and media without being tied to a single game or film. The report suggests Sony has established a 'dedicated team' and set up 'experiential facilities' to hold events and test new characters on the public.
Challenges in creating iconic characters
While Sony has existing characters such as Ratchet & Clank and Astro Bot, these have not achieved the same level of iconic status as Nintendo's or Capcom's rosters. Other older IPs like Sack Boy, the monkeys from Ape Escape, and Toro the PlayStation Cat (popular mainly in Japan) have also failed to break through globally.
Characters like Kratos are recognisable but not family-friendly, while Aloy and Nathan Drake are known to gamers but not necessarily to the wider public. This gap has left Sony at a disadvantage compared to competitors who can easily license characters for merchandise like lunchboxes and T-shirts.
Potential inspiration from past missteps
The initiative may have been partly inspired by Sony's handling of KPop Demon Hunters, a project produced by Sony Pictures that saw the film rights sold to Netflix due to a lack of confidence. Sony is reportedly keen to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
However, the success of characters like Hello Kitty is difficult to predict, and simply allocating funds does not guarantee a lasting impact. The programme's outcomes remain to be seen, but it signals a renewed focus on character-driven IP that could influence future PlayStation and Sony projects.
