With how far back the gaming industry goes, there are countless iconic characters, and a recent study has revealed every country’s most loved and hated video game characters which includes someNintendomainstays. There are thousands of recognizable video game characters such as Link, Mario, and Pikachu fromNintendoalone, Pac-Man from Namco, and many more, but this fresh study could shine a light on where the characters stand in each region of the world.
WhenPac-Manwas initially released in 1980, it was among a short list of video game characters that gamers from around the world would come to know and love over the decades since. More iconic characters have been added to this growing list since the 1980s, with Nintendo kicking off a massive portion of the contributions through offerings across its many consoles that remain popular today. Because of how widespread thebattle between Mario and Sonicwas in the 1990s, gamers may expect to see those familiar faces, but they may not anticipate the most-hated and most-loved characters from around the globe.
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According to a study done by Liberty Games with the assistance of HuggingFace and AI tools, the most-loved video game character from around the world is Nintendo’s Mario, withCapcom’s Mega Manlagging only 0.1% behind him. As for the most-hated character in gaming, Mario’s brother Luigi has been given that honor, while Kirby and Pikachu round out the Nintendo bottom three, and Kratos is a clear contender on the PlayStation side of things. With how many Nintendo character fall on the most hated and loved lists, it may not be a surprise to see the Nintendo Switch mentioned as the top console around the world, while the number one franchise isSpyro the Dragonwith 55.9% approval.
Included in the population of the most-liked characters from around the world are Crash Bandicoot, Rayman, andAssassin’s Creed’s Ezio, while the honorable mentions of the hated segment are Geralt of Rivia, Duke Nukem, and Tom Nook who is the most hated in Canada and the US. Turkey seems to really like the Prince fromPrince of Persia, a character that is equally hated by Bangladesh which prefers thePokemonmascot Pikachu, and Turkey directs its negativity toward Rockstar Games hero Max Payne. Although there are fewer known heroes like this in the Liberty Games study, the maps of countries are almost entirely flooded with Nintendo characters, highlighting the company’s staying power through the years.
One of the peculiar aspects of the study is thatSonic the Hedgehogis among the most popular franchises in the world, but the titular hero isn’t even mentioned on either character lists. ThoughNintendo’s Luigiis the most-hated character from around the world, he remains the most beloved in countries like Chile, Morocco, Poland, and Kenya, while Mario is hated in Cameroon alone.
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