Hanks. Nicholson. Streep. You need to open a film, you bring in the bigwigs. Silver screen A-listers determine the tone and timbre of the Hollywood heartbeat, selling more overpriced buckets of popcorn than the entire Redenbacher clan. One DeNiro is worth, like, twenty Jason Schwartzmanns. The same goes for video games. While we all clamor for more original products and new franchises, it's important to honor the select few that, at the end of the day, truly make the virtual world go round. We tip our caps to these groundbreaking characters; without them, we'd all still be named "Player 1."
Mario
He's the captain of the football team, the lovable older brother and the feared CEO wrapped up in one chubby little package. Exactly how popular is Nintendo's favorite son? That's hard to quantify, but a study conducted in 1990 by Marketing Evaluations found that the plump plumber was more recognizable to kids than - wait for it - Mickey "I Used to Run This Town" Mouse. Heck, he's been the unofficial president of the video game industry for so long, his reign can almost be considered a dictatorship. But a nice one, for sure.
Believe it or not: Mario wears a hat because designer Shigeru Miyamoto had a hard time drawing hair.
Solid Snake
Based not-so-loosely on Escape from New York's gruff protagonist Snake Plissken, the Metal Gear mercenary has saved the world from giant mechanical nukes so many times, he deserves a lifetime Caribbean vacation package. Though his career began as a lowly rookie member of the special-forces unit FOXHOUND, his stunning turn in Metal Gear Solid for the Playstation turned him into an enigmatic action star. And with the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4, the elderly soldier will battle both conventional enemies and video game ageism by tackling obstacles as a gray-haired retiree.
Believe it or not: If you see him on the street, call him by his real first name - David.
Sonic the Hedgehog
When upstart Sega decided to challenge Nintendo's console dominance at the end of the 1980s, gamers scoffed. Sure, the Sega Genesis was a cool rig, but it had no character, no pizzazz. In a word, no Mario. So Sega did what any enterprising company would do - they drew up their own mascot, one that was bigger, stronger and faster. A lot faster. Sonic roared into our homes and completely changed the way we looked at platforming games, turning Mario's mellow coin collecting into a frantic dash for gold rings. Though his popularity has waned over the years, we tip our hat to the first mascot who had the cajones to run against Nintendo. (Interestingly, he'll be running with the company in a few weeks.)
Believe it or not: In his short-lived animated show on ABC in the mid-90's, Sonic was voiced by none other than Jaleel "Urkel" White.
Master Chief
Got some Covenant in your closet? Then call Master Chief, the world's foremost authority on alien extermination. A man of few words, the silent giant is THE video game star of the new millennium. Enjoying more product endorsements than half of the NBA, Halo's hero is a money-making machine, helping save the underprivileged brass at Microsoft from the poor house by raking in enough money to actually scare normally unflappable film execs. Now that's a player.
Believe it or not: In full armor, Master Chief stands seven feet tall and weighs a whopping one thousand pounds.
Lara Croft
What can we say? She's the Angelina Jolie of video games. The worldly action heroine gives the image of the uptight, stuffy British noblewoman a black eye, routinely risking life and limb to secure lost treasures locked away in ancient ruins, steam liners, mansions, jungles, and of course, tombs. A star among stars, she's been portrayed by no less than nine famous models, voiced by Minnie Driver, and even shared the stage with Bono during U2's PoPMart tour in the late '90s. Not too shabby for a cold-blooded killer.
Believe it or not: Lara is in the Guinness Book of World Records as "the most successful human video game heroine."
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