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[tkscz]

Not to mention all the shows that reference Mario and has been doing so since the 1980s to now. From the Simpsons, Muppet Babies, Tiny Toons, to Family Guy, Gumball Saturday Night Live, and the list goes on.

Lara was referenced a lot in the late 90s and early 2000s but faded from the majority of pop culture. I can see her being number 1 in England but outside the UK, I just don't see it.

 

[Gojiira]

yes yes merchandising blah blah blah…Completely missing the entire point that was made..

 

[tkscz]

yes yes merchandising blah blah blah…Completely missing the entire point that was made..

So, you are telling me that if you asked the average person to name a video game character, there would be more people who would name Lara Croft than name Mario OUTSIDE of Britain?

How is the character with the nick-name Mr. Video game not the most iconic character in video games? Mario is referenced more in general media than ANY other video game.

You say "It's a me Mario" and just about everyone would know what you're talking about, even if they never played a Mario game. What quote do you have from Lara Croft that people would know from the games?

 

[Gojiira]

So, you are telling me that if you asked the average person to name a video game character, there would be more people who would name Lara Croft than name Mario OUTSIDE of Britain?

How is the character with the nick-name Mr. Video game not the most iconic character in video games? Mario is referenced more in general media than ANY other video game.

You say "It's a me Mario" and just about everyone would know what you're talking about, even if they never played a Mario game. What quote do you have from Lara Croft that people would know from the games?

Fame and recognisability is not the only metric.
Doomguy is equally if not more iconic than Mario, Doom set the benchmark for a entire generation just like Mario did. Just like Lara did.
And again Lara was Iconic not just in Gaming, but in many other industries, she was the first character to truly reach outside of that singular demographic.
Just because the character is less relevant now doesnt diminish the impact said character had.
Im not gonna keep arguing with you though,you do you.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

This notion that Lara Croft is a mass cultural icon is weird... surely this is a byproduct of where some of you live.

Those movie adaptations barely made a stir and disappeared from consciousness immediately, even less cultural impact than any random forgotten summer popcorn flick of its decade.

Something like Pikachu has absolutely mass cultural impact... heck even Master Chief. I don't honestly believe Lara Croft would break into the top 20 or 30 in an accurate worldwide poll, possibly not top 50.

 

[tkscz]

Fame and recognisability is not the only metric.
Doomguy is equally if not more iconic than Mario, Doom set the benchmark for a entire generation just like Mario did. Just like Lara did.
And again Lara was Iconic not just in Gaming, but in many other industries, she was the first character to truly reach outside of that singular demographic.
Just because the character is less relevant now doesnt diminish the impact said character had.
Im not gonna keep arguing with you though,you do you.

But everything you said about Lara can be said about Mario to a higher degree. Mario had cartoons, books, and is referenced in many other media outside of video games. If you're in the UK I can understand but outside the UK Lara's biggest notoriety were films that made less than the 2023 Mario movie. She didn't have that big an impact here in the US. Her games didn't change how developers made games like Mario did with Super Mario Bros and Mario 64. Mario was part of the Japanese representation during the 2020 Olympics. How is that not outside of video games? Mario's movie made over a billion dollars, only reason it took so look is because how badly the first movie was handled and how it turned people off from it similar to the newest Tomb Raider movie.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Sackboy?!

 

[chromatic9]

This notion that Lara Croft is a mass cultural icon is weird... surely this is a byproduct of where some of you live.

Those movie adaptations barely made a stir and disappeared from consciousness immediately, even less cultural impact than any random forgotten summer popcorn flick of its decade.

Something like Pikachu has absolutely mass cultural impact... heck even Master Chief. I don't honestly believe Lara Croft would break into the top 20 or 30 in an accurate worldwide poll, possibly not top 50.

Yes, big impact in the US, not much anywhere else.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Yes, big impact in the US, not much anywhere else.

to be fair, when I said "even Master Chief" I meant him as a negative example, ie. "Croft has such low impact that I'd put her behind even Master Chief." I don't think of either of them as top-10 video game icons worldwide, and would regard any list featuring them as extremely dubious by definition.