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 some Nintendo mainstays. There are thousands of recognizable video game characters such as Link, Mario, and Pikachu from Nintendo alone, 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.
When Pac-Man was 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 the battle between Mario and Sonic was 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.
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, with Capcom's Mega Man lagging 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 is Spyro the Dragon with 55.9% approval.
Included in the population of the most-liked characters from around the world are Crash Bandicoot, Rayman, and Assassin'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 from Prince of Persia, a character that is equally hated by Bangladesh which prefers the Pokemon mascot 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 that Sonic the Hedgehog is among the most popular franchises in the world, but the titular hero isn't even mentioned on either character lists. Though Nintendo's Luigi is 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.
Source: Liberty Games