Not really.  Sega has a top five (maybe higher) iconic mascot in Sonic and it didn't prevent their demise in the console business.  People like what they know.  Playstation is in its 25th year, they have enough good will and consistency to earn the trust of buyers everywhere.  They don't need a mascot.

When this generation is all said and done; this .gif sums it up quite well.

When I start thinking about it, Nintendo has these old as hell IPs in Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon. But at the end of the day it has been their handheld consoles(most kids have/had a DS/gameboy in the USA) with their kid friendly games and variety that has kept them afloat. Nintendo 64 did horribly compared to ps1, Gamecube did horribly compared to PS2, The wii was the one exception which crushed PS3(but it had nothing to do with the games/IPs), The WiiU was one of the worst selling consoles of all time and was crushed by the PS4. Now they are back to trying with the switch, a handheld hybrid which is doing very well, and we will see how it compares to Sony's next console.

Overall it seems to me that their parents loved handhelds along with the massive income they get from the toys and merchandising from these IPs are much more important than the income from the home console games themselves. I don't know how Sony could ever compete in that department with Nintendo, they are so far behind that they are not even comparable. Nintendo's kid friendly image has been their biggest blessing and has allowed them to become a gaming behemoth even with all their failures.

I think Nintendo would be shooting themselves in the foot by not releasing another handheld targeting the younger audience. The current Switch is simply too bulky I feel, but who knows.

You're right and he's wrong. It's the same thing as you desribed here in Europe, nobody knows the characters he named except Pikachu and Mario. And it's the same all around the world. Only people who own a Nintendo console or are familiar with Nintendo know the other. I guess that he owns a Nintendo console and most of his friends own one too so he grew up in an environment with these characters. It's difficult for him to realize that the others are not popular among casual people.

Nintendo would shoot themselves in the foot if they released another handheld that's not part of Switch platform, but Nintendo will most likly in any case release smaller and cheaper Switch that will be aimed primarily to kids.

Coming from person that said Sackboy, Aloy, Cole MacGrath are popular characters, dont put too much faith and sense in your post. :D

I own PS1, PS2, PSP and PS4 when we talk about PS consoles. Hole gaming market knows about all characters that I mentioned and actualy plenty of people outside gaming because you have merchandise, toys, even Nintendo characters toys in Happy Meals, but same cant be said for characters that you mentioned.

No, it's difficult for you to realise that Nintendo characters and IPs can be more popular than Sonys, in recent time you had too many salty posts regardless Nintendo and Switch and how time is passing you will have more and more of them. :)

User Warned By ~PwerlvlAmy

No, you are the one wrong. Nintendo is not only about Pikachu and Mario.

What about Zelda? Geez, Nintendo 64 sold a lot less than the first Playstation and even so people acknowledges Ocarina of Time as one of the best games ever made. A Link to the past, the original Zelda, etc.

What about Metroid? The Game Cube was totally overshadowed by the Playstation 2 and yet, what is the most acclaimed First Person Shooter that gen? Metroid Prime. What about Super Metroid?

Well, judging by your history on VG Chartz, it's clear that you don't like Nintendo. But please, try to be a bit more reasonable.

Also, respect other people's opinion.

This LOL

MS fucked up. sony capitalized.

I never said that the Playstation icons are more popular than the Nintendo icons. I said that some Playstation icons are just as popular as Yoshi, Kirby, Toad, Peach or Bowser and that Sony has more of them. Then I listed a few Playstation examples. I also said that Pikachu and Mario are the only Nintendo icons that are way more popular than the Playstation one's and that Playstation doesn't have icons that are on the same level as them. And this is only the case because Nintendo milked the sh*t out of these franchises for decades. On the other hand Sony has made new IP's in every new generation. Just look at Naughty Dog or Insomniac Games for example. On PS1 they did Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, on PS2 they did Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank, on PS3 they did Uncharted and Resistance and on PS4 they do The Last of Us and Spiderman. Such a diversity doesn't exist in Nintendo games, Nintendo always uses the same characters console after console. If Sony had used Crash Bandicoot as a mascot since PS1 for all consoles he would have been way more popular than he is today. Maybe even at Mario level, who knows? The biggest Playstation icon today is without a doubt Kratos and guess what? He's one of the oldest Playstation icons who is still used today. Started on the PS2 and still has games with him on PS4. If Sony continue with God of War he will become more and more popular with the time. Basically the same thing with Pikachu and Mario. Maybe we will see him one day as a character toy in Happy Meals (which is btw a really stupid argument to use for something's popularity). If you really own all these Playstations consoles it really surprises me that you have never heard of these Playstation icons. LittleBigPlanet has avery popular game on PSP and there is also LittleBigPlanet 3 on PS4. Horizon was a huge blackbuster game on PS4 and it is only one year old. InFamous should also be known by a person who owns so many Playstation platforms. Someone with 4 Playstation platforms should have a little bit more knowledge about Playstation exclusives. I guess you don't play very often on them but why bother and buy 4 Playstation consoles then? 

Ocarina of Time is claimed to be the best game ever mostly by Nintendo fans.

Metroid is not a very popular series among casual people and who defined it as the most acclaimed First Person Shooter that gen? This is mostly said by Nintendo fans. Even if this was true during PS2/Gamecube era First Person Shooter weren't that popular and they were not many of them. The big FIrst Party Shooter rise began during PS3/X360 era with Modern Warfare 1.

Where is the problem if I tell my honest opinion about Nintendo and their games? As long as I don't attack anyone or anything it should be fine to express how I feel about the company. As long as someone can explain his view in a reasonable way it should be no problem for him/her to express his/her opinion. And I really would like to know where I was not reasonable with my posts in this thread?