A study of almost 600 millennials revealed that some of the world's most famous video game characters are more recognizable than famous athletes and politicians.
Gamers can sometimes feel as though their interest is a niche one and that they are part of a small sect of society when it comes to their hobby. That couldn't be further from the truth, though. Look no further than the success of Detective Pikachu and the buzz surrounding next year's Sonic the Hedgehog for evidence that video games are very mainstream.
In fact, a recent study conducted by Casino.org revealed that some of the world's most famous video game characters are more popular and recognizable than you might think. Mario topped the chart with 92.3% of the 593 millennials shown his picture correctly identifying him. Pikachu came in second with 86.5%, and Pac-Man in a close third on 85.5%.
What is even more impressive about this research is how some of these characters stack up against prominent figures from other walks of life. Participants were also shown pictures of famous politicians, athletes, and musicians. Of everyone they were shown, Mario came in an impressive third place. Only Donald Trump and Martin Luther King Jr. were recognized by more people than the iconic plumber. Adolf Hitler and Cardi B, however, were further down the list.
Some of the video game characters recognized by more people than other famous faces were even more baffling/impressive. For example, 61.3% of the 593 millennials correctly identified LeBron James, arguably the most famous athlete on the planet. Meanwhile, 65.7% know who Kirby is. Clearly a lot of Smash fans were being surveyed for this one. Our favorite landslide win of all though is Donkey Kong over UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as 79.3% recognized the former, while only 53.1% knew the name of the latter.
It turns out that video games are a bigger part of society than many of us might realize, and have been for a while. Most of the characters who were the easiest to recognize for millennials are characters who have been around for decades, such as Sonic, Luigi, Lara Croft. When you need to scroll past no fewer than 12 different video game characters on the list before reaching the first athlete, it's safe to say us gamers aren't the ones with the niche interest after all.
Source: Casino.org