Gaming News 25 years ago, this video game, which was nothing more than a huge advertisement, went down in PlayStation history. It is now free to play
Advertising has been streaming onto our game consoles for several years. Whether it’s an inclusion on our user interfaces or product placement in our latest “AAA” like Monster Energy Drinks in Death Stranding, the ads are there. However, some major brands have even gone so far as to create actual video games in their honor. In the 1990s, the junk food and soda giants were desperate to get us to eat snakes. And the Pepsi-KID duo released a track on March 4, 1999 that strangely made history.
Summary
- Culture pub
- You have to drink it to believe it
- The wind at your back
Culture pub
The intrusion of advertising into our video games is not new. Since the early 1990s, brands have been investing in this virtual playground loved by children and teenagers around the world to better integrate products they find in local stores into their little brains. It is therefore not surprising to find advertising for sweets, drinks or even junk food in certain video games of the time, even if this would not seem very moral..
In 1990, Domino’s launched its pizzas in the game Yo! prevailed. Noid, which is actually an adaptation of a Japanese game called Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru with pepperoni added everywhere. Two years later, Chupa Chups lollipops appeared in the game Zool, while McDonald teamed up with Virgin Interactive to bring the big yellow “M” to the circuitry of Nintendo consoles with McDonaldLand and SEGA’s Global Gladiators. Although they differ in what they offer, the two titles have one thing in common: they require you to recover the McDonald’s logos hidden throughout the levels in order to progress from one level to the next. You understand the hidden message, don’t you? In 1993, the hamburger-selling clown attacked the Mega Drive with McDonald’s Treasure Land Adventure, software developed by the talented team at Treasure, a legendary video game studio known for gems like Radiant, Silvergun or even Ikaruga. This Ronald isn’t kidding!
As you can imagine, other junk food giants later jumped into the breach. In 2000, Taco Bell would release Tasty Temple Challenge, a first-person 3D game in which the player faces scorpions that use hot sauce while consuming Taco Bell dishes to regain health. As for Burger King, it will serve the Xbox/Xbox 360 in 2006 and will ask players to infiltrate various locations to deliver Burger King meals to hungry people. The giants of savory and sweet confectionery are not neglected with Cheetos, Smarties or even M&M’s video games.
You have to drink it to believe it
What about the big soda brands? Well, they too are riding the syrupy wave of video ad games! In 1993, the famous lemon-flavored soft drink 7-Up did its best to remind little darlings around the world of its logo. In fact, Spot, the hero of the platform game Cool Spot, is none other than the small red dot that serves as the logo for the brand’s bottles. The American drink is also clearly visible in the title screen of the software, at least in the non-European versions. The game will have a sequel titled Spot Goes to Hollywood on Mega Drive, PlayStation and Saturn.
The war between Pepsi and Coca Cola, which was at its peak in the media at the time, could only be exported to this new playing field discovered by large industrial groups. The targeted consumers – young people – are no longer letting go of their controllers: video games are gaining market share and everyone wants their piece of the cake (sweet and fat). In 1994, Coca Cola first released its official software with Coca Cola Kid, a platform game published by SEGA for Game Gear and available exclusively in Japan. The eternal rival’s answer comes five years later on the console that (almost) all gamers own. In 1999, Pepsi catapulted its hero Pepsi Man onto the first PlayStation. Developed by KID, the title allows you to embody the mascot of the famous soda brand to travel through a city looking for residents who you can save by delivering them… bottles of Pepsi, of course!
The wind at your back
Also released exclusively in Japan, Pepsiman takes the form of a runner, with the Pepsi mascot racing at full speed through the streets of a busy city in search of Pepsi cans and Pepsi dispensers. With a camera on the back of a hero who automatically moves forward, the player must avoid the numerous obstacles that stand in his way (by running, sprinting, jumping and super jumping). At certain times, events alter gameplay to vary the delights over the course of the (short) epic.
The adventure is punctuated by FMV cutscenes that are more crazy than truly humorous, in which we see a man in a t-shirt/shorts/hat (played by Mike Butters) drinking Pepsi in front of his television and reciting the brand’s slogans . Because why not? Rated 25/40 by Famitsu, KID’s software is regularly described as a small arcade game that is played quickly and quickly forgotten. “It’s fun and unpretentious, especially for 140 balls. But it’s an outright scam with 300 more balls in a French import store“, concludes Joypad after receiving a rating of 2/10. “If you have a taste for the unusual or just want a little addictive game to pass the time, call your local import store and ask for Pepsiman. If they don’t think it’s a joke and hang up, you’re probably in luck“S’amuse IGN.
Normally everyone should have forgotten about Pepsiman, but the path this fun game has taken is definitely full of surprises. As strange as it may seem, over time both the players and the press rehabilitate him. In 2011, Destructoid caused”a wonderfully twisted and enchanting spectacle“, explains his “pure foil” as an irresistible point. In the forums, players repeatedly repeat that the product is incredibly beautiful for a vulgar interactive display.
We don’t dare to write that it has become a classic of Sony’s 32-bit range, but the absurdity of its scenario and the effectiveness of its gameplay for a production that was supposed to be just a huge advertisement make it quite one special game. Looking back, we can even see Pepsiman as a precursor to Runners, the genre that arrived on smartphones in 2011 with games like Temple Run and Agent Dash. If you want to form your own opinion, you should know that instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a copy, you can get a version playable directly in the browser at Archive.org. The joy of running away is yours, with a huge can on your back! A few days late, happy 25th birthday, Pepsiman.
