The culture surrounding video games has often led to strange tie-ins, partnerships, and merchandise. Things like Mountain Dew’s Gamer Fuel or Burger King’s series of Xbox 360 games make it obvious that brands aren’t scared to swing for the fences when it comes to marketing to gamers.
This mentality has led to a notable amount of questionable merchandising choices. Sometimes trying too hard to fit the games, and other times just missing the mark completely, these ten pieces of video game merchandise are strange and should never have existed.
10 Resident Evil Cologne
Capcom seems committed to using the popular zombie franchise Resident Evil to sell toiletries. Back when Resident Evil 4 was released, they sold aftershave, then, this time around, they are opting for cologne.
Named after the T-virus, the same serum that typically causes the monstrous outbreaks in the game series, this cologne was released alongside a spray-on deodorant designed to look like the first aid spray players use to heal themselves in the games, which is just marginally more acceptable.
9 Resident Evil 4’s Chainsaw Controller
Speaking of Resident Evil 4’s bad merchandise choices, there was this controller. Admittedly cool looking, the controller seems like the best special edition merch ever… until you try to use it.
The design makes it almost unusable, with the configuration being so off and spaced so oddly that any fast-paced games are immediately out. Ironically, the controller especially doesn’t work for Resident Evil 4.
8 Nintendo Cereal
Nintendo was so popular in the late 80s and early 90s that they could basically market their characters into anything. There were already Saturday morning cartoons featuring Nintendo characters, so it only made sense to give kids some cereal to match.
Taking any part of an interactive genre like video games and making any kind of snack or food from it always ends up looking goofy in retrospect, and this cereal is no exception.
7 Call Of Duty Jeep Wrangler
We know that this one was the big prize in a competition, but it still shouldn’t exist. Sporting your fandom of anything is a bold endeavor, as you are likely to draw eyes, but this goes far beyond wearing your favorite Master Chief backpack.
Having Call of Dutyfront and center every time you leave your home to go anywhere has to get old. Getting groceries, picking up your kids from school, heading to a funeral service—oh well, better jump in the Call of Dutyjeep.
6 Yoshi bikini
This is a tough one to unpack. It is inherently a mistake to put the adorable dinosaur from the Mario franchise onto a bikini is a horrible choice, then you have the fact that it was done by two separate outlets in two different designs.
The choice is yours, picking between either a bikini where three small Yoshis look very smug about being attached to you or the other one where Yoshi has been mutilated by being split between the two pieces.
5 Mario Kicking Koopa Trophy
There are a lot of Mario trophy figures from the 80s portraying the character in a cool moment from the games. This trophy, however, raises a lot of questions. Does Mario kick his enemies? Is he actually just using typical physical combat to beat up the wildlife he battles in his game?
Then, more than that, how much does Mario hate these guys? The general portrayal of Mario would lead you to believe he is a fun-loving, kind man that is simply called to action, bringing whimsy with every jump. This trophy shows a very angry man, taking his anger out on a victimized turtle that appears to be in far more pain than ever implied by the games.
4 Pac-Man Energy Drink
Gaming is hard work. It’s tough to eat every pellet on the stage while being chased by spooky ghosts without expending all your energy in the process. That’s where Pac-Man has you covered.
These officially licensed energy drinks feature everyone’s favorite yellow-limbed ball creature right on the can. Can this energy drink be used to get energy for other games like Call of Duty? Nope, sorry, you’ll need Mountain Dew and Doritos for that.
3 Sonic The Hedgehog Costume
Look, we get it, we all secretly want to be Sonic, the hedgehog that claims he’s “gotta go fast.” This just isn’t the way. This costume covers pretty much everything except for the wearer’s face.
The image of Sonic with a human face can never be erased. That’s just there now, taking up vital space in your brain. It’s a horrifically funny attempt at a Sonic costume, and, while a latex mask probably wouldn’t fare much better, putting a child into this should be a crime.
2 Angry Birds Bra
If this one seems logical to any extent, just keep staring at it until it doesn’t. At one point not all that long ago, Angry Birds was one of the most popular games in existence, having a massive effect on pop culture. Angry Birds slippers? Check. Sequels set in the Star Wars universe? Okay. Even a feature film? Sure!
However, there is a place where we put my feet down, and it is this bra. No one loves those emotionally distraught birds enough to want to have them this close at all hours of the day.
1 Pokemon Popsicles
Let us be clear, Pokemon popsicles are a fine idea, and, if handled even remotely well, they would never earn a place on this list, but that is not the case here. Look at the disfigured Pikachu, and just keep looking at it for a while.
It is hilarious, then scary, then hilarious again, with a brief moment in the middle where it feels like it is looking back at you, staring into your soul. These popsicles are actually infamous for the terrible portrayals they brought to our favorite pokémon.
NEXT: The 10 Worst SNES Games Of All Time
