The mascot became a prominent marketing tool for video game companies in the early '90s. Both Nintendo and Sega had great family-friendly, successful franchises at the same time in Mario and Sonic, respectively, and their eponymous protagonists became the de-facto faces of each company. Even the local arcade could use the recognizable face of Pac-Man in its advertising materials. Of course, the next big console to hit the market during this time was the first PlayStation.