Video Game Tattoos
Geek culture has gone mainstream. It isn’t hard to remember a time when video gamers and computer users were a small group of socially awkward guys who never got prom dates. These days, video games are just another form of entertainment, and computers are ubiquitous, so it is no surprise at all that geek tattoos are becoming more and more commonplace.
A quick stroll through BMEINK.com’s Geek Tattoos section shows that there are plenty of video game tattoos around, although some characters and games are far more popular than others. Mario and his cast of friends are easily the most prominent video game tattoos on the site, while other classics like Pac Man enjoy some love there as well. Fan favorites like The Legend of Zelda are everywhere, with Triforce tattoos being the most popular theme from that game. Even newer games like Halo seem to have a strong following among the tattooed.
Are video game tattoos just another trend? Or are video games so mainstream now that tattoos were certain to follow?
Mario is a very popular candidate for video games tattoos. The Mario Brothers franchise has been successful across multiple platforms since Mario made his appearance as Jump Man in the arcade version of Donkey Kong in 1981. That means that anyone under age 35 grew up with one Mario video game or another - it’s no wonder that Mario tattoos are among the most common geek tattoos.
Like Mario, Pac Man is another very recognizable character. Although the Pac Man franchise is, for all intents and purposes, pretty darn dead, you’d be hard pressed to name a more merchandised video game in the early 1980s.
While Mario and Pac Man have stood the test of time and are very recognizable characters, the extreme success of a more modern game - Bungie’s Halo and its successors - has prompted some Halo fans to get tattoos of the characters or logos from the game.
Will Halo enjoy Mario’s longevity or Pac Man’s recognizability? Only time will tell, but that is a risk that anyone takes when they get pop culture related ink.
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July 10th, 2009 at 10:19 am
There is obviously a lot to know about this. I think you made some good points in Features also.