Platform: Sega Pico
subdirectory_arrow_right Smart Alex and Smart Alice: Curious Kids (Game)
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The Sega Pico has a variety of different mascots depending on territory:
• In Japan, the Sega Pico had a set of two mascots, who were originally hand-drawn, but changed to a CGI style upon the hardware's rebranding to the "Kids Communication Pico". These characters would appear in the opening titles for every Japanese Pico release and are not known to have appeared in any commercials.
• In Western territories, the Sega Pico used a mascot known as "Smart Alex", originating from the game Smart Alex & Smart Alice: Curious Kids. Box arts for Pico games in regions such as the UK and France would feature Smart Alex regardless of if he actually appeared in the game, he appeared in animated commercials for the hardware, and he had a mascot costume made for the 1995 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Smart Alex is the only Pico mascot to have appeared in his own game.
• In Korea, where the hardware was distributed by Samsung, it used a star-shaped animal character. The character would continue to be used for the Samsung Thinko, a Pico successor made without Sega's involvement, independent of its Japanese follow-up, the Advanced Pico Beena.
• In Japan, the Sega Pico had a set of two mascots, who were originally hand-drawn, but changed to a CGI style upon the hardware's rebranding to the "Kids Communication Pico". These characters would appear in the opening titles for every Japanese Pico release and are not known to have appeared in any commercials.
• In Western territories, the Sega Pico used a mascot known as "Smart Alex", originating from the game Smart Alex & Smart Alice: Curious Kids. Box arts for Pico games in regions such as the UK and France would feature Smart Alex regardless of if he actually appeared in the game, he appeared in animated commercials for the hardware, and he had a mascot costume made for the 1995 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Smart Alex is the only Pico mascot to have appeared in his own game.
• In Korea, where the hardware was distributed by Samsung, it used a star-shaped animal character. The character would continue to be used for the Samsung Thinko, a Pico successor made without Sega's involvement, independent of its Japanese follow-up, the Advanced Pico Beena.
Smart Alex at Macy's:
https://youtu.be/QhXBi-o0xVQ?si=ikEcsnaU_Xqzfz5-&t=5874
Smart Alex commercial:
https://youtu.be/ArVuY33S0jg?si=9GGgc2F-xyrK6VDq
UK and French box art scans:
https://segaretro.org/Category:Pico_UK_box_scans
https://segaretro.org/Category:Pico_FR_box_scans
Korean Pico commercial:
https://youtu.be/ag58ZZ04hxA?si=DLZC-msz74WL8Ydd
Thinko commercial with Korean Pico mascot:
https://youtu.be/hd7jZVTaH-w?si=yW38ZkgF1RhRFQm8
Early JP Pico logo:
https://youtu.be/b7cqWyhezTM?si=X6bheyl5C5zuOfJT
Later JP Pico logo:
https://youtu.be/9jc3Xn2WGrI?si=QC-fmzVODJuBZ6vs
https://youtu.be/QhXBi-o0xVQ?si=ikEcsnaU_Xqzfz5-&t=5874
Smart Alex commercial:
https://youtu.be/ArVuY33S0jg?si=9GGgc2F-xyrK6VDq
UK and French box art scans:
https://segaretro.org/Category:Pico_UK_box_scans
https://segaretro.org/Category:Pico_FR_box_scans
Korean Pico commercial:
https://youtu.be/ag58ZZ04hxA?si=DLZC-msz74WL8Ydd
Thinko commercial with Korean Pico mascot:
https://youtu.be/hd7jZVTaH-w?si=yW38ZkgF1RhRFQm8
Early JP Pico logo:
https://youtu.be/b7cqWyhezTM?si=X6bheyl5C5zuOfJT
Later JP Pico logo:
https://youtu.be/9jc3Xn2WGrI?si=QC-fmzVODJuBZ6vs
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Despite being aimed at preschool-aged children and their parents, the Sega Pico was marketed in the US in a similar edgy fashion to Sega's products for older audiences, particularly with a commercial titled "Sponge", which opens with loud rock music and features intense camera cuts, mild slapstick, and most unexpectedly, a joke where the Sega Pico is shown as a heavenly device protecting a child from a drag pageant reality show titled "Middle-Aged Men Who Want to Be Teenage Girls".
Additionally, while much tamer and inoffensive, the animated commercials featuring the Pico's mascot, Smart Alex, featured the loud and in-your-face "Sega Scream".
Additionally, while much tamer and inoffensive, the animated commercials featuring the Pico's mascot, Smart Alex, featured the loud and in-your-face "Sega Scream".
Sega Pico "Sponge" commercial:
https://youtu.be/0KbmVNMTe3c
Sega Pico Smart Alex commercial:
https://youtu.be/ArVuY33S0jg
https://youtu.be/0KbmVNMTe3c
Sega Pico Smart Alex commercial:
https://youtu.be/ArVuY33S0jg
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In 2001, the Sega Pico was rebranded as the "Kids Communication Pico", and along with it a universal logo was introduced to begin all future games. This logo itself has a selection of unused content - most notably, an 8-bit rendition of Smooth Criminal by Micheal Jackson. Despite the Sega Pico sharing a sound chip with the Sega Master System, this is a new rendition and not the version from the Master System version of Moonwalker.
subdirectory_arrow_right Tails and the Music Maker (Game)
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On the OverClocked Remix website, the remix "Picolescence", based on Tails & The Music Maker, was created by user zircon in response to a tweet from Sega's official Twitter account jokingly calling out the site for not having any Sega Pico-related remixes.
Picolescence:
https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02176
Sega tweet:
http://twitter.com/SEGA/status/30569074446565376
https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02176
Sega tweet:
http://twitter.com/SEGA/status/30569074446565376