- Pac-Man is Edinburgh’s favourite video game character, being Googled more than any other over the past five years at 2,900 times a month on average in Edinburgh.
- Sonic the Hedgehog and Pikachu rank second and third respectively.
New research has revealed Edinburgh’s favourite video game characters, with Pac-Man taking the top spot.
The study conducted by Casino Bonus analysed Google search data from the past five years, across Edinburgh, to determine which video game characters were the most Googled.
Pac-Man is the most popular video game character in Edinburgh, receiving 2,400 average monthly searches. Originally released in 1980, Pac-Man is one of the most popular games across the globe.
The data found that Sonic from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is the second most popular video game character in Edinburgh. The speedy, blue hedgehog has 1,900 searches on Google every month in Edinburgh.
There has been a resurgence of interest in the character as well as the franchise as a result of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, which was released in 2020 and starred Jim Carrey, with the third instalment of the film series being released next year.
Pikachu from the Pokémon franchise ranks third. Searches by Edinburgh residents for Pikachu sit at an average of 1,600 per month. In 2019, Warner Bros released Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, starring Ryan Reynolds which saw searches for ‘pikachu’ skyrocket 557% above average in the UK.
Lara Croft places fourth with 720 monthly searches by Edinburgh’s each month. The fifth most Googled video game character in Edinburgh is Kirby from the Kirby franchise. Kirby is searched 700 times each month on average in Edinburgh.
| The most Googled video game characters in Edinburgh | |
| Character | Number of monthly Google searches in Edinburgh |
| Pac-Man | 2,400 |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | 1,900 |
| Pikachu | 1,600 |
| Lara Croft | 720 |
| Kirby | 700 |
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from Casino Bonus commented: “Video games are an integral part of many people’s lives, bringing joy and entertainment to many.
“The characters of many series can easily end up becoming iconic staples of many franchises and are beloved by many. This can lead to movies about said characters being made causing their popularity to explode even more.
“This study offers a fascinating insight into which characters – as well as franchises – interest Edinburgh residents the most.”
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