8 Video Games That Pushed Petty Feuds

The world of gaming has seen ongoing feuds ever since its inception. The dawn of third-party publishers all branding themselves with names that would appear higher in the phone book than their predecessors can be seen as an early form of this.

Developers and publishers have engaged in competition for years, with the working title for Activision's original Call Of Duty being "Medal Of Honor Killer" - a transparent ploy to topple EA's popular franchise.

Most notable is the endless battle between Sega and Nintendo during the 16-Bit era. The infamous marketing slogan "Genesis Does What Nintendon't" is only the tip of the iceberg, with the Sega CD's campaign screeching, "There is no Nintendo CD!" and the Game Gear's promotional materials insinuating Game Boy owners had the IQ and the colour-sensitivity of dogs.

Meanwhile, Nintendo quietly sat and got on with making good games, presumably chuckling when both the Sega CD and Game Gear crashed and burned.

Over the years, video games have exchanged blows, mostly lighthearted. Whether it's pejorative references to characters from similar franchises, subtle comments on the mechanics of other games or indictments of another developer's cynical marketing techniques, there are countless titles that skewer each other - frequently resulting in retaliation.

The early-to-mid 1990s saw Nintendo and Sega facing off more times than can possibly be chronicled. Super Mario and Sonic The Hedgehog, as the companies' respective mascots, were frequently in direct competition both in marketing campaigns and even later on in crossover video games.

However, it was the ending to Donkey Kong Country 2 that had all of Nintendo's flagship characters deliver a collective blow to both Sonic and another popular platforming character of the era.

Upon defeating King K. Rool, Diddy and Dixie enter the "Cranky's Video Game Heroes" hall of fame, where the player's DK coins are added up and rivalled against Mario, Yoshi and Link.

In the bottom right corner of the screen is a hand-painted sign that says "No Hopers". Next to the sign are two recognisable items: Sonic's red and white sneakers and Earthworm Jim's gun.

Despite being released on the SNES, Earthworm Jim seemed to be a target simply by not being a Nintendo exclusive, which seems a little unfair.

The jibe does seem appropriate, as whilst all of Nintendo's aforementioned franchises are still enjoying regular success, Sonic The Hedgehog has seen a significant decline in credibility and Earthworm Jim has barely seen the light of day after its disastrous foray into 3D in 1999.