Video games are littered with fake brands, from your average Japanese fast food chain Gozushi within the cities of GTA to our favorite weapons manufacturer Vladof from Borderlands. Most of them are sadly forgettable but the ones that stand out are so undeniably realistic that when you do get asked what drinks you want with your happy meal, it comes out a shocker that Sprunk or Nuka Cola was never part of the menu in the first place.
So while we can’t enjoy a lethally induced mixture of sugar and caffeine in our late night gaming sessions or some piss-perfect alcoholic beverages, Betway, has done its homework with their unique scoring system that applies data from real world reference brands (e.g. Coca Cola) to each video game brand to reveal just how successful each fictional company can get.
And while Grand Theft Auto hosts a major share to the largest number of brands, you might be surprised at the top gaming brands that were crowned the most valuable at the time…
What brands can actually find success in today’s market?
Surprisingly enough, eCola from the world of Grand Theft Auto sprawls at the very top to be the one of the most successful brands as referenced from its real world counterpart, Karma Cola which is an equally sugary drink that is coming as a true contender against the giants of the beverage market. The Smokin’ Beef Grill restaurant from the same franchise however takes a close second while Doom’s Nabcom lags behind in third place with a seven-million overall score deficit.
But when it comes in terms of value, Fallout’s very own chain of filling and service stations, Red Rocket has something to say about that. Being tied to BP, a British multinational oil and gas company considered as one of the world’s seven oil and gas “supermajors”, it takes itself up as the most valuable fictional brand with a net worth of $189bn. And we already know how much the world is reliant in oil and gas so it doesn’t come as a surprise that it takes the top spot. However Unilever… sorry I mean, Umbrella Corporation with its multitude of products ranging from shampoo and conditioner to a series of mass-produced human bio organic weapons, takes the second seat while the third was claimed by our very own Vladof from Borderlands. Because you definitely need guns to fight the terrifying shampoos and conditioners that would soon be mass-produced from Umbrella Corp.
Numbers talk but so does shares and tweets…
The numbers have been crunched and the brands have been munched but when it comes to getting noticed, nothing says it better than a following. And in most cases, a fuel refilling station is not the first thing to come in mind. Unless their bathroom is so godly that even a full-blown studio provides no real competition. And of course, a bathroom is always the first thing to come to mind when finding for the best places to take a duck-faced selfie or a mini-concert that reverberates even to the outer walls better than an opera hall.
So when it comes to brands to take them sweet spots, eCola and the Smokin’ Beef Grill takes the icing on the cake here again. They’re instagrammable for obvious reasons without having to face horrid consequences even if they’re overused and non-inspirational at best.
But when categorized, restaurants is considered to be the most successful. Not only are they the most sought after establishments in most open world video games and a basic necessity for any virtual or real life person, the surrounding hype that ties-in being an instagram-magnet only leads to more people, gamer or non-gamer can flock over and that’s whether or not they serve giant versions of food or desserts to post on their timelines for the third frickin’ day in a row.
This is just a few of the many infographic created by the guys at Betway eSports. If you want to know more, check out the Betway Insider blog.
Hey Paul,
I’m involved in making and selling Karma Cola and I’m fascinated by your reference in your feature. Is it really a counterpart to eCola? It’s a great claim and I appreciate the shout out. Please let me know the background.
Simon
Hi Simon,
Its nice to see people involved in Karma Cola seeing this little feature we have here. However, all references were made by Betway and we are only the messengers of goodwill so to speak. But despite all that, I do have my own questions like you have as to why this came to be.
First of all, eCola in GTA was made by The Sprunk Company which basically references how the Coca Cola Company made Sprite among other things that could prove to this claim. This leads me to believe that eCola should be Coca Cola but why isn’t it? Because there’s already Fallout’s Nuka Cola which is also a direct comparison to the brand.
So instead of having two brands within two games share the same reference, I believe it was a matter of choice but also there was something else you can compare eCola to and that’s Karma Cola. A “good for the planet” cola but to make that claim you’d have to disregard what eCola is and play with its name alone… eco-Cola.
Its definitely a long shot but to truly know why, Betway is the key 🙂