Here is the struggle with marketing an IP. This is the roster for All-Stars Royale:
- Big Daddy (BioShock)
- Cole MacGrath (Infamous)
- Colonel Radec (Killzone)
- Dante (DmC: Devil May Cry)
- Emmett Gravesa (Starhawk)
- Evil Cole MacGrath (Infamous)
- Fat Princess (Fat Princess)
- Heihachi Mishima (Tekken)
- Isaac Clarkea (Dead Space)
- Jak and Daxter (Jak and Daxter)
- Kat and Dustya (Gravity Rush)
- Kratos (God of War)
- Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
- Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
- Parappa (PaRappa the Rapper)
- Raiden (Metal Gear)
- Ratchet & Clank (Ratchet & Clank)
- Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet)
- Sir Daniel Fortesque (MediEvil)
- Sly Cooper (Sly Cooper)
- Spike (Ape Escape)
- Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal)
- Toro Inoue (Doko Demo Issyo)
- Zeusa (God of War)
Out of that, the only entity that is iconic - and we are talking the Pokemon, Sonic, Mario, Angry Bird Red, Minecraft Steve tier of universal iconic here - is Sackboy. Without that level of gravitas, you cannot creat an industry around it.
You cannot dispute the quality of the IP and the awareness of said IP within gaming circles. It is just several tiers down from those titles which have the massive merch ecosystem around it. Take Nathan Drake for example - the archetypal everyday dude. Could you see that selling plushies, t-shirts for kids, a toy range, mass market penetration? No.
Getting to that level is a bit like lightning in a bottle.