Bubsy is a wise-cracking anthropomorphic bobcat. During the 8-bit and 16-bit era of gaming, many games centered around anthropomorphic animals in an attempt to recapture the lightning that propelled such mascots as Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario to stardom. Before the release of the first game, Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, Bubsy was being hailed as the next big game, a possible answer to Sonic the Hedgehog. While Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind was a big success commercially and critically, it was not nearly as successful as either mascot's games and was criticized for aping the conventions of platformers of the time without innovating--a charge that was leveled at many other companies' attempts at anthropomorphic mascot-centric games.
Before the release of Bubsy II, a cartoon pilot was created by Calico Creations. Called "Bubsy - What Could Possibly Go Wrong," the pilot debuted on November 27, 1997, and featured the following characters: Bubsy Bobcat, Arnold Armadillo, Virgil Reality, Sid the Vicious Shrew, Oblivia the Cat, Bubsy Twin, Bozwell the Buzzard, Bubsy Twin, Ally Cassandra, and Teresa Bobcat. It was not picked up by any networks.
The franchise suffered a crippling blow after the extremely negative response to the first 3D installment of the franchise, Bubsy 3D. The Bubsy franchise has made a return in 2017 with the release of Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back, published by Billionsoft under the acquired Accolade label.
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