Fans think the Hi-Fi Rush cat should be Xbox’s mascot

It does have a certain rhythm

The Hi-Fi Rush cat 808 is gathering a devoted following of fans, many of whom think he should be the new Xbox mascot. Reddit user gibLight2 posted the observation shortly after the game launched, and the post has since racked up nearly 2,000 upvotes (thanks, GamesRadar).

Like Sony, Xbox doesn’t really have one specific mascot. Halo’s Master Chief usually stands out, thanks to the FPS series’ status as Xbox’s first, and longest-running, original IP, but fans are even divided on whether Chief or Cortana is the true face of the console. 

Other candidates include Blinx the cat and, more recently, figures from Microsoft’s acquired studios, such as Bethesda’s Doom Guy, Raz from Double Fine’s Psychonauts, and Steve and Alex from Mojang’s Minecraft – and perhaps Ghost from Call of Duty, if the Activision Blizzard deal goes through.

The general consensus on 808 is that they’re a less creepy version of Persona 5’s Morgana and one of the company’s best character designs in years. The thread is full of praise for everything from the name – 808 is a callout to the popular Rhythm Composer drum machine from the 1980s – to the animation quality and 808’s general loveable attitude.

"Can you pet the Hi-Fi Rush cat" became a popular search term after the game's surprise launch, and the Can You Pet the Dog Twitter account even got in on the fun.

As one fan said, though, even the cutest cat can’t compete with Microsoft’s true king and the face of technological advancement: Clippy the paperclip.