If three is a trend, we're not quite there yet. But, watch out: Video game characters are on Twitter too.
Earlier this summer, Capcom started Twitter feeds for Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, the protagonists of Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles. Their upcoming Wii game, a light-gun shooter sequel to Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, just got a ship date today: November 17.
Redfield and Kennedy Twitter pages have been running for a few weeks, providing fictional dispatches from their adventures. Stuff like this from Leon:
Leon's Twitter feed started in mid-July, with just one message: "Sharing my adventure with you." Then he went quiet for a couple of weeks, returning in early August with what has become a steady stream of updates every day, all of which are in-character and which even show up on the weekends.
Claire Redfield, labeled on Twitter as Claire Darkside, for some reason, has been maintaining a feed too. She follows Leon. Leon follows her. They follow no one else and have about 900 followers apiece.
I shot a note to Capcom to find out more about the character-Tweets. No response yet. But this isn't the first I've seen. In the spring, Rockstar ran a Twitter feed for fictional Congressman Thomas Stubbs, the guy who starred in gaming's first famous scene of male full-frontal nudity. I had sent a Twitter message to the fake Congressman back when his feed was still active. I think I asked him how he felt about being naked in front of other people or something. But he never responded.
Dozens of game companies and developers are on Twitter. Are characters next?
Some obvious searches didn't bear much more evidence. "Master Chief" is a dormant Twitter account last updated in 2007. "Bowser" appears to be a front that links to a Rick-roll.
Maybe this is a trend that won't take off. Maybe.
(Thanks to a video game character of another sort, Matt Hawkins, for — what else? — Tweeting about the Claire feed today and getting this on my radar.)