Gex/Resaurus

## Gex the Gecko

Ever since the advent of *Sonic the Hedgehog*, several video game companies tried to make their own gnarly and hip mascot to overthrow both him and Mario. Some of them still have a devoted fanbase amognst a few people while others are rightfully forgotten and looked back on as embarassing.  *Gex* is somewhere inbetween and nearly got a whole line of action figures by Resaurus before they went defunct.

## **Summary**

*Gex* is a platform video game trilogy, developed by Crystal Dynamics, that details the adventures of an anthropomorphic gecko named Gex. He has served as the mascot of Crystal Dynamics, appearing on their company logo for several years until 2000. In the North American version, Gex is voiced by comedian Dana Gould throughout the entire series; the United Kingdom version features Gould, Leslie Phillips and Danny John-Jules as Gex's voice throughout the series. Gex was voiced by Mitsuo Senda for the Japanese release of the second game. The games are largely inspired by American TV culture. Gex contributes to the games with wise-cracking remarks laced with media and references to popular culture. Gex appears as an unlockable character in the North American and European versions of *Hot Shots Golf 2* and *Mad Dash Racing*. The *Gex* series has sold a combined total of over 15 million copies for all platforms. A fourth entry was in development for the PS2 but was canceled, with only concept art existing of the project. In February 2015, Square Enix announced that it will allow developers to create games based on some of their old Eidos intellectual properties via the Square Enix Collective project, including the Gex intellectual property.

Development on the *Gex* action figures began in June 1998 when Crystal Dynamics struck a deal with the Creative Licensing Corporation to produce action figures for both that series and *Legacy of Kain*.  Resaurus was originally chosen as the manufacturer, which was announced in December that year,  and they were slated for release in June 1999 to coincide with *Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko*.  They were first advertised in Volume 2 Issue 7 of *Official U.S. Playstation Magazine* and were unveiled at the 1999 Toy Fair, among other lines of theirs that got cancelled.

The first series of Gex figures, as sculpted by Michael Norm, had an original runup of Grandmaster Gex who came with nunchucks and a Chinese take-out box; & Moo Shoo Pork (is actually spelled **Mooshoo Pork**) who came with the Cattle Prod Weapon, Long John Gex who came with a treasure chest and saber; & Skeleton Pirate who came with a cutlass, Private Gex who came with military weapons (M1 Rifle, Grenade, First Aid Kit) & Sarge who came with a pistol, and Secret Agent Gex who was dressed in sunglasses and came with a Walther PPK; & Rez, who would've came equipped with a set of tank tread-like wheels to help him move around. The figures were each packaged togetehr as part of a "Vs." theme and each set would've came with a remote and breakway TV; the latter, carrying a hidden fly inside. However, this was later expanded to include more characters from the series with two nex Gex varaints added. They included Extreme Gex and Count Gexula, the latter of whom is actually known as DracuGex. Strangely, the head shot image used for the Extreme Gex prototype appears to have fangs and its unknown why this was the case, though it may have been done for testing purposes. The revised lineup scrapped the "Vs." theme in favour of a "buddy" theme that would include new figures of a penguin, Paunch the Kangraoo, and Rex the Tyrannosaurus. Each of them would've been bundled with a Gex variant, though Paunch and Rex were specifically designated for Private and Secret Agen respectively. Its unknown how the villains would have been reincorporated into this line-up as no buddy figures were ever announced, though its very likely they would've been either sold seperately in solo "versus" sets or possibly bundled as part of a "villain buddy" line.

On February 11th 1999, IGN ran a contest on their website giving away an assortment of *Gex 3* goodies to 10 lucky winners. Among the prizes were 10 limited edition 8" Gex action figures produced by Resaurus. Despite sounding exclusive, these figures may not have been uniquely designed for this contest as they were simply 8" replicas of Secret Agent Gex. These specific products were never sold in store and only two of the 10 winners were publicly announced on February 23rd 1999.  Resin prototypes of the *Gex* figures would be shown again at the Brice Outlet Mall in May 1999 and a month later, Resaurus announced on their website that the figures were going through some significant revisions and their projected release date was changed from the summer season to winter time.   The rest of 1999 came and went, but the second release date did not go through and no one heard anything else about the *Gex* figures until February 2000 when pre-production models were showcased at that year's Toy Fair. It seemed that for once, they finally reached the promised land as a Resaurus ex-employee stated the figures were finally into development with retail release looking closer than ever. Unfortunately, this was nullified by another employee who dropped a bombshell on the website's message board that it never went into production and was cancelled due to "very little financial interest" from investors. Top it all off with Resaurus' financial woes from mismanagement and back royalty payments on other licensed franchises; leading them to go bankrupt in 2001, left the *Gex* figures, amongst their other toylines, dead in the water.

## **Final Verdict**

In the years since Resaurus' closure, none of the Gex action figures have been sold, exchanged online, or turned up in other places; leaving many to believe that a majority of them were either lost, destroyed, or best-base scenario, remain in the hands of ex-employees. However, a few figures are known to have survived the company's liquidation as a company profile that was posted on Raving Toy Manaic showed that Long John Gex and Count Gexula were in the hands of Plan-B Toys.  The unpainted prototype models of Moo Shoo Pork and Skeletal Pirate can be seen on the archives of Toxic Mom's Studios's website, which also had a picture of a painted version of the latter; albeit broken. Both companies owning these prototypes isn't too farfetched considering Plan-B was formed before Resaurus' closure while TMS was founded in the aftermath, though both companies would also meet the same fate in 2006 and while the figures may still be in the hands of former Resaurus workers, it is highly unlikely they will ever enter mass production as they are in hgh value and possibly kept for historical/memento purposes.

As I mentioned, the only bit of *Gex* merchandise Resaurus ever received were the 8" figures for the IGN contest; though with only two winners that were confirmed to have them, its unknown if they still have them as no photos have circulated and the whereabouts of the other 8" figures are a mystery. Until further evidence is presented, this case will remain open: **LOST**.

## **Gallery**

An advertisement for the Gex figures that appeared in a PlayStation manualThe Gex booth setup by Resaurus for New York Toy Fair 1999The Extreme Gex figure with a penguin buddyThe Private Gex figureThe Long John Gex figureThe Grandmaster Gex figureA mock-up of what the Gex "Vs." series' packaging would've looked likeThe Resaurus Gex figures that first appeared in the "g.e.a.r." section of an issue for the official PlayStation magazine

## **References**

1. ↑ https://screenrant.com/video-game-mascots-90s-tried-failed-to-dethrone-mario/
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gex\_(series)
3. ↑ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gex-kain-figures-coming-soon/1100-2464078/
4. ↑  https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gex-diversifies/1100-2465790/
5. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/19981205030103/http://www.toymania.com:80/news/indy/
6. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20010709150520/http://www.resaurus.com/toyfair99/
7. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20000524113154/http://psx.ign.com/news/7044.html#jump\_top
8. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/19991021225449/http://www.resaurus.com/whatsnew/
9. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/19991021225449/http://www.resaurus.com/whatsnew/
10. ↑ https://www.sonicstadium.org/2001/08/resaurus-going-out-of-business/
11. ↑ http://toymania.com/columns/profiles/planbgallery2.shtml
12. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20010408005212/http://toxicmom.com/index.html