Thanksgiving Day used to be the start of the holiday shopping season, and the parade Macy's holds in the middle of New York City every year is designed to promote the biggest names and brands you'll be hearing about for the next month. Given how big of an industry video games have become in the last 40 years, you'd think every other balloon in the show would feature a memorable Nintendo or Sony character hovering down the chilly street. Surprisingly, that's not the case, and only a handful of characters and games have had the honor to join in the festivities. We've collected them here in one place for you to gawk at, and have ranked them for your enjoyment.
Here are all of the video game balloons featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade over the years: