The contest to see who would take home the coveted title of All-Time Greatest Game Sidekick has drawn to a close. What started as an up-for-grabs seeding structure with 80 potential candidates was weeded down to 64 characters to fill initial brackets. And in the subsequent days, competition ran fierce and swift; 64 were cut down to 32, and 32 down to 16, and 16 down to eight. Then, some of us had lunch. Then eight went down to four. Then from four finalists, we came to the final confrontation.

　　Me? The greatest game sidekick of all time? Sure thing, Mr. McD!

　　And in the battle between one of the greatest scientific minds of the 20th century and a cartoon duck…

　　The cartoon duck won.

　　So, that happened.

　　Yes, Launchpad McQuack, the helpful sidekick who never hesitates to whisk Scrooge McDuck away to the bonus stage in the Ducktales games, has won this competition. Launchpad won by virtue of votes and is ready to receive all your cheers and adulation (if any), while the other sidekicks leave through that other door. You know, the one over there.

　　Another All-Time Greatest Game Character competition has drawn to a close, and we here at GameSpot thank you for your participation. Feel free to visit the forums to discuss the outcome and thanks once again for playing.