First of all, some awesome points that I did not consider. Particularly the 3D case scenario, where you're really looking either in first person or behind another. That's interesting.

I think it's also worth noting that, beyond Sega, Nintendo was the only to really "own" its IPs. Once Sony entered the race as the main contender, it was hard to really attach a name to it. Sure, Spyro and Crash were exclusives, but they weren't really "owned" by Sony itself, so they wouldn't appear on the console name.

But then again, have you seen that one commercial with all the video game characters in it? Seems to denote some kind of mascot-ry.