Long before Burger King sponsored some atrocious Xbox 360 titles, soft-drink and snack companies dabbled in the dubious world of integrated brand promotions.

Do you remember the Cool Spot and Chester the Cheetah games for the Genesis and SNES? Their respective companies funded their development to drum up interest in a symbiotic advertising plan for the console makers and the snack foods.

Sega went the extra mile with Coca-Cola in 1994 and developed a game called Coca-Cola Kid. It was a pack-in for the new red, Coke-branded Game Gear. Neither product was ever released outside Japan.

Coke started another Japanese handheld ad campaign in 2005 when they sponsored the PSP. Pepsi also got in on the cross-promotion action around this time and lent their brand name to a very limited edition Xbox 360.

If you're interested in this red Game Gear, you can follow the eBay auction here. The seller wants nearly a thousand dollars for it once you include the shipping costs and the available warranty. I think I'll keep my half-dead and soundless Game Gear for now....