Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series that has made its transition into TV and the movies.
Sonic is one of the best known video game characters. So let’s dive into some trivia and fact about the games and the character.
- Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sonic Team
- It is owned by Sega
- The franchise centers on Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist
- The main Sonic the Hedgehog games are platformers developed by Sonic Team
- In addition to spin-offs set in the racing, fighting, party, and sports genres
- The series also incorporates printed media, adaptations (including a 2020 feature film), and merchandise
- The first Sonic game, released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis
- It was developed after Sega requested a new mascot character to replace Alex Kidd
- To compete with Nintendo’s mascot Mario
- Its success helped Sega become one of the leading video game companies during the 16-bit era of the early 1990s
- Sega Technical Institute developed the next three Sonic games in addition to Sonic Spinball (1993)
- The first major 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure, was released in 1998 for the Dreamcast
- After Sega exited the console market and shifted to third-party development in 2001
- The series continued on Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation systems
- While Sonic games typically feature unique game mechanics and stories, they are linked by several recurring elements
- Such as the health system, locations, and momentum and speed-based gameplay
- Each game typically features Sonic setting out on a quest to stop Eggman’s schemes for world domination
- Gameplay involves running at high speeds through levels that include springs, slopes, bottomless pits, and vertical loops
- While Sonic and Eggman were the only characters introduced in the first game, the series would go on to have a large cast of characters
- Some, such as Miles “Tails” Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, and Shadow the Hedgehog, starred in self-titled spin-offs
- Sonic the Hedgehog is Sega’s flagship franchise
- It is one of the bestselling video game franchises
- By March 2011, the series had sold over 89 million physical copies
- It has grossed over $5 billion by 2014
- As of 2018, the series has shifted 800 million copies, including free-to-play mobile game downloads
- Several Sonic games have appeared on lists compiling the greatest games of all time
- Sonic has also influenced games featuring animal mascots, internet memes, and popular culture
- The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise was awarded seven records by Guinness World Records in Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2008
- The records include “Best Selling Game on Sega Systems”, “Longest Running Comic Based on a Video Game” and “Best Selling Retro Game Compilation” (for Sonic Mega Collection)
- In the Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2010, the Sonic the Hedgehog series was listed number 15 out of the top 50 video game franchises
- In September 1996, Next Generation ranked the Genesis installments of the series collectively as number 20 on their “Top 100 Games of All Time”
- Calling them “the zeitgeist of the 16-bit era”
- In December 2006, IGN ranked Sonic the Hedgehog as the 19th greatest series of all time
- Claiming that “although recent 3D entries in the series have been somewhat lacking, there is no denying the power of this franchise”
- Neuroscientists studying the development of the embryonic neural system named a specific set of proteins, in charge of the differentiation of neural tube cells, after the main character of the game franchise
- A common criticism has been that the variant gameplay styles found in recent 3D games have strayed from the formula of the original series
- Specifically, the series’ jump to 3D has been noted as a declining point
- In late 2010, Sega delisted several below-average Sonic games, such as the notoriously disliked 2006 game Sonic the Hedgehog, to increase the value of the Sonic brand after positive reviews for the games Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and Sonic Colors
- In 1990, Sega of Japan president Hayao Nakayama decided Sega needed a flagship series and mascot to compete with Nintendo’s Mario series
- Nintendo had recently released Super Mario Bros. 3, at the time the bestselling video game ever
- Sega’s strategy had been based on its earlier release of the Sega Genesis in the 16-bit era and its reliance on its successful arcade business to port games to the console
- However, Nakayama recognized that Sega needed a star character in a game that could demonstrate the power of the hardware of the Sega Genesis
- Sega’s mascot, Alex Kidd, was considered too similar to Mario
- Several character designs were submitted as part of a contest
- The winning character was a teal hedgehog created by artist Naoto Ohshima
- The gameplay of Sonic the Hedgehog originated with a tech demo created by Yuji Naka
- He had developed an algorithm that allowed a sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a dot matrix
- Naka’s original prototype was a platform game that involved a fast-moving character rolling in a ball through a long winding tube
- A concept fleshed out with Ohshima’s character design and levels conceived by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara
- Sonic’s color was chosen to match Sega’s cobalt blue logo, and his shoes evolved from a design inspired by Michael Jackson’s boots on the cover of his 1987 album Bad
- Sonic’s red shoe color was inspired by Santa Claus and the contrast of those colors on the Bad cover
- His personality was based on Bill Clinton’s “can-do” attitude
- The antagonist, Doctor Eggman, was another character Ohshima had designed for the contest
- The development team thought the rejected design was excellent and retooled the character into a villain
- The team took the name Sonic Team for the game’s release
- Although Sega of America CEO Michael Katz and Sega of America’s marketing experts were certain that Sonic would not catch on with American children
- Katz’s replacement, Tom Kalinske, arranged to place Sonic the Hedgehog as the pack-in game with the Genesis
- Featuring speedy gameplay, Sonic the Hedgehog greatly increased the popularity of the Sega Genesis in North America
- And is credited with helping Sega gain 65% of the market share against Nintendo
Got anything to add?