Sonic the Hedgehog is a character and the protagonist of the video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and books. The 1st game in the franchise was released on June 23, 1991 to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's flagship character Mario. Since then, Sonic has become one of the world's best-known video game characters, with his series having sold 50 million copies. In 2005, Sonic was one of the 1st game character inductees into the Walk of Game, alongside Mario and Link.
