Sega created Sonic the Hedgehog as its mascot. The company wanted a flagship character who could rival Nintendo’s Mario and strengthen the Sega Genesis brand.
Sega’s development effort brought together programmer Yuji Naka, artist Naoto Ohshima, and designer Hirokazu Yasuhara. Their work produced a fast blue hedgehog whose first starring game launched in 1991 for the Sega Genesis. Sonic’s speed, attitude, and distinctive visual design helped separate Sega from its family-friendly competitor.
A common mix-up is confusing Sega, the company, with Sonic Team, the internal development group associated with many Sonic games. Sonic Team helped create the original game, but Sega was the corporation that commissioned Sonic and adopted him as its mascot. The character became the centerpiece of Sega’s advertising, console packaging, and later games, television shows, comics, and films.