Sega owns the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Sonic was created for Sega as the company’s mascot and first appeared in the 1991 game Sonic the Hedgehog for the Mega Drive, known as the Genesis in North America.
The character was developed by Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara as Sega’s answer to Nintendo’s Mario. Sonic’s speed-focused platforming helped Sega compete during the 16-bit console era and became one of the company’s defining properties.
Sega later left the console business and became a third-party publisher, so Sonic games have appeared on Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and mobile platforms. That availability sometimes causes confusion about ownership: Nintendo has published or hosted some Sonic releases and crossover games, but it does not own the franchise. Bandai Namco and Capcom are likewise not the rights holder.