Release of Sonic the Hedgehog

Date: June 23, 1991 • Location: Tokyo, Japan

The first instalment of the video-game series Sonic the Hedgehog was released in North America.

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog with supersonic speed, who battles the mad scientist Doctor Eggman and his robot army. The main Sonic the Hedgehog games are platformers mostly developed by Sonic Team; other games, developed by various studios, include spin-offs in the racing, fighting, party, and sports genres. The franchise also incorporates printed media, animations, films, and merchandise.