sonic the hedgehog sonic the hedgehog sonikku za hejjihoggu trademarked sonic the hedgehog is a video game character and the main protagonist of the sonic video game series released by sega as well as in numerous spin off comics cartoons and a feature film the first game was released on june to provide sega with a mascot to rival nintendo's flagship character mario see in video gaming since then sonic has become one of the world's best known video game characters with his series having sold more than million copies in many individuals at sega had a hand in sonic's creation programmer yuji naka and artist naoto shima are generally credited with the creation of the character a blue year old anthropomorphic hedgehog who has the ability to run at supersonic speeds and the ability to curl into a ball primarily to attack enemies this is a major part of the gameplay of the series