Tuesday 23 June 2009

Happy 18th Birthday Sonic!


Today is Sonic's 18th Birthday - it was 18 years ago today that Sonic the Hedgehog was released on the Mega Drive in North America and Europe. The Japanese release was a month later, with added parallax and raster effects.

Sonic showed everyone what the Mega Drive could do, and what the NES couldn't. He was part of the reason Sega dominated the generation in Europe, and challenged Nintendo's rule in the rest of the world.

Despite some terrible games in the last decade, Sonic has remained a household name. At one point in the Nineties he was more well-known among children that Mickey Mouse! He was also the first video game character to appear in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a feat only replicated by Pikachu.

To think it was nearly 15 years ago that I first played Sonic 2 on the Mega Drive - I still own both the game and the console. Sonic Adventure 2 was the reason I bought a GameCube back in 2002 (sorry Dreamcast!).

Hopefully Sonic will still be around in another 18 years, with a return to form in his games. More 2D sidescrollers please Sega (and a new console whilst you're at it)!

1 comment:

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