Sonic the Hedgehog may be 35 years old, but apparently he has no trouble keeping up with kids born more than three decades after his debut.
A new report from children’s interactive entertainment platform Lingokids has ranked Sonic as the second favorite character among boys ages 3 to 8, putting SEGA’s Blue Blur ahead of SpongeBob SquarePants, Superman, Bluey, Batman, and even longtime gaming rival Mario.
Only Spider-Man managed to outrun him.
The rankings form part of Lingokids’ new Kids Interactive Entertainment Report, which draws on surveys of 2,000 parents of young children alongside Lingokids usage information and data from The Insights Family.
The top 10 favorite characters among boys ages 3 to 8 were:
- Spider-Man
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Superman
- Bluey
- Batman
- Mario
- Mickey Mouse
- Chase from PAW Patrol
- Iron Man
Among girls in the same age range, Barbie took the top spot, followed by Bluey, Elsa, Moana, SpongeBob SquarePants, Hello Kitty, Peppa Pig, Spider-Man, Cinderella, and Mickey Mouse.
Sonic therefore did not make the girls’ top 10, but his second-place showing among boys puts him alongside some of the biggest characters in modern children’s entertainment.
Not bad for a hedgehog who first started collecting Rings in 1991.
The report also points toward an interesting shift in how younger audiences are discovering their favorite characters.
TV shows and movies remain the two biggest routes through which children encounter new characters, but games now rank third, placing them ahead of toys, the internet, books, friends, and clothing.
That is particularly relevant for Sonic, whose presence now stretches across games, theatrical movies, television and animation, toys, merchandise, mobile titles, collaborations, and plenty more besides.
We have already seen signs of that younger audience elsewhere this year. We’ve recently reported that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 had climbed to seventh place among Netflix’s most-watched movies in the United States and reached third place among the platform’s top kids films.
SEGA has also continued putting Sonic directly in front of younger audiences through promotions such as the current Wendy’s Sonic the Hedgehog Kids’ Meal, which includes seven collectible character cases and 35 trading cards.
Lingokids’ research also suggests that this kind of popularity is increasingly crossing generations.
According to the report, 68.4 percent of parents surveyed said their child enjoys at least some of the same characters they loved growing up. Another 12.2 percent said their children share many of their childhood favorites.
Sonic fits that pattern particularly well.
A parent who first encountered the character on a Mega Drive or Genesis in the early 1990s can now have a child discovering him through the Sonic movies, Sonic Prime, current games, mobile releases, YouTube, toys, or one of the seemingly endless collaborations surrounding the franchise.
Lingokids argues that interactivity is becoming an increasingly important part of that relationship. Rather than simply watching their favorite characters, younger children increasingly expect to play and interact with them as well.
Several characters in the report currently have dedicated activities on the Lingokids platform, including Spider-Man, Elsa, Moana, Cinderella, Mickey Mouse, and Iron Man. Sonic was not identified as one of the characters currently featured in those activities, and Lingokids has not announced a Sonic addition.
Still, his position in the rankings is a pretty strong showing on its own.
Thirty-five years after Sonic the Hedgehog first arrived, the Blue Blur is not simply hanging onto the audience that grew up with him. A new generation appears to be picking him as one of its favorites too.
Stay tuned to Sonic City for more Sonic News and Updates!
Source: Lingokids Kids Interactive Entertainment Report
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