Editing Sonic the Hedgehog (section)

==Reception and legacy ==
As [[Sega]]'s mascot and one of the key reasons for the company's success during the 16-bit era of consoles, Sonic is one of the most recognizable video game characters in the world. In 1996, Sonic was the first video game character to be seen in a Rose Parade. Sonic is also the first video game character to have a [[Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Sonic Balloon|balloon]] in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Sonic was one of the three game characters inducted on the inaugural Walk of Game class in 2005, along with his [[Nintendo]] rivals [[Mario]] and Link.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Walk of Game 2005: Sonic the Hedgehog Commemoration|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY1oygo8RlQ|work=YouTube|publisher=The Sonic Stadium|date=September 2, 2015|accessdate=June 11, 2022}}</ref> One of a class of genes involved in fruit fly embryonic development, called hedgehog genes, has been named "Sonic hedgehog" after the character.<ref name="shh">{{Cite web|first=Lynn|last=Yarris|date=November 5, 2005|url=http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/sb/Nov-2004/04-sonicthehedgehog.html|title=Sonic the Hedgehog and the Fate of Neural Stem Cells|publisher=Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory|accessdate=June 23, 2006}}</ref>

Sonic has been acknowledged as, undoubtedly, the most recognizable and famous character in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series according to an official popularity poll.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sonic.sega.jp/SonicChannel/event/016/index.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005134742/http://sonic.sega.jp/SonicChannel/event/016/index.html|author=Sonic Channel|publisher=[[Sega]]|title=Official Popularity Poll results|date=June 23, 2006|archivedate=October 5, 2013|language=Japanese}}</ref> As Sega's mascot, Sonic has also been used as a symbol for the company's various sponsorships. Between 1993 and 1997, Sega sponsored the JEF United Ichihara Chiba football team, during which period Sonic appeared in the team's uniform. During the 1993 Formula One championship, Sega sponsored the [[Wikipedia:Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams Grand Prix]] team, which won the Constructors' Championship that year, as well as the team's lead driver, [[Wikipedia:Alain Prost|Alain Prost]], winning the Drivers' Championship. Sonic was featured in the cars, helmets, and rival [[Wikipedia:McLaren|McLaren]] used to paint pictures of a squashed hedgehog after winning races over Williams.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Formula One Motor Racing FAQ (modified 3/14/97), Part 2/2|url=http://www.faqs.org/faqs/sports/formula-one-faq/part2/|publisher=Internet FAQ Archives|accessdate=June 11, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118170338/http://www.faqs.org/faqs/sports/formula-one-faq/part2/|archivedate=June 18, 2012}}</ref> The [[Wikipedia:1993 European Grand Prix|1993 European Grand Prix]] featured a Sonic balloon and Sonic billboards, and the race's trophy was in the shape of a hedgehog. Sonic also appears on some versions of the willow video store logo.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Jared|last=Matte|title=1993: Year of the Mega Drive|url=http://www.theghz.com/museum/1993.html|publisher=The Green Hill Zone|accessdate=June 11, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309072114/http://www.theghz.com/museum/1993.html|archivedate=March 9, 2015}}</ref>

In 2008, Sonic was voted the most popular video game character in the UK with a 24% vote.<ref name="telegraph"/> His old rival, Mario, came second with 21% of the vote.<ref name="telegraph">{{Cite web|first=Matthew|last=Moore|title=Sonic the Hedgehog voted favourite computer game star|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3233211/Sonic-the-Hedgehog-voted-favourite-computer-game-star.html|publisher=Telegraph|date=October 21, 2008|accessdate=June 11, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125131624/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3233211/Sonic-the-Hedgehog-voted-favourite-computer-game-star.html|archivedate=January 25, 2016}}</ref>