Reception and legacy thumb|220px|upright|Graffiti artwork of Sonic the Hedgehog seen in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2011 As Sega's mascot and one of the key reasons for the company's success during the 16-bit era of video game consoles, Sonic is one of the most famous video game characters in the world. In 1993, Sonic became the first video game character to have a balloon in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.Davis, Cameron and Shoemaker, Brad The History of Sonic the Hedgehog, GameSpot. Retrieved June 16, 2008. In 1996, Sonic was also the first video game character to be seen in a Rose Parade. Sonic was one of the three game characters inducted on the inaugural Walk of Game class in 2005, along with former rivals Mario and Link (both from Nintendo). One of a class of genes involved in fruit fly embryonic development, called hedgehog genes, has been named "sonic hedgehog" after him.
Reception and legacy thumb|220px|upright|Graffiti artwork of Sonic the Hedgehog seen in Porto Alegre Brazil in 2011 As Sega's mascot and one of the key reasons for the company's success during the 16-bit era of video game consoles Sonic is one of the most famous video game characters in the world In 1993 Sonic became the first video game character to have a balloon in Macy's Thanksgiving Day ParadeDavis Cameron and Shoemaker Brad The History of Sonic the Hedgehog GameSpot Retrieved June 16 2008 In 1996 Sonic was also the first video game character to be seen in a Rose Parade Sonic was one of the three game characters inducted on the inaugural Walk of Game class in 2005 along with former rivals Mario and Link (both from Nintendo) One of a class of genes involved in fruit fly embryonic development called hedgehog genes has been named "sonic hedgehog" after him