Sonic the Hedgehog, star of over 30 titles across 16 platforms, celebrates his 13th birthday today. Since he first appeared in 1991, Sonic has also been sighted in two television shows, a comic book, a line of action figures, children's books, Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and a series of plush toys.
Across the years, Sonic has been joined by many friends in his struggles against Robotnik. Miles "Tails" Prowers, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy the Hedgehog, Big the Cat, and E-102 are the most notable of these friends, though the list is substantially longer. Among these, both Tails and Knuckles have been featured in their own video game titles.
Sonic's debut in the Sega Genesis title Sonic the Hedgehog marked a new era for Sega, as it gave them both a mascot and began a prolific series of games that continues to this day. Though his most recent adventure, Sonic Heroes, was not received particularily well by critics, the game has performed well commercially. With the recently released Sonic Advance 3 and a Nintendo DS title in development, Sonic the Hedgehog is still going strong over a decade after his conception.
