Sonic the Hedgehog fandom

Three women cosplaying as Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, and Shadow the Hedgehog at an anime convention, with dyed hair and hoodies resembling the characters' colors.
Sonic the Hedgehog cosplayers at Anime Los Angeles 2016

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise that originated from the 1991 game of the same name for the Sega Genesis, which was spawned from franchise publisher Sega's request for a mascot to compete against Nintendo's Mario. Following the game's success, numerous sequels, successors, spinoffs, television series, and feature films have been produced, each with varying levels of success and critical reception. While initially successful, the series gained a negative reputation during the 2000s for its poorly-received installments and has frequently been a subject of mockery.

Over the course of the franchise's multidecade history, Sonic the Hedgehog gained a significant fandom, whose members have created extensive fan works, including fan art, fan fiction, fan games, modifications and websites. Fans often create original characters called Sonic OCs which had become popular outside the fandom. The subculture intersects with the furry fandom and internet culture. Several Sonic-related Internet memes have surfaced from the fandom, with some having been referenced in official Sonic media. While generally tolerated by Sega, the fandom has occasionally been criticized for certain fan-produced content and fan behaviors.

History

The Sonic the Hedgehog series and its main protagonist Sonic gained significant popularity among children in the 1990s. It expanded beyond video games to include animated series and comic books. During the mid-1990s, the series' prominence declined due to fewer releases and competition from the rising popularity of Sony's PlayStation console. It began to recover following the announcement of Sonic Adventure (1998) for the Dreamcast. Its comic book series by Archie Comics gained popularity among fans during Sonic's decline and fans of the comic book series created websites hosted on GeoCities.

Fans of the series were noted to have form connections with its protagonist, Sonic, often identifying as his friend or companion rather than himself. The children's book author Caleb Zane-Huett discuss Sonic has always been a character with his own personality; for example, Sonic would break the fourth wall with annoyance. Zane-Huett said that Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) does much to persuade the player that he's not just a player-controlled character which provides a vision where the player questions who they are in the game.

Sonic's decline continued to the 2000s with its games receiving poor or mixed reviews—especially Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), likewise poorly received by players. The fandom fragmented and diversified, but survived. The game's impact led fans to coin the term "The Sonic Cycle" in 2008, originating on NeoGAF, describing the pattern of hope followed by disappointment with each new Sonic game. The formulation of "The Sonic Cycle" consisted of three stages; the announcement, the reveal of recurring characters, and poor reception. The cycle then repeats with the next major Sonic announcement. Titles that followed this cycle included Sonic and the Black Knight (2009) and Sonic Free Riders (2010). By 2014, Sonic had been mostly known for its romantic fan fictions and comedic fan art. Despite its decline, some fans held hope for its return to glory, and other celebrate it for some reasons. Nick Thorpe, Retro Gamer writer and a fan of the series, stated that he's always look forward to new entries in the series and its fandom in spite of the poorly-received entries.

When the teaser trailer for the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog film was released, director Jeff Fowler asserted that the team behind the film received heavy criticism towards Sonic's design. Fowler then confirmed that changes to Sonic's design would be made. Numerous fan edits then went viral on social media platforms such as Twitter. Writing for Vice magazine, Samantha Cole reported that many members of the furry fandom thought the design was ugly and argued that Paramount Pictures should hire one of them to design Sonic instead. However, member Amethyst Basilisk found the design to be appealing and interesting for the furry fandom.

Fan base

Analysis

Intelligencer writer Colin Spacetwinks wrote how the Sonic franchise fits in between Christian media and popular culture. He describes that Sonic embraces coolness, without the use of sexual or violent imagery, as the character has a personality and an attitude which Spacetwinks describes him as the "cool" alternative to Mario during the Sega-Nintendo console wars. Despite not having any explicit references, the franchise had feature plots and characters that Christian youth can relate to. This results in the franchise's mass appeal to the Christian youth demographic, usually those limited to Christian alternatives of mass media. Many of those Christians would join Sonic fan forums, with the intent of blending in with non-Christian fans. The Christian fans often make fan content for the franchise that aligns with their religion.

Media scholar and gaming culture researcher James Newman has examined how differences in regional releases of older titles in the series, such as the distorted graphics and deaccelerated music and gameplay of the European PAL version of Sonic 1 compared to the Japanese and North American NTSC versions, has been a topic of interest amongst nostalgic players, and led to debates about authorial intent, canonicity, and preferred or inferior qualities of each. These practices also occur within the participatory culture of the fandom, in which texts (both fan and official localized translations) are judged based upon their compatibility with the series' canon and original Japanese source material, with fans often rectifying perceived inconsistencies through the creation of fan theories.

Online communities and conventions

The Sonic the Hedgehog fandom has splintered into numerous subcommunities, each developing their own identity and interests. Sonic subreddit moderator David Manzolillo declared that the fandom can make any type of fan thrive, and feel accepted regardless of their views and backgrounds. Another moderator Efrain Astorga, known as Fay online, spoke how all of the fans respect among each other despite their diverse views on the games, regarded as uncommon among other video game communities. Websites emerged to support them, such as Sonic Retro, a wiki that keeps detailed records of beta versions and hacks of official games, and Sonic the Hedgehog Area 51, a forum dedicated to the franchise's lost media and prototypes.

Summer of Sonic, an annual fan convention dedicated to the Sonic series and hosted in the United Kingdom, was founded by Svend Joscelyne and Adam Tuff and was first held in 2008. The attendees could watch both official and fan-created content shown on stage as well as interviews with Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka. There were also live musical performances. The convention has held over six events with the final one held during 2013, However, two special events were held during 2016 and 2019 respectively.

Fan-made games

Fans of the Sonic franchise have been known to create well-received fan games. Sega has often allowed these projects to continue without issuing cease and desists to their developers. The website Sonic Fan Games HQ hosts the online annual event Sonic Amateur Games Expo (SAGE), which showcases both fan-made and original games. Notable Sonic fan games include Sonic After the Sequel (2013), set between the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 3; Sonic Dreams Collection (2015), which satirizes the fandom; Sonic Robo Blast 2, which has continued to receive support since its development began in 1998; and Sonic P-06, an in-progress remake of the poorly-received Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).

Fans has been involved in the ROM hacking community. Fans mainly create ROM hacks for the early 1990s games for the Sega Genesis, usually adding features from other games or restoring lost media. Sonic Mania, a 2017 video game released by Sega with critical acclaim, was developed by fans who have previously worked on Sonic ROM hacks, fan games, and mobile remasters of Sonic 1, 2 and CD. Whilst some fans went on to work on official games, others took inspiration from the series and created their own games. Notable original games include Freedom Planet (2014) and Spark the Electric Jester (2017). In 2016, Sega updated dozens of its Genesis re-released games (including Sonic games) on Steam with the service's workshop support, allowing fans to upload and share modification of these games on the service.

Fan art

A female Sonic OC under the name Floee the Fox, with her right half being completely red and her other half featuring white fur.
An example of a Sonic the Hedgehog original character

Fans have created fan art of the Sonic franchise, including queer art. Fan artists on the online art website DeviantArt has created groups devoted to drawing Sonic characters, sometimes depicted as humans. Fans create original characters (OC) known as Sonic OCs to be embedded into their own fictional narratives and interact with Sonic's cast directly, often posting their OCs on DeviantArt. Many fan artists who have drawn OCs perceived as low-quality have improved their skills over time. Jennifer Hernandez, a fan artist was contracted to work on the Sonic comics as a result of her fan art. Due to the vastness of Sonic OCs, a fad became popularized among people to search their name alongside the phrase "Sonic OC" and then share their results online. Tools for creating Sonic OCs exist on websites like Newgrounds. The character customization system in Sonic Forces (2017) were influenced Sonic OCs. Takashi Iizuka said his team chose not to create different body types and shapes since most of the OCs resembled Sonic's design.

Sonic the Hedgehog is a popular subject for artists and writers involved in the furry fandom, which is associated with sexual themes. Fans have occasionally drawn fetish art of Sonic. Some artists may draw him and other series characters depicted as sexually attractive. Both fandoms share similar aspects including the basis of childhood affinities and crushes that led to a more active participation, and the creation and cultivation of OCs.

Fans of the series have produced extensive erotic art online. Ben Richmond, writing for Vice, wrote that most of the art was likely created by young adolescents. Mandy Jones, a social worker, stated that young adolescents often become curious about sexuality, emphasizing the visualization of sexuality as healthy. Although, she expressed concern over the possibility of adolescents engaging in themes of sexual violence. Fans often create content involving Sonic characters gaining unrealistic amounts of weight. Examples includes feederism, vore, body inflation, and Mpreg. Fans who create Mpreg fiction of the series often fixate on Omegaverse and allow both in-series and crossover shipping.

Fan fiction

Caleb Zane-Huett and Nick Splendorr discuss that Sonic's role as more than just a player-controlled character and the franchise's struggles with plot encourages players to create their own fan fiction based on the franchise. Fan fiction authors had debates with fans over Sonic and Tails kissing as canon in the franchise. Critic Zolani Stewart implied that the Sonic comics were his favorite as he posted on Twitter about thoughts he had on specific panels, sections and images alongside the self-coined hashtag #SonicStudies. Stewart's tweets on #SonicStudies got the attention of Kotaku, who subsequently published an article on Sonic.

Speedrunning

A strong and well-developed speedrunning community has developed surrounding the Sonic series, with its games frequently appearing at events and marathons like Awesome Games Done Quick. Titles like Sonic 2 and Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) are popular submissions on streaming sites and leaderboards like Speed Demos Archive, speedrun.com, or the franchise-specific website, the Sonic Center. Writer Erica Lenti has noted that through working together to accomplish a common goal, speedrunning can strengthen social bonds, with an interviewed Sonic Mania player explaining that a "sense of community" and nostalgia for playing the games at a younger age had encouraged them to keep returning to the series.

Internet culture

Sonic the Hedgehog has been recognized as a significant aspect of Internet culture, especially that the franchise's popularity grew around when the World Wide Web was published. Fans online may celebrate the franchise's mediocrity due to the lack of well-received Sonic games since the 1990s. The franchise has inspired various internet memes, many of which have been acknowledged by Sega and referenced in games. Sonic memes has been used by left-leaning users to promote support for transgender rights, unionization, and higher payment for employees of video game companies. Writer Colin Spacetwinks called Sonic a "seemingly inescapable" aspect of internet culture.

Ugandan Knuckles

A deformed version of Knuckles the Echidna, with audio taken from the Ugandan comedy film Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010), began appearing on the virtual world platform VRChat, with many players using a 3D model of the character to infiltrate game worlds in attempts to annoy other players. Its design has been traced back to a one-second clip uploaded to YouTube by Gregzilla in 2017. The meme has received intense criticism for being racist towards Ugandans.

Pingas

"Pingas" is a word coined by YouTube Poop creator and artist Stegblob in 2008. In one of her videos, she inserted a short clip from an episode of the 1990s animated series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. A line spoken by Long John Baldry as Doctor Robotnik, "Snooping as usual, I see", was cut down to "ping as", which became the phrase that the meme revolves around. The phrase became popular among fans after a YouTuber uploaded a video where the word replaces every note of the song "Gourmet Race" from the video game Kirby Super Star (1996). Archie Comics, an official Sonic franchise comic book publisher, later referenced the meme in issue 205 of their Sonic the Hedgehog comics series.

Sanic

External videos
A screenshot of Microsoft Paint, featuring digital artwork of a crudely designed Sonic the Hedgehog under the name Sanic. The character is placed in a green background with the upper-right text stating: "Cum on Step it up!!!!!"
0nyxheart's original drawing of Sanic in Microsoft Paint
video icon HOW 2 DRAW SANIC HEGEHOG on YouTube

Sanic is a crudely-drawn satirical depiction of Sonic who originated from a YouTube video titled "How 2 Draw Sanic Hegehog" [sic] by 0nyxheart and published on March 31, 2010. The video consists of a tutorial of how to draw Sonic in Microsoft Paint. It's soundtracked by an extremely loud and distorted version of the theme that plays during Green Hill Zone, the first level of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991). As the tutorial concludes, the phrase "cumon step it up!!!!!" [sic] are written on-screen. The video had been deleted from YouTube at some point prior to 2013, but has since been re-uploaded by others. Sanic initially became popular through 4chan, leading to users creating their own drawn variations of Sanic before branching out to various other mediums. Users of the site's /b/ board, who often called into Bill Keller's live televangelism program Live Prayer, would occasionally play the Sanic video's loud and distorted audio while calling.

Sanic is frequently acknowledged by the Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account. Aaron Webber, the account's former social media manager, stated in an interview with Twinfinite that Sanic was "very popular around the office" and acknowledged Sega and Nintendo's divergence in their brand identity, noting "Nintendo would never post bad Mario fan art". Shortly after the v1.01 update of Sonic Forces (2017) was released, an in-game t-shirt featuring Sanic was data mined. The t-shirt was later added as a free DLC. In the film Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Sanic makes a cameo appearance as a crayon drawing made by the character Crazy Carl, who tries to prove Sonic's existence. Sanic made a further split-second appearance in a sped-up trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022).

Sega has incorporated Sanic into several of its April Fools' Day campaigns. The "Sanic Collection" in 2018 featured four items, including a t-shirt, mug, and phone case. In 2021, G Fuel released a chili dog-flavored drink mix in collaboration with Sega. Writing for Inverse, James Pero described the drink mix as tasting "about as good as a shoe made out of meatloaf and asbestos". Sega released a one-day collection of t-shirts—also titled "Sanic Collection"—in 2026, featuring Sanic, Knackles (Knuckles the Echidna), and Shedew (Shadow the Hedgehog).

During interviews with Twinfinite and The Verge, Aaron Webber commented that Sanic's presence on official social media accounts, along with other Sonic memes, helped to bolster the series' reputation on social media, leading to the Twitter account doubling in followers in the year after Webber took over as its manager. In a Forbes retrospective article about the YouTube Poop genre, Zack O'Malley Greenburg highlighted Sanic's continued popularity a decade after its creation, as well as the catchphrases "gotta go fast" and "cumon step it up!!!!!", further noting that a Garry's Mod video featuring Sanic had reached nearly ten million views on YouTube. William Moo of Syfy Wire remarked that although Sega's adoption of the Sanic meme was divisive among fans, Sanic retained "widespread influence" and popularity online, and that it "continues inspiring others to make their own memes, comics, and videos and the nostalgia for such a character never went away."

Reception

Sega's response to the Sonic the Hedgehog fandom has been more permissive compared to other companies. In May 2021, Sega's social media manager Katie Chrzanowski addressed that the company does not have issues with fan content in most cases as long as the content is not being monetized. IGN writer Kat Bailey praised the company's stance toward fan content, with a marked contrast to other companies who commonly shut down fan projects, for example ports and tributes. The series' former writer Ken Pontac expressed mixed opinions towards the fandom, being instructed by Sega not to engage.

Hope Pisoni for The A.V. Club compared the Sonic series to Mario, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro, all of which are well-received platformer series without the same fanbase that Sonic inspires. Zolani Stewart felt that the Sonic fandom believes in itself more than it believes in critics. Writing for USgamer, Caty McCarthy wrote that many outside the fandom usually subsequently took enjoyment from mocking the fandom and the series. The fans themselves confounds the anti-fans to its popularity. Stewart noted that Sonic fan art has become less cynical, close-minded, and myopic in the following years. He credited the queer art community for the progressive of the fan art. Polygon writer Michael McWhertor discussed how he was disappointed at the Sonic games, however praised the fandom's relationship with the furry fandom for their expression.

The Sonic fandom has drawn criticism from writers. PC Gamer writer Rich Stanton wrote that searching Sonic on Google can lead to displeasuring images and details. Authors Karis Jones and Scott Storm wrote that a student ranked the Sonic fandom as one of the worst video game fandoms of all time. The student discussed the behavior of fans and the way in which they demand content from Sega. As a result of this, the company has often been mocked and jested by fans. Whilst the student saw Sonic as embroiled in a societal obsession with violence, they remained hopeful in Sega's interaction with its fan base, with the fans themselves shifting their discourse practices towards helping the franchise. The Guardian writer Leigh Alexander wrote the franchise's decline and fan mockery led to the character Sonic often being featured in cynical art and furry pornography, of which is described as fans "stick with the intriguing cartoons of their youth even as they exit childhood and develop adult tastes."

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Ollerenshaw, Tracy (June 8, 2016). "Happy Birthday Sonic! The famous blue hedgehog turns 25". BBC. Archived from the original on July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Thorpe, Nick (June 2021). "Endless Runner". Retro Gamer. No. 221. pp. 108–109. ISSN 1742-3155. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  3. ↑ Oxford, Nadia (July 24, 2025). "How the Power of Fan Love Kept Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog Comic Alive for 24 Years". USGamer. Archived from the original on October 13, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 McCarthy, Caty (August 17, 2017). "The People Who Never Gave up on Sonic: A Deep Dive Into the Most Curious (and Passionate) Fandom on the Internet". USGamer. Archived from the original on November 23, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  5. ↑ Donnie (July 1, 2017). "In-Depth: The Sonic Cycle". Last Minute Continue. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  6. ↑ Shea, Brian (November 14, 2016). "Where Sonic Went Wrong". Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  7. ↑ Casamassina, Matt (March 3, 2009). "Sonic & the Black Knight Review". IGN. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved March 9, 2009.
  8. ↑ DeVries, Jack (November 1, 2010). "'Sonic Free Riders' Kinect Review". IGN. Archived from the original on June 22, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 Alexander, Leigh (April 4, 2014). "Sonic the Hedgehog: how fans have subverted a fallen mascot". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  10. ↑ Alexander, Julia (May 2, 2019). "Sonic's live-action design upset the entire internet, so the studio is changing it". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 7, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  11. 1 2 Cole, Samantha (December 14, 2018). "I Asked Some Furries Whether the New 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Is Hot or Not". Vice. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  12. 1 2 Spacetwinks, Colin (February 12, 2020). "The Pious World of Christian Sonic the Hedgehog Fan Art". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on May 15, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  13. ↑ Newman, James (March 2019). "Slower, Squashed and Six Months Late : Japanese Videogames in the UK, 1991-2019" (PDF). Replaying Japan. 1. Ritsumeikan Center for Game Studies: 5–28. doi:10.34382/00007808. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  14. ↑ Newman, James (March 2005). "Playing (with) Videogames". Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 11 (1). SAGE Publications: 48–67. doi:10.1177/135485650501100105. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  15. 1 2 Donaldson, Alex (August 28, 2018). "The Sonic community just released a slew of amazing fangame demos". VG247. Archived from the original on December 3, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Can You Feel The Sunshine?". Retro Gamer. No. 234. June 9, 2022. p. 16. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  17. ↑ Neltz, András (June 20, 2013). "There's a New Sonic Out on PC. It's a Fangame and It Looks Amazing". Kotaku. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2026.
  18. ↑ Fingas, Jon (August 16, 2015). "'Sonic the Hedgehog' tribute games reflect a mascot's fall from grace". Engadget. Archived from the original on August 20, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2026.
  19. ↑ Menegus, Bryan (July 22, 2016). "The Fan-Made Sonic Game That Won't Die". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  20. ↑ Summers, Nick (December 11, 2019). "One fan's struggle to fix the worst game in Sonic history". Engadget. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  21. ↑ "The Hackers And Modders Behind The Next Official Sonic Game". Kotaku Australia. August 7, 2017. Archived from the original on July 29, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  22. ↑ Feldman, Brian (April 28, 2016). "Streets of Rage 2 Except It Makes That Weird Tim Allen Noise When People Die' Is the Best Game of the Year". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on January 6, 2026. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  23. 1 2 3 Feldman, Brian (June 23, 2016). "How Sonic the Hedgehog Explains the Internet". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on December 29, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  24. ↑ Feldman, Brian (February 14, 2020). "The Staff of New York Shows Off Its Sonic OCs". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  25. ↑ Frank, Allegra (September 25, 2017). "Sonic Forces' Custom Hero mode might not be the wish fulfillment you want". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2026.
  26. 1 2 Alter, Rebecca (February 13, 2020). "There's a Lot of Sonic the Hedgehog Fetish Art Online. Why?". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on May 20, 2025. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  27. ↑ Richmond, Ben (February 12, 2015). "Hedgehog Healing: We Asked a Social Worker About Amateur Sonic Erotica". Vice. Archived from the original on August 23, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  28. ↑ Beck, Kellen (January 11, 2019). "Delightful 'Sonic the Hedgehog' speedrun is the perfect distillation of what makes speedrunning great". Mashable. Ziff Davis. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  29. ↑ Walker, John (January 12, 2022). "Sonic 4: Episode II Speedrun Record Broken By Player In Cursed Sonic Outfit". Kotaku. Keleops Group. Archived from the original on December 8, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  30. ↑ Cowan, Danny (November 13, 2014). "Glitched Sonic Boom speedrun clocks in at under an hour". Engadget. Static Media. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  31. ↑ Beck, Kellen (August 21, 2017). "How 'Sonic 2' speedrunners turned 'gotta go fast' into an art form". Mashable. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  32. ↑ "Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: Dark Story World Record Speedrun". IGN. Ziff Davis. May 6, 2018. Archived from the original on October 2, 2025. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  33. ↑ Lenti, Erica (July 10, 2021). "Why Do Gamers Love Speedrunning So Much Anyway?". WIRED. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  34. ↑ Frank, Allegra (January 11, 2018). "Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter takes on Ugandan Knuckles in the best way". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2026.
  35. ↑ Good, Owen S. (November 26, 2017). "Sonic Forces pays tribute to Sanic Hegehog meme". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2026.
  36. 1 2 Pisoni, Hope (July 13, 2023). "In Defense of 3D Sonic". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on January 6, 2026. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  37. ↑ Alexander, Julia (February 2, 2018). "Understanding Ugandan Knuckles in a post-Pepe the Frog world". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 23, 2025. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  38. ↑ Abu-Salah, Yousef (February 5, 2018). "Ugandan Knuckles: A Mistaken Case of Institutional Racism". The Vision The Eyes of MSMS. Archived from the original on August 23, 2025. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  39. ↑ Feldman, Brian (February 10, 2020). "How Pingas Became One of Sonic the Hedgehog's Most Famous Memes". Intelligencer. New York. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  40. 1 2 3 Moo, William (February 10, 2020). "Sanic, the demented meme, is the purest expression of Sonic the Hedgehog". Syfy Wire. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  41. 1 2 Noz (January 4, 2013). "Cyber Secrets #4: Noz". Red Bull Music Academy. Archived from the original on September 28, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  42. ↑ "4chan's new pet project: Trolling this Florida televangelist". The Daily Dot. February 13, 2014. Archived from the original on April 19, 2026. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  43. 1 2 McGlone, Ed (August 8, 2016). "Inside the Mastermind: An Interview With Sonic the Hedgehog's Twitter Manager". Twinfinite. Archived from the original on September 22, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  44. ↑ Wong, Alistair (November 12, 2017). "Sonic Forces Patch Datamine: Includes "Sanic" T-Shirt, Super Sonic Transformation". Siliconera. Archived from the original on September 15, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  45. ↑ Vazquez, Suriel (November 25, 2017). "Sonic Forces Gets A 'Sanic' Meme T-Shirt". Game Informer. Archived from the original on December 10, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  46. ↑ Alter, Rebecca (February 14, 2020). "All the Easter Eggs and Hidden References in Sonic the Hedgehog". Vulture. Archived from the original on November 6, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  47. ↑ King, Jack (March 13, 2022). "Sonic 2 Reveals Speedy Easter Eggs Ahead of Final Trailer Tomorrow". Collider. Archived from the original on July 22, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  48. 1 2 Lada, Jenni (April 1, 2026). "Sanic the Hedgehog, Knackles, and Shedew Shirts on Sale". Siliconera. Archived from the original on April 14, 2026. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  49. ↑ Pereira, Chris (April 4, 2018). "April Fools 2018 Joke Roundup For Games: Fortnite, Pokemon Go, And More". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  50. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (April 1, 2021). "Sonic the Hedgehog's new energy drink tastes like chili dogs". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 27, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  51. ↑ Pero, James (August 20, 2021). "G-Fuel's chili dog flavored Sanic drink rattled me to the core". Inverse. Archived from the original on May 18, 2026. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  52. ↑ Webster, Andrew (June 23, 2016). "Talking to the man behind Sonic the Hedgehog's incredible Twitter". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 4, 2026. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  53. ↑ Greenburg, Zack O'Malley (March 3, 2020). "YouTube Poop And The 'Sanic' Boom: Digesting The Strangest Slice Of Google's $15B Video Business". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 6, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  54. ↑ Doolan, Liam (May 11, 2021). "Sega Is Still Cool With Sonic Fan Games, Provided "No Profit Is Involved"". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on June 22, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  55. ↑ Bailey, Kat (May 11, 2021). "Sega Is Mostly Okay With Sonic Fan Games". IGN. Archived from the original on January 14, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  56. ↑ Doolan, Liam (February 2, 2021). "Sonic Writer Talks About His Love-Hate Relationship With The Fandom". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  57. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (July 15, 2024). "Sonic the Hedgehog would be a truly great franchise if not for the games". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  58. ↑ Stanton, Rich (March 29, 2024). "Google picks the one fight it will never win—with Sonic fans". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  59. ↑ Jones, Karis; Storm, Scott (June 5, 2022). Fighting Toxic Fandoms: Critical Media Compositions in a High School Classroom. Critical Media Literacy. Vol. 2. pp. 128–129.