Sega wanted a game capable of selling over one million copies
and a character to replace Alex Kidd as the company's mascot. Several
character designs were submitted by its AM8 research &
development department, including an armadillo (which then developed
into Mighty the Armadillo), a dog, a Theodore Roosevelt look-alike in
pajamas (which would later be the basis of Eggman's design), and a
rabbit (intended to use its extendible ears to collect objects; these
aspects were later incorporated into Ristar).[9] Eventually, Naoto
Oshima's spiky blue hedgehog, initially codenamed "Mr Needlemouse",[3]
was chosen as the new mascot. Sonic's blue pigmentation was chosen to
match Sega's blue logo. A group of fifteen started working on Sonic the
Hedgehog, and renamed themselves Sonic Team. The game's soundtrack was
composed by Masato Nakamura of the band Dreams Come True. Sega
sponsored the group's "Wonder 3" tour, painting Sonic on the tour bus,
distributing pamphlets advertising the game, and having footage of the
game broadcast above stage prior to its release.[10] Sonic's appearance
varies greatly depending on the medium and the style in which he is
drawn. In the video games, Sonic's original design by Oshima was quite
short and round, with short quills, a round body and no visible irises
(see artwork at left). Artwork featuring this design and drawn by Akira
Watanabe[11] was displayed on the package artwork for Sonic the
Hedgehog, and most subsequent Sonic video games featured similar
designs.
When Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Megadrive appeared, Sonic's
proportions changed. The original 1:2 head to height ratio became
1:2.5.[12]
Beginning with Sonic Adventure in 1998, Sonic was redesigned by Yuji
Uekawa as a taller character with longer legs and a less spherical
body, longer and more drooping spines, and green-colored eyes. Further
subtle changes to the character's design have been made in subsequent
games. Spin-off media such as comics and cartoons have featured
variations on all these video game designs, with restrictions set by
the standardized model sheets.[13]
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