Gaming Galaxy Volume 1 | Page 12

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chosen. Sonic’s blue colouring was chosen to match Sega’s blue logo, and his shoes were inspired from Michael Jackson’s boots with the colour red, which was inspired by Santa Claus and the comparison of those colors on Jackson's 1987 album Bad; his personality was based on Bill Clinton's "Get it done" attitude.

Sonic was Made without the ability to swim because of a mistaken assumption of hedgehogs being unable to swim. Fifteen people worked on the game and named themselves the Sonic Team. His game soundtrack was made by Masato Nakamura of the band Dreams Come True. Sega sponsored the group's "Wonder 3" tour, showing Sonic on the tour bus, handing out pamphlets advertising the game, and having footage of the game broadcast above stage prior to its release. The original artwork gave Sonic fangs and put him in a band with a human girlfriend named Madonna. However, a team from Sega of America, led by Madeline Schroeder, who calls herself "Sonic's mother", "softened" the character up for an American audience by removing those elements. This sparked controversy with Sonic Team. The game’s creator Yuji Naka said that it was probably for the best.

Pong, the first ever commercially available video game.