Sega

How many copies did Sonic the Hedgehog sell? — 2024 statistics

Racing through the rings at supersonic speeds.

Fact-checked
First Released
June 23, 1991
Genre
Platformer
Developer
Sonic Team
Publisher
Sega

SEGA introduced us to Sonic the Hedgehog during the heated 1990 gaming scene. What started as a spiky blue mascot with his arch-enemy, Dr. Eggman, quickly became a sensation. With 32 games and counting, especially with the buzz around Sonic Frontiers, we’re here to break down the Sonic the Hedgehog sales. And for those wanting a deeper dive into the franchise, we’ll also touch on some intriguing Sonic the Hedgehog statistics. We also cover a wide variety of topics, so if you’re interested in… let’s say, the video game industry’s worth, you’ve come to the right place!

Sonic the Hedgehog key stats

Ever wondered, how many copies did Sonic the Hedgehog sell? You’re in the right spot! From revenue figures to Sonic game sales data and more, we’ve got all the Sonic insights you could want. With the series speeding past its thirty-year mark, there’s a treasure trove of information to explore. Whether it’s about the classic hits or the latest releases, we’ve got you covered with all the essential details.

The Sonic the Hedgehog sales for the entire series have surpassed 95.4 million copies.

(Source: VG Chartz)

  • Sonic 3D Blast sold 700,000+ copies.
  • Sonic Adventure sold 2.5 million copies.
  • Sonic Heroes sold 4.58+ million copies.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) sold 2.69 million copies.
  • Sonic and the Secret Rings sold 3 million copies.
  • Sonic and the Black Knight sold 1.2 million copies.
  • Sonic Colors sold 4 million copies.
  • Sonic Generations sold 1.85 million copies.
  • Sonic Lost World sold 710,000 copies.
  • Sonic Frontiers sold 2.9 million copies.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit) sold 15+ million copies.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) sold 6+ million copies.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog CD sold 1.5 million copies.
  • Sonic Rush Adventure sold 1.2 million copies.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I sold 1+ million copies.
  • Sonic Mania sold 1+ million copies.

Wow, that’s a lot of games… And to think, these are just the games that have available sales numbers. The actual number of Sonic games sold is probably much, much higher, but we simply don’t have a way to find out. Either way, this is enough to prove that this is one of the most popular gaming franchises in history and it continues pulling epic numbers.

The Sonic the Hedgehog series has grossed over $1.5 billion in revenue.

(Source: TheGamer)

  • This number includes both digital and physical sales on all platforms.
  • Sonic has beaten even the Pokemon franchise in terms of game revenue.
  • There are no franchises related to SEGA that come even close to Sonic, with the nearest franchise being the Total War series at 40.4 million sales.

This is a good number for you to form a perspective on just how popular the Sonic the Hedgehog series is as $1.5 billion is a massive number and it is even higher than the lifetime revenue of Pokemon, one of the biggest intellectual properties ever. There is no telling where our little blue friend is heading in the future, but it can only be up!

Sonic Frontiers sales reached 2.5 million units in its first month.

(Source: Eurogamer)

  • The game had 3 million total sales at the time of writing.
  • The total sales of the Sonic franchise totaled 5.8 million in 2021.
  • Sonic Frontiers managed to accumulate over half of an entire year’s sales in a single month.

This was the point where everyone could see just how much of a success the newest Sonic game would be in the future, as it managed to soar past 50% of the total franchise sales from the previous year in just one month. This means that SEGA hit it right on the nail and that they have found something that works quite well for the Sonic franchise at present.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the highest-grossing video game movie of all time in the U.S., making a $400 million.

(Sources: Game Informer, Deadline, NintendoLife)

  • The movie has grossed over $400 million at the global box office.
  • $190.6 million of that figure comes from the domestic box office and $209.5 million from the international box office.
  • The movie debuted in April with $71 million in gross revenue.
  • The first Sonic movie grossed about $320 million globally but failed to perform better on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aside from video games, Sonic also finds himself running circles around the film industry as well. The second movie in the soon-to-be trilogy performed amazingly well, much better than its predecessor, although it isn’t fair to say that Sonic the Hedgehog was a flop. On the contrary, the movie also performed quite well, it was just slowed down by the pandemic.

Sonic Frontiers performed so well that the team working on it received a 15% salary increase.

(Source: Game Reactor)

  • Bonuses for employees were partially incorporated into salaries.
  • The company’s aim was to further stabilize employee income and create a comfortable working environment.
  • With this, they have the goal of creating a healthy environment to improve productivity and maintain the quality of their games.

Another bright spot for the gaming industry! We’ve talked about the massive wave of layoffs at Microsoft in our Halo segment, which were sad and disappointing to see in any respect. However, Nintendo recently announced that its employees would be receiving average salary increases of 10%, but they were later increased by 15% instead. Moves like these are crucial for a company to succeed since happy workers are more likely to produce better results.

SEGA’s profits increased by 15.6% as it recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Source: Games Industry)

  • SEGA reported net sales of $2.5 billion, which was a 15.6% increase compared to 2021.
  • Its Entertainment Contents division reported net sales of $1.8 billion, which was an 8.3% year-on-year increase.
  • Operating income rose by 392% to $248 million, while their ordinary income rose by 1,858% to $258 million.
  • This was attributed to the recovery of SEGA’s other businesses.
  • SEGA also streamlined its business by cutting ties with the Japanese arcade scene after 56 years.

Here, we have some statistics relating to the overall success of SEGA following the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company struggled for a bit due to a change in the way things worked because of the virus, but as it passed and things began improving, so did SEGA’s financial status. They had solid profit increases in multiple sectors, but most notably in the ordinary income sector, which rose by 1,858%. Overall, massive improvements across the board.

To sum up

This is the point where we have to relinquish our rings as our run is done. That’s all we have to say about the Sonic the Hedgehog series and we really hope that you are satisfied with what we’ve had to say. Of course, since the series has 32 mainline games we could not talk about each one in more detail, so we focused more on the newer releases. That must be why you’re here, after all. We can’t wait to see what’s in store next for this legendary series, so be sure that we’ll update this with any and all new information that pops up.

Sources

  • “Sonic the Hedgehog”. VG Chartz, 2022, https://www.vgchartz.com/game/226081/sonic-the-hedgehog/?region=All
  • “Sonic The Hedgehog’s Lifetime Sales Have Hit 1.5 Billion”. TheGamer, 2022, https://www.thegamer.com/sonic-the-hedgehog-lifetime-sales-15-billion/
  • “Sonic Frontiers Passes Another Sales Milestone”. GameRant, 2023, https://gamerant.com/sonic-frontiers-sales-milestone-3-million-units/
  • “Sonic Frontiers races to 2.5m sales in first month”. Eurogamer, 2022, https://www.eurogamer.net/sonic-frontiers-races-to-25m-sales-in-first-month
  • “‘Sonic The Hedgehog 2’ Dashes Past $400M Global Box Office Milestone”. Deadline, 2022, https://deadline.com/2022/06/sonic-the-hedgehog-2-crosses-400-million-global-box-office-1235049911/
  • “Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Is The Highest Grossing Video Game Movie Of All Time In The US”. Game Informer, 2022, https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/05/06/sonic-the-hedgehog-2-is-the-highest-grossing-video-game-movie-of-all-time-in-the-us
  • “Sonic Frontiers Sales Set New Launch Record In Japan, Biggest Debut In 18 Years”. TwistedVoxel, 2023, https://twistedvoxel.com/sonic-frontiers-sales-launch-record-japan-biggest-debut/
  • “Sonic Frontiers Becomes Fastest-Selling Mainline Sonic Game In Japan”. GameRant, 2022, https://gamerant.com/sonic-frontiers-fastest-selling-mainline-sonic-game-japan/#:~:text=Sonic%20Frontiers%20is%20selling%20well,game%20since%202017%27s%20Sonic%20Forces
  • “Sonic 2 Wins ‘Favourite Movie’ At Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2023”. NintendoLife, 2023, https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/03/sonic-2-wins-favourite-movie-at-nickelodeon-kids-choice-awards-2023
  • “‘Sonic’ co-creator Yuji Naka reportedly arrested for insider trading”. Engadget, 2022, https://www.engadget.com/sonic-co-creator-yuji-naka-arrested-for-insider-trading-120744614.html
  • “Sega is raising employee salaries”. Game Reactor, 2023, https://www.gamereactor.eu/sega-is-raising-employee-salaries-1242823/
  • “Nintendo raises employee salaries in Japan by up to 10%”. Game Reactor, 2023, https://www.gamereactor.eu/nintendo-raises-employee-salaries-in-japan-by-up-to-10-1240133/
  • “Sega exits the arcade business after 56 years”. Games Industry, 2022, https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sega-exits-the-arcade-business-after-56-years
  • “Sega’s COVID recovery continues as sales rise 15.6% to $2.5bn”. Games Industry, 2022, https://www.gamesindustry.biz/segas-covid-recovery-continues-as-sales-rise-15-6-percent-to-usd2-5bn