What kind of obscure lore will we unearth about Sonic "the" Hedgehog (Or is it Sonic "Maurice" Hedgehog)? Only time will tell, unless you're too slow! Fortunately, we have special guest Matt (AKA SonicMTD) to help us out!
And that wraps up Season 8! Join us in a few short weeks as we return with the beginning of Season 9! What changes will occur? How rad will our beards be? Do people say rad anymore?
In any case, the episodes will keep on coming, they just won't be live until we're back. So until next time... we'll see you next time!
## Where can I learn more about Matt (AKA SonicMTD)?
If you'd like to hear more from Matt or check out his work, you're in luck!
- His YouTube: https://youtube.com/SonicMTD
- His Twitter: https://twitter.com/SonicMTD
- His Facebook: https://facebook.com/SonicMTD
## Episode outline
### Fandom Facts
**History and Origins:**
> Sonic the Hedgehog is a media franchise created and produced by Sega. It is primarily a video game franchise, centering on a series of speed-based platform games. Sonic, the protagonist, is an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog with supersonic speed, capable of reaching the speed of sound. Typically, Sonic—usually along with some of his friends, such as Tails, Amy, and Knuckles—must stop antagonist Doctor Eggman's plans for world domination.
>
> The first game in the series, released in 1991, was conceived by Sega's Sonic Team division after Sega requested a mascot character. Its success spawned many sequels and helped Sega become one of the leading video game companies during the 16-bit era of the early 1990s.
>
> While the first Sonic games were side-scrolling platform games, later games expanded into other genres, such as Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. The series had sold over 80 million physical copies by June 2011, and grossed over $5 billion by 2014. As of 2017, the series has shifted 360 million units, including software package sales and mobile game downloads. The franchise has also been spun out into other media, including cartoons, anime, and a comic book series recognized as the longest running based on a video game by Guinness World Records.
> — [Wikipedia - Sonic the Hedgehog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog)
**Search Data:**
Based on search data, Sonic the Hedgehog has been [slowly declining in popularity](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F08b26_,%2Fm%2F07656) since 2004. Strangely though, there was a swell of interest from 2004 'til the present peaking around August 2009.
The following is a list of top ten countries for _Sonic the Hedgehog_ (by search volume): Australia, United States, India, United Kingdom, Philippines, Germany, Indonesia, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland.
**Fan Data:**
We managed to find a few different fan surveys that had been conducted. From [the unofficial Sonic the Hedgehog survey](https://www.reddit.com/r/SonicTheHedgehog/comments/7may60/the_official_unofficial_sonic_the_hedgehog_survey/) with over 300 responses, we have some data points:
- Top three games: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (24.9%), Sonic Adventure 2 (15%), Sonic 3 & Knuckles (14.6%)
- Bottom three games: Sonic Boom - Rise of Lyric (31.5%), Sonic 06 (19.9%), Shadow the Hedgehog (7.5%)
- Favourite character: Sonic (29.6%)
- Least favourite character: The Deadly Six (32.7%)
- Favourite vocal theme: Live and Learn (20.9%)
And [from the subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/SonicTheHedgehog/comments/8hly52/the_reddit_redesign_survey_results_and_some_other/) (unclear how many responses):
- _Gender:_ 9 Men to every 1 woman who responded
- _Age:_ Folks age 14 to 23 make up 80.7%. Average age was 19.5
- _Introductory game:_ The original trilogy (39.4%)
**Fanac Fast Facts:**
- FanFiction.net has over [30 000 Sonic the Hedgehog Fanfics](https://www.fanfiction.net/game/Sonic-the-Hedgehog/). Sadly, that data is hard to break down, but fortunately Archive Of Our Own has [over 2000 fanworks](https://archiveofouro...
