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.