It has long been known that Sonic the Hedgehog is the reason the Sega Genesis console was so successful during its time. While the console was released in North America in 1989, Sonic the Hedgehog became its best-selling game overall just two years later, with over 3 million copies sold within the first two weeks of its debut. This allowed the Sega Genesis console to surpass the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in sales for 1991, effectively dethroning Nintendo as the leader of the console market. Since then, the Sonic the Hedgehog series has sold nearly 2 billion units and has remained immensely popular despite its age.