[nateburke]

Growing up I never had exposure to video games, so I didn't really know about Sonic until my son saw his face on some toy and IMMEDIATELY had questions. Who is that, what's his name, what does he do, ....

I think there's something about Sonic's face that is timeless, innate, prehistoric even.

[ninetyninenine]

It’s just cool. Cooler than Mario which is a fat plumber. Think of it as the difference between a Lamborghini (sonic) vs. VW beetle (Mario)

Sonic wins on aesthetics and style while Mario is popular entirely because of the quality of the games that have cemented Mario as timeless.