Several character designs were submitted by its AM8 research and development department. These included an armadillo (who was later developed into Mighty the Armadillo), a dog, a Theodore Roosevelt look-alike in pajamas (who was later used as the basis of Doctor Eggman's design), and a rabbit (who would use its extendable ears to collect objects, an idea that was later used for Ristar).[1][2] Eventually, the mascot they selected was Naoto ÅOEshima's submission, a spiky teal hedgehog codenamed "Mr. Needlemouse", later renamed Sonic.[3] Sonic's color was based on the SEGA logo, his shoe buckles based on Michael Jackson, his shoe color based on Santa Claus, and his personality was inspired by future-President Bill Clinton, who ÅOEhshima felt embodied a modern sensibility of wanting to get things done right away, righting wrongs as they presented themselves instead of letting them linger.[1][4][5][6] Sonic was created without the ability to swim because of a mistaken assumption by Yuji Naka that all hedgehogs could not do so.
FROM SONIC NEWS NETWORK, I GIVE THEM FULL CREDIT!!!