12 Little-Known Gaming Trivia Facts You Won't Believe

1. Sonic The Hedgehog Was Inspired By Super Mario Speedrunning

Speedrunning is one of modern gamings most popular practices, whether its providing new replayability and challenge, or reinvigorating older titles and rendering them relevant once more.

Thanks to the rise of streaming services like Twitch and video-sharing platforms like YouTube, speedrunning has massively increased in popularity €“ but that doesn't mean it hasn't been around since nearer the beginning of gaming. In fact, Sonic The Hedgehog actually owes its existence to speedrunning. In an interview, Sonic creator Yuji Naka said:

"Back then, games didn't allow you to save your progress. So when you wanted to play Super Mario Bros., you always had to start from World 1-1.You could use the Warp Zones to skip many of the other levels, but you always had to play through World 1-1. Doing so eventually became kind of tedious, so I always tried to get through the level as fast as I could. And that inspired the initial concept for Sonic The Hedgehog."

Next time someone asks you what the point of speedrunning is, you know exactly what to tell them. Are there any we missed? Let us know your favourite piece of video game trivia in the comments below!