Sonic Team facts for kids
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Trade name
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Sonic Team |
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Native name
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ソニックチーム
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Romanized name
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Sonikku chīmu |
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Formerly
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Sega R&D9 (1990-1991) Sega CS3 (1991-1995, 1996-1999) Sega CS (1995-1996) Sega AM8 (1999-2000) Sonic Team, Ltd. (2000–2004) Sega GE1 (2005–2008) |
| Division | |
| Industry | Video games |
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| Founded | 24 May 2000 |
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| Headquarters |
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Japan
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Key people
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| Products | List of Sonic Team games |
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| Parent | Sega Corporation |
Sega CS R&D Dept. No. 2 , also known as Sonic Team , is a famous Japanese video game developer. It is owned by Sega. Sonic Team is most famous for creating the Sonic the Hedgehog game series. They also made other popular games like Nights into Dreams and Phantasy Star Online.
The first version of the team started in 1990. It included talented developers from Sega, such as programmer Yuji Naka, artist Naoto Ohshima, and level designer Hirokazu Yasuhara. The team officially became "Sonic Team" in 1991. This was when they released their first game, Sonic the Hedgehog, for the Sega Genesis console. This game was a huge hit and helped sell millions of Genesis consoles.
After the first Sonic game, Yuji Naka and Hirokazu Yasuhara worked on later Sonic games in America. Meanwhile, Naoto Ohshima developed Sonic CD in Japan. Yuji Naka returned to Japan in 1994 and became the head of his division. During this time, the team used the Sonic Team name but also created games that didn't feature Sonic, like Nights into Dreams (1996) and Burning Rangers (1998).
After Sonic Adventure came out in 1998, some Sonic Team members moved to the United States. They formed a new group called Sonic Team USA to develop Sonic Adventure 2 (2001). In 2000, Sonic Team became its own company, SONICTEAM Ltd., with Yuji Naka as its CEO. Sonic Team USA became a part of this new company.
Sega faced some financial challenges in the early 2000s. Because of this, Sonic Team went through several changes. Another game studio, United Game Artists, joined Sonic Team in 2003. Sonic Team USA also changed its name to Sega Studios USA in 2004. In 2004, a company called Sammy bought Sega. Sonic Team then became a part of Sega's main research and development department. Yuji Naka left Sonic Team in 2006. Later, in 2008, Sega Studios USA rejoined the main Sonic Team.
In the years that followed, Sonic games had mixed reviews. The head of the studio, Takashi Iizuka, admitted that Sonic Team sometimes focused more on releasing games quickly than on making them the best quality.
Contents
The Story of Sonic Team
How Sonic Team Started and Created Sonic the Hedgehog (1990)
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In 1984, a programmer named Yuji Naka joined Sega. His first project was a game called Girl's Garden. For his next game, Phantasy Star (1987), Naka created cool 3D-like effects. He met artist Naoto Ohshima while working on this game.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Sega and Nintendo were big rivals. Both companies had new 16-bit game consoles: the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Sega needed a new character that would be as famous for them as Mario was for Nintendo. They wanted a game and character that would appeal to older kids and show off the Genesis's power.
Sega held a contest to find a new mascot character. Ohshima designed a blue hedgehog named Sonic. Naka then put Sonic into a test game. Sonic's design was made a bit friendlier to appeal to more people. Then, the team started making the platform game Sonic the Hedgehog. Ohshima said Sega wanted a game that would sell well in both the United States and Japan.
The Sonic the Hedgehog project started with just Naka and Ohshima. But it quickly grew to include more programmers, sound engineers, and designers. Hirokazu Yasuhara joined to help Naka and Ohshima and design the levels. He became the lead designer. Yasuhara made sure Sonic's moves were simple, like jumping to attack enemies. Sonic the Hedgehog came out in 1991 and was a huge success. It helped sell millions of Genesis consoles. The team officially took the name Sonic Team when the game was released.
New Games and Ideas (1994–1998)
After the first Sonic the Hedgehog game, Naka, Yasuhara, and other Japanese developers moved to California. They joined Sega Technical Institute (STI), a special studio that combined American and Japanese game design ideas. While Naka and Yasuhara worked on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 at STI, Ohshima developed Sonic CD in Japan.
After Sonic & Knuckles was released in 1994, Naka returned to Japan. He became a producer and was put in charge of Sega's Consumer Development Department 3. Naka reunited with Ohshima and brought Takashi Iizuka with him. In the mid-1990s, Sonic Team started creating completely new games. This led to Nights into Dreams (1996) and Burning Rangers (1998) for the Sega Saturn console. Naka said that Nights was when Sonic Team truly became a recognized brand.
Not many Sonic games were made for the Sega Saturn. Sonic Team was busy with Nights into Dreams. So, they had another studio, Traveller's Tales, develop the last Genesis Sonic game, Sonic 3D Blast (1996). Sonic Team did create bonus levels for the Saturn version of this game. Yasuhara moved to London to help develop Sonic R (1997), a Sonic racing game made with Traveller's Tales. Another Saturn Sonic game was Sonic Jam (1997). This was a collection of the Genesis games with a 3D overworld that Sonic Team used to try out 3D Sonic gameplay.
The Sega Saturn didn't sell very well. Sega then focused on its next console, the Dreamcast, which launched in Japan in 1998. Sonic Team saw the Dreamcast as a chance to bring Sonic back in a big way. They had started a 3D Sonic game for the Saturn, but moved it to the Dreamcast. Iizuka led this project. He had always wanted to make a Sonic role-playing video game and felt the Dreamcast was powerful enough. This game became Sonic Adventure (1998), which was the bestselling Dreamcast game.
Becoming a Company and Online Games (1999–2003)
In 1999, after Sonic Adventure came out, twelve Sonic Team members moved to San Francisco. They started Sonic Team USA. Other key people, like Ohshima, left Sega to form a new studio called Artoon. Sonic Team also had success with arcade games. In 1999, they launched the fun rhythm game Samba de Amigo, which also came out for the Dreamcast. They also started making online games. In 1999, they released ChuChu Rocket!, a puzzle game that used the Dreamcast's online features. In 2000, Sonic Team launched the role-playing game Phantasy Star Online. This game was very popular and received great reviews.
In October 2000, Sega changed how its studios were organized. Its software divisions became separate companies. Yuji Naka wanted to keep the Sonic Team name, so the division's new legal name was SONICTEAM, Ltd. Naka became the CEO, and Sonic Team USA became a part of this new company.
Even though they made many popular games, Sega stopped making the Dreamcast in 2001. They stopped making their own consoles and started developing games for other companies' platforms. From 2000, Sonic Team in Japan released fewer games. Some of these included the puzzle game Puyo Pop and the action game Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. Yuji Naka said that Sonic Team missed making games that were designed for Sega's own hardware. Hirokazu Yasuhara left to join Naughty Dog after the Dreamcast was discontinued. However, Naka still wanted Sonic Team to be creative. They made Sonic Heroes instead of Sonic Adventure 3. They also explored new types of games like the digital card game Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution and the original game Billy Hatcher. Naka believed that Sonic remained popular because the character appealed to children. His goal was to make games that many people, especially kids, would enjoy.
In early 2003, Sega changed its leadership. As part of a new plan, Sega decided to combine its studios into a few main groups. Sonic Team was doing well financially. So, it took in United Game Artists, another Sega studio known for music games like Space Channel 5 (1999) and Rez (2001).
Recent Years and Changes (2004–Present)
In 2004, a Japanese company called Sammy bought a large part of Sega. Before this, Sega started bringing its separate companies back into the main company. Sonic Team USA became Sega Studios USA. SONICTEAM Ltd. became Sega's Global Entertainment 1 research and development division. The team is still known as Sonic Team.
Yuji Naka announced he was leaving Sega on May 8, 2006. He started a new studio called Prope to make original games. He left Sonic Team while they were developing Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). This game was released for Sonic's 15th anniversary. However, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) received many complaints for its bugs and design problems. Sonic Unleashed (2008) had mixed reviews but sold well. Both games were released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Sonic Team also made Sonic games for the Wii and Nintendo DS, like Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007).
By 2010, Sonic Team was part of Sega's CS Research and Development No. 2. Sega Studios USA had rejoined the Japanese team, and Takashi Iizuka became the head of the department. After some Sonic games that didn't get great reviews, Sonic Team decided to focus on speed and classic side-scrolling gameplay. This led to games like Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and II, Sonic Generations, and Sonic Colors. These games received much better reviews.
In 2015, Iizuka told Polygon that Sonic Team had sometimes focused too much on releasing games quickly instead of making them perfect. He also said they weren't involved enough in some Sonic games made by other companies, like Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. He hoped the Sonic Team logo would become a "mark of quality." He planned to release high-quality games and expand the Sonic brand. Sonic Team's first Sonic game just for smartphones, Sonic Runners, came out in 2015. It was an endless runner game. Sonic Runners had mixed reviews and didn't make much money, so it was stopped a year later.
In 2017, Sonic Team developed Sonic Forces. They also oversaw the creation of Sonic Mania by Christian Whitehead. Forces was made for a wide audience, including young and older players. Mania was made for fans of the original Genesis games. Mania became the best-reviewed Sonic game in fifteen years. Sonic Team also helped with the 2019 game Sakura Wars. As of 2023, Sonic Team is part of Sega's second business division, which has over 400 employees.
Sonic Team USA / Sega Studios USA
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Formerly
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Sonic Team USA |
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| Division | |
| Industry | Video games |
| Fate | Merged with Sonic Team |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Defunct | 2008 |
| Headquarters |
San Francisco, California
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United States
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Key people
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| Parent | Sonic Team, Ltd. (1999–2004) Sega of America (2004–2008) |
Sonic Team USA, later called Sega Studios USA, was a part of Sega and Sonic Team. It was started in 1999 when twelve Sonic Team members, including Takashi Iizuka, moved to San Francisco, California. By 2000, it was a part of SONICTEAM, Ltd. This team worked on developing games, translating them, and studying the game market in the United States. They returned to Japan and rejoined the main Sonic Team in 2008.
Sonic Team USA translated Sonic Adventure and tested ChuChu Rocket! in America. Then, they started working on Sonic Adventure 2. They got ideas from their location in San Francisco, as well as places like Yosemite National Park. Sonic Adventure 2 was released on June 23, 2001, and was also made for the GameCube. The next project for Sonic Team USA was Sonic Heroes (2003). This was the first Sonic game made for many different game consoles. Sonic Team USA tried a different approach with Heroes, making the gameplay more like the original Genesis games so that even new players could enjoy it.
After SONICTEAM, Ltd. rejoined Sega in 2004, Sonic Team USA changed its name to Sega Studios USA. Their next game was Shadow the Hedgehog, released in 2005. This was a spin-off game starring Shadow. Unlike previous games, Shadow the Hedgehog was made for older players and had different gameplay styles, including using guns. It also had different endings depending on your choices. Shadow the Hedgehog received some criticism for its mature themes and level design, but it sold well, with at least 1.59 million copies sold.
The last game made by Sega Studios USA was Nights: Journey of Dreams. This was a sequel to Nights into Dreams. Takashi Iizuka felt it was important to keep the original game's ideas while adding new features. They released it on the Wii, which was a console popular with families. Journey of Dreams was also designed to have a more European feel, different from the Sonic games, which felt more American. The sound and computer-generated images were done by Sonic Team in Japan, while Sega Studios USA handled the rest of the development for the 2007 release.
Sega Studios USA also helped oversee the development of Sonic Rivals (2006) and Sonic Rivals 2 (2007) by Backbone Entertainment. In 2008, Sega Studios USA merged with Sonic Team. This made Takashi Iizuka the head of Sonic Team. In 2016, Iizuka moved to Los Angeles to help manage game development there.
Games by Sonic Team
Sonic Team has created many video games, and many of them have become bestsellers. The studio is most famous for its Sonic the Hedgehog series of platform games. These games make up most of Sonic Team's work. The release of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 is seen as a very important moment in video game history. It helped boost Genesis sales and made Sega a top video game company.
Sonic Team has also developed many other types of games. These include action games like Nights into Dreams, Burning Rangers, and Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. They also made the online puzzle game ChuChu Rocket! and the online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online. Phantasy Star Online is known for bringing online RPGs to game consoles. For many players, it was their first online RPG. Some experts say that few companies have released as many big, successful games over such a long time, especially between 1991 and 2000. Some Sonic Team games, like the original Sonic games for the Genesis and Nights, are considered some of the best video games ever made. Takashi Iizuka has said that Sonic Team would be open to making a third Nights game or a sequel to Knuckles' Chaotix (1995) if Sega asked them to.
Sega and Sonic Team have faced some criticism for how they handled Sonic the Hedgehog after games started moving to 3D. Some critics have said that the 3D Sonic games haven't had a huge, groundbreaking hit like Nintendo's Mario series. Some people also felt that the large number of characters in later Sonic games was a problem. In 2015, Sega CEO Haruki Satomi admitted that Sega had "partially betrayed" the trust of their fans. He hoped to focus on making high-quality games rather than just a lot of them.
More About Sega Studios
- Sega development studios
- Sega AM1
- Sega AM2
- Amusement Vision
- Smilebit
See also
In Spanish: Sonic Team para niños
