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Sonic Team
| File:SEGA.svg | Information in this article is about real-life people, companies, and objects, which do not relate to the in-universe Sonic series. |
- Not to be confused with Team Sonic.
Sonic Team (ソニックチーム Sonikku Chīmu?) is a Japanese video game studio and division of Sega operating as the chief developer of the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games. Based in Tokyo, Japan, Sonic Team comprises approximately 400 employees.[1] Outside game development, the studio has provided authority for adaptations of the Sonic franchise, notably the Sonic X animated television series.[2]
Founded in 1990 by Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara,[3] who Sega tasked with creating a company mascot and related game for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Sonic Team debuted Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991, a title that would go on to become the console's best-selling[4] and establish Sega as a major developer and hardware manufacturer in the gaming industry.[3] Following Naka and Yasuhara's relocation to the United States to join Sega Technical Institute (STI), a studio founded by Sega producer Mark Cerny,[5] Sonic Team disbanded. The group would later reform in Japan to develop Nights into Dreams for the Sega Saturn,[6] and later, Sonic Adventure, ChuChu Rocket!, and Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast.[7] The success of Sonic Adventure would motivate some members, including Takashi Iizuka, to establish an American division, Sonic Team USA, to develop Sonic Adventure 2.[8]
The commercial failure of the Dreamcast prompted Sega to exit the home console market and restructure as a third-party developer.[9] Following Sammy Corporation's acquisition of the company in 2004, most game divisions and subsidiaries were reintegrated into Sonic Team with greater emphasis on title output.[10] As a result, much of the studio's catalog of Sonic titles have since been criticized for their variable quality;[11][12][13] Sega would delist those with below-average Metacritic scores in 2010 to increase value of the brand.[10] The likewise poor reception of Sonic Forces in 2017 would inspire Sonic Team to introduce nonformulaic elements into their subsequent release, Sonic Frontiers, the fastest and best-selling 3D entry of the franchise to date.[14]
Games[edit | edit source]
First-party releases[edit | edit source]
Console
- Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
- Sonic Jam (1997)
- Sonic & Knuckles Collection (1997)
- Sonic Adventure (1998)
- Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)[note 1]
- Sonic Heroes (2003)[note 1]
- Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut (2003)
- Sega Superstars (2004)
- Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004)
- Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (2004)[note 1]
- Sonic Gems Collection (2005)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
- Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007)
- Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008)
- Sonic Unleashed (2008)
- Sonic and the Black Knight (2009)
- Sonic Free Riders (2010)
- Sonic Colors (2010)
- Sonic Generations (2011)
- Sonic Lost World (2013)
- Sonic Forces (2017)
- Sonic Colors: Ultimate (2021)
- Sonic Frontiers (2022)
Handheld
- Sonic Battle (2004)
Mobile
- Sonic Cafe (2001)
- Sonic Runners (2015)
Co-developed releases[edit | edit source]
Console
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) with Sega Technical Institute
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994) with Sega Technical Institute
- Sonic & Knuckles (1994) with Sega Technical Institute
- Sonic 3D Blast (1996) with Traveller's Tales
- Sonic R (1997) with Traveller's Tales
- Sonic Mega Collection (2002) with VR-1 Japan
- Sonic Riders (2006) with Now Production
- Sonic Unleashed (2008) with Dimps
- Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I (2010) with Dimps
- Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (2012) with Dimps
- Sonic Origins (2022) with Christian Whitehead and Headcannon
- Sonic Origins Plus (2023) with Christian Whitehead and Headcannon
- Sonic Superstars (2023) with Arzest
Handheld
- Sonic Advance (2001) with Dimps
- Sonic Advance 2 (2002) with Dimps
- Sonic Pinball Party (2003) with Jupiter
- SonicN (2003) with Dimps
- Sonic Advance 3 (2004) with Dimps
- Sonic Rush (2005) with Dimps
- Sonic Rush Adventure (2007) with Dimps
- Sonic Colors (2010) with Dimps
- Sonic Generations (2010) with Dimps
- Sonic Lost World (2013) with Dimps
Mobile
Supervised releases[edit | edit source]
- Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (1999) with SNK
- Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (2013) with Big Red Button Entertainment[note 2]
- Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (2014) with Sanzaru Games[note 3]
Animated series[edit | edit source]
- Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (1996) with Pierrot and General Entertainment
- Sonic X (2003-05) with TMS Entertainment
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- A building bearing the Sonic Team name appears in the Central City map of Sonic Battle.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Logos
| Gallery |
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Videos[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ The Man Who Created Sonic for 30 Years ─ Creator Reunion File Vol. 4 Interview with Takashi Iizuka (Japanese). Beep21 (May 21, 2023). Retrieved on June 3, 2024.
- ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (February 6, 2014). Why Sega handed Sonic over to Western studios and gave him a scarf. Polygon. Retrieved on June 9, 2024.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wirtz, Bryan (December 3, 2021). Prolific Game Creator Yuji Naka: How He Started & Life at SEGA. GameDesigning.org. Retrieved on June 3, 2024.
- ↑ Anderson, Matt (April 2, 2022). This Is The Best-Selling Sega Genesis Game Of All Time. SVG. Retrieved on June 3, 2024.
- ↑ Ivan, Tom (February 13, 2020). Who is Mark Cerny, the man behind PS5?. VGC. Retrieved on June 4, 2024.
- ↑ NiGHTS – 1996 Developer Interview. shmuplations.com. Retrieved on June 4, 2024.
- ↑ Mielke, James (July 20, 2020). Yuji Naka looks back at Phantasy Star Online, 20 years later. Polygon. Retrieved on June 9, 2024.
- ↑ Shea, Brian (April 7, 2022). Sonic Team Looks Back At The Blue Blur's First 30 Years. GameInformer. Retrieved on June 3, 2024.
- ↑ Zito, Kelly (January 31, 2001). Sega to Stop Production Of Dreamcast. SFGate. Retrieved on June 6, 2024.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Grant, Christopher (October 12, 2010). Sega 'looking to improve Sonic strategy,' reducing supply of older Sonic games. Engadget. Retrieved on June 3, 2024.
- ↑ Downs, Isaac (September 11, 2023). The 20 Most Underwhelming Sonic Games, Ranked. CBR. Retrieved on June 3, 2024.
- ↑ Doolan, Liam (January 1, 2022). Sonic Frontiers Was Originally Planned For A 2021 Release, But Sega Wanted To "Brush Up The Quality". Nintendo Life. Retrieved on June 3, 2024.
- ↑ Dreadknux (September 16, 2022). Kishimoto Hopes Sonic Frontiers Will Take Sonic Team to the Top of the Gaming Industry. Sonic Stadium. Retrieved on June 5, 2024.
- ↑ Carter, Justin (May 8, 2023). Sonic Frontiers speeds to 3.5 million copies six months after release. Engadget. Retrieved on June 22, 2024.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Official website (Japanese)
- Sonic Team at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Producers | Akinori Nishiyama · Takashi Iizuka · Yuji Naka · Yoji Ishii |
|---|---|
| Programmers | Takahiro Hamano · Takeshi Sakakibara · Tetsu Katano · Yuji Naka · Yoshihisa Hashimoto |
| Designers | Eitaro Toyoda · Hirokazu Yasuhara · Kazuyuki Hoshino · Makoto Yonezu · Manabu Kusunoki · Naoto Ohshima · Nobuhiko Honda · Hiroshi Miyamoto · Sachiko Kawamura · Shinichi Higashi · Shiro Maekawa · Shun Nakamura · Takashi Yuda · Yasushi Yamaguchi · Yoshitaka Miura · Yuji Uekawa |
| Directors | Hiroshi Nishiyama · Kenjiro Morimoto · Morio Kishimoto · Takashi Iizuka |
| Sound engineers | Hideaki Kobayashi · Jun Senoue · Kenichi Tokoi · Mariko Nanba · Masaru Setsumaru · Naofumi Hataya · Takahito Eguchi · Tatsuyuki Maeda · Teruhiko Nakagawa · Tomoya Ohtani |
| Other | Tomoko Kanemoto · Yui Karasuno |
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