He met artist Naoto Ohshima while working on the game. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, a rivalry formed between Sega and Nintendo due to the release of their 16-bit video game consoles: the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
The following decade was marked by Sonic titles of varying reception, with department head Takashi Iizuka acknowledging that Sonic Team had prioritized shipping over quality. == History == === 1990: Formation and Sonic the Hedgehog === In 1983, programmer Yuji Naka was hired into Sega's Consumer Development division.
Sonic Team is best known for the long-running Sonic the Hedgehog series and games such as Nights into Dreams and Phantasy Star Online. The initial team, formed in 1990, was composed of staff from Sega's Consumer Development division, including programmer Yuji Naka, artist Naoto Ohshima, and level designer Hirokazu Yasuhara.
The following decade was marked by Sonic titles of varying reception, with department head Takashi Iizuka acknowledging that Sonic Team had prioritized shipping over quality. == History == === 1990: Formation and Sonic the Hedgehog === In 1983, programmer Yuji Naka was hired into Sega's Consumer Development division.
He met artist Naoto Ohshima while working on the game. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, a rivalry formed between Sega and Nintendo due to the release of their 16-bit video game consoles: the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
In 2015, Sega CEO Haruki Satomi acknowledged that Sega had "partially betrayed" the trust of the longtime fans of their games and hoped to focus on quality over quantity. ==Notes== == References == == External links == Software companies based in Tokyo Video game companies established in 1990 Sega divisions and subsidiaries Sonic the Hedgehog Video game companies of Japan Video game development companies Japanese companies established in 1990
The team took the name Sonic Team in 1991 with the release of their first game, Sonic the Hedgehog, for the Sega Genesis.
Sonic the Hedgehog was released in 1991 and proved a major success, contributing to millions of sales of the Genesis.
The studio is best known for its Sonic the Hedgehog series of platform games, which account for the majority of Sonic Team's work; the 1991 release of Sonic the Hedgehog is considered one of the most important moments in video game history, as it propelled Genesis sales and displaced Nintendo as the leading video game company.
According to Sean Smith of Retro Gamer, few companies could claim to have released as many AAA games over such a long period, especially between 1991 and 2000.
Naka returned to Japan in late 1994 to become the head of CS3, later renamed R&D No.
Naka has referred to Sonic Team as only a "team name" at this point. === 1994–1998: Re-establishment and new intellectual properties === Shortly after the release of Sonic the Hedgehog, Naka, Yasuhara, and a number of other Japanese developers relocated to California to join Sega Technical Institute (STI), a development division established by Mark Cerny intended as an elite studio combining the design philosophies of American and Japanese developers.
Though Naka was not directly involved in the Sonic CD development, he exchanged design ideas with Ohshima. Following the release of Sonic & Knuckles in 1994, Yasuhara quit, citing differences with Naka.
During this time, the division took on the Sonic Team brand but developed games that do not feature Sonic, such as Nights into Dreams (1996) and Burning Rangers (1998). Following the release of Sonic Adventure in 1998, some Sonic Team staff moved to the United States to form Sonic Team USA and develop Sonic Adventure 2 (2001).
Naka stated that the release of Nights is when Sonic Team was truly formed as a brand. The Saturn did not achieve the commercial success of the Genesis, so Sega focused its efforts on a new console, the Dreamcast, which debuted in Japan in 1998.
The game became Sonic Adventure, launched in 1998, which became the bestselling Dreamcast game. Around this time, CS3 was renamed to Sega Research and Development Department 8 (R&D #8).
Until 2000, media referred to Sonic Team's designation as both R&D #8 and AM8. === 1999–2003: Dreamcast and Sega restructuring === In 1999, shortly after the release of Sonic Adventure, twelve Sonic Team members relocated to San Francisco to establish Sonic Team USA, while others remained in Japan.
Sonic Team achieved success in the arcade game market in 1999 with the launch of rhythm game Samba de Amigo, released the following year for the Dreamcast.
The studio also began developing online games; in 1999, they released ChuChu Rocket!, a puzzle game that made use of the Dreamcast's online capabilities.
It was founded when twelve Sonic Team members, including Takashi Iizuka, relocated to San Francisco, California, in 1999, and were set as a subsidiary of SonicTeam Ltd.
in 2000, with Naka as CEO and Sonic Team USA as its subsidiary.
Sega's financial troubles led to several major structural changes in the early 2000s; the United Game Artists studio was absorbed by Sonic Team in 2003, and Sonic Team USA became Sega Studios USA in 2004.
Until 2000, media referred to Sonic Team's designation as both R&D #8 and AM8. === 1999–2003: Dreamcast and Sega restructuring === In 1999, shortly after the release of Sonic Adventure, twelve Sonic Team members relocated to San Francisco to establish Sonic Team USA, while others remained in Japan.
In 2000, Sonic Team launched the role-playing game Phantasy Star Online to critical and commercial success. Sega began to restructure its studios as part of the dissolution of Sega Enterprises and spun off its software divisions into subsidiary companies.
From 2000, Sonic Team in Japan began to release fewer games, with a few releases such as the puzzle game Puyo Pop and the action game Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg.
Shadow the Hedgehog was critically panned for its mature themes and level design, but was a commercial success, selling at least 1.59 million units. The final Sega Studios USA game was Journey of Dreams, the sequel to Nights into Dreams and the first Nights game since the cancellation of Air Nights in 2000.
According to Sean Smith of Retro Gamer, few companies could claim to have released as many AAA games over such a long period, especially between 1991 and 2000.
Naka was installed as the CEO, and Sonic Team USA became a subsidiary of the new company. Despite a number of well-received games, Sega discontinued the Dreamcast in 2001 and exited the hardware business.
Sonic Adventure 2 was released on 20 June 2001, and was ported to the GameCube.
Sega's financial troubles led to several major structural changes in the early 2000s; the United Game Artists studio was absorbed by Sonic Team in 2003, and Sonic Team USA became Sega Studios USA in 2004.
We do somewhat miss the idea of being able to address these constant challenges." Early in 2003, Sega president Hideki Sato and COO Tetsu Kamaya announced they were stepping down from their roles, with Sato being replaced by Hisao Oguchi, the head of Hitmaker.
Sega's financial troubles led to several major structural changes in the early 2000s; the United Game Artists studio was absorbed by Sonic Team in 2003, and Sonic Team USA became Sega Studios USA in 2004.
After Sammy Corporation purchased Sega in 2004, Sonic Team was reincorporated to become Sega's GE1 research and development department, later renamed CS2. Naka departed Sonic Team during the development of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and Sega Studios USA was merged back into Sonic Team in 2008.
As part of Oguchi's restructuring plan, he announced his intention to consolidate Sega's studios into "four or five core operations." Sonic Team was financially solvent and absorbed United Game Artists, another Sega subsidiary led by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and known for the music games Space Channel 5 (1999) and Rez (2001). === 2004–present: Reintegration and recent years === In 2004, Japanese company Sammy acquired a controlling interest in Sega and formed Sega Sammy Corporation.
merged back into Sega in 2004, Sonic Team USA was renamed Sega Studios USA.
The division's next project was Shadow the Hedgehog, released in 2005, a spin-off starring Shadow.
The company changes and lack of a Sega console affected Sonic Team; according to Naka, in a 2006 interview, "Our approach was always to create strategic title concepts, which included the hardware.
Naka announced his departure on 8 May 2006 and formed a new studio, Prope, to focus on creating original games.
He left Sonic Team during the development of the 2006 game Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), released as part of the 15-year anniversary of the Sonic franchise.
Both games were released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; Sonic Team also developed a series of Sonic games for the Wii and Nintendo DS, such as 2007's Sonic and the Secret Rings. By 2010, had become Sonic Team CS Research and Development No.
The sound and CGI were completed by Sonic Team in Japan, while Sega Studios USA handled the rest of the development for the 2007 release. Sega Studios USA oversaw the development of Sonic Rivals (2006) and Sonic Rivals 2 (2007) by Backbone Entertainment.
After Sammy Corporation purchased Sega in 2004, Sonic Team was reincorporated to become Sega's GE1 research and development department, later renamed CS2. Naka departed Sonic Team during the development of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and Sega Studios USA was merged back into Sonic Team in 2008.
The team worked on game development, translation, and market studies in the United States, until they returned to Japan and merged back into Sonic Team in 2008. Sonic Team USA translated Sonic Adventure and tested ChuChu Rocket! in America before beginning work on Sonic Adventure 2.
In 2008, Sega Studios USA merged with Sonic Team, making Iizuka the head of Sonic Team and a vice president of product development for Sega.
Both games were released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; Sonic Team also developed a series of Sonic games for the Wii and Nintendo DS, such as 2007's Sonic and the Secret Rings. By 2010, had become Sonic Team CS Research and Development No.
In a 2012 interview, Naka stated that a reason that he left the company was that he would have been required to continue making Sonic games, and he no longer wished to do that.
In 2015, Iizuka recognized in an interview with Polygon that Sonic Team had prioritized shipping games over quality, and had not had enough involvement in later third-party Sonic games, such as Rise of Lyric.
Sonic Team's first Sonic game exclusive to smartphones, Sonic Runners, was released in 2015.
In 2015, Sega CEO Haruki Satomi acknowledged that Sega had "partially betrayed" the trust of the longtime fans of their games and hoped to focus on quality over quantity. ==Notes== == References == == External links == Software companies based in Tokyo Video game companies established in 1990 Sega divisions and subsidiaries Sonic the Hedgehog Video game companies of Japan Video game development companies Japanese companies established in 1990
In 2016, Iizuka relocated to Los Angeles to oversee development with the goal of making Sega's studios in Los Angeles "a centralized hub for the global brand". ==Games== Sonic Team has developed a number of video games, with many of them becoming bestsellers.
Sonic Runners received mixed reviews and was unprofitable, resulting in its discontinuation a year later. In 2017, Sonic Team developed and released Sonic Forces, and oversaw the development of Sonic Mania by Christian Whitehead.
At SXSW in March 2019, Iizuka confirmed Sonic Team was also working on a new Sonic title. == Sega Studios USA == Sega Studios USA, formerly Sonic Team USA, was a division of Sega and of Sonic Team while Sonic Team was a subsidiary company.
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