Sonic Team
Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use dmy dates {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for clobbered parameters|check|nested=1|template=Infobox company|cat=Template:Main other|name; company_name|logo; company_logo|logo_alt; alt|trade_name; trading_name|former_names; former_name|type; company_type|predecessors; predecessor|successors; successor|foundation; founded|founders; founder|defunct; dissolved|hq_location; location|hq_location_city; location_city|hq_location_country; location_country|num_locations; locations|areas_served; area_served|net_income; profit|net_income_year; profit_year|owners; owner |homepage; website }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox company with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | ignoreblank=y | alt | area_served | areas_served | assets | assets_year | aum | brands | company_logo | company_name | company_type | defunct | dissolved | divisions | embed | equity | equity_year | fate | footnotes | former_name | former_names | foundation | founded | founder | founders | genre | homepage | hq_location | hq_location_city | hq_location_country | incorporated | image | image_alt | image_caption | image_size | image_upright | income_year | industry | ISIN | key_people | location | location_city | location_country | locations | logo | logo_alt | logo_caption | logo_class | logo_size | logo_upright | members | members_year | module | name | native_name | native_name_lang | net_income | net_income_year | num_employees | num_employees_year | num_locations | num_locations_year | operating_income | owner | owners | parent | predecessor | predecessors | production | production_year | products | profit | profit_year | rating | ratio | revenue | revenue_year | romanized_name | services | subsid | successor | successors | traded_as | trade_name | trading_name | type | website| qid | fetchwikidata | suppressfields | noicon | nocat | demo | categories }}
Template:Nihongo foot, doing business as Template:Nihongo foot, is a Japanese video game developer owned by Sega. Sonic Team is best known for its Sonic the Hedgehog series and games such as Nights into Dreams and Phantasy Star Online.
The initial team, formed in 1990, consisted of developers from a team within Sega, including programmer Yuji Naka, artist Naoto Ohshima and level designer Hirokazu Yasuhara. The team took the name Sonic Team in 1991 with the release of their first game, Sonic the Hedgehog, for the Sega Genesis. It was a major success and contributed to millions of Genesis sales. The next Sonic games were developed by Naka and Yasuhara in America at Sega Technical Institute, while Ohshima worked on Sonic CD in Japan at CS3. Naka returned to Japan in late 1994 to become the head of CS3, later renamed R&D No. 8. 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). With Sega's divestiture of its studios into separate companies, R&D No. 8 became 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.
After Sammy Corporation purchased Sega in 2004, Sonic Team was reincorporated to become Sega's GE1 research and development department. Naka departed during the development of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and Sega Studios USA was merged back into Sonic Team in 2008. The following decade was marked by Sonic games of varying reception, with head of studio Takashi Iizuka acknowledging that Sonic Team had prioritized shipping over quality.
HistoryEdit
1990: Formation and Sonic the HedgehogEdit
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In 1984, programmer Yuji Naka was hired into Sega's Consumer Development division.<ref name="Edge 89">Template:Cite magazine</ref> His first project was Girl's Garden, which he and Hiroshi Kawaguchi created as part of their training process.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For his next game, Phantasy Star (1987) for the Master System, Naka created pseudo-3D animation effects.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He met artist Naoto Ohshima while working on the game.<ref name="SSNO">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref name="RetroST">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Storyofsonic">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="bbc rivalry" /> Sega needed a mascot character that would be as synonymous with their brand as Mario was with Nintendo.<ref name="RetroST"/><ref name="Storyofsonic"/><ref name="polygon history" /> Sega wanted a killer app and character that could appeal to an older demographic than preteens, demonstrate the capabilities of the Genesis, and ensure commercial success in North America.<ref name="Storyofsonic"/>
Sega held an internal competition to submit characters designs for a mascot.<ref name="polygon history" /><ref name="alive">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ohshima designed a blue hedgehog named Sonic,<ref name="RetroST" /> who was inserted into a prototype game created by Naka.<ref name="polygon history" /> The Sonic design was refined to be less aggressive and appeal to a wider audience before the division began development on their platform game Sonic the Hedgehog.<ref name="polygon history" /> According to Ohshima, Sega was looking for a game that would sell well in the United States as well as in Japan. Ohshima and Naka already had the game and character ready, with Ohshima having worked with Sega's toy and stationery department on design ideas. Ohshima said their progress encouraged Sega to select their proposal, as theirs was the only team to have put in a high amount of time and effort. This left him confident their proposal would be selected.<ref name="OhshimaIntHist2">Template:Cite interview</ref>
The Sonic the Hedgehog project began with just Naka and Ohshima,<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="OhshimaIntHist2" /> but grew to involve two programmers, two sound engineers, and three designers.<ref name="NakaIntHist2">Template:Cite interview</ref> Hirokazu Yasuhara joined to supervise Naka and Ohshima and develop levels, and became the lead designer. He satisfied Naka's request for a simple, one-button design by having Sonic do damage by jumping.<ref name="Zone1">Template:Cite book</ref> Sonic the Hedgehog was released in 1991 and proved a major success, contributing to millions of sales of the Genesis.<ref name="RetroST" /> The team took the name Sonic Team for the game's release.<ref name="RetroST" /> Naka referred to Sonic Team as only a "team name" at this point; the division's other games did not use this particular name.<ref name="Edge 89" />
1994–1998: Re-establishment and new intellectual propertiesEdit
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.<ref name="RetroST" /><ref name="STI">Template:Cite magazine</ref> While Naka and Yasuhara developed Sonic the Hedgehog 2 at STI, Ohshima worked on Sonic CD, a prequel for the Sega CD add-on. Though Naka was not directly involved in the Sonic CD development, he exchanged design ideas with Ohshima.<ref name="Ohshima interview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Following the release of Sonic & Knuckles in 1994, Naka returned to Japan, having been offered a role as a producer.<ref name="RetroST" /> He was placed in charge of Sega's Consumer Development Department 3, also known as CS3.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Naka was reunited with Ohshima and brought with him Takashi Iizuka,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> who had also worked with Naka's team at STI.<ref name="Storyofsonic" /> In the mid-1990s, Sonic Team started work on new intellectual property, leading to the creation of Nights into Dreams (1996) and Burning Rangers (1998) for the Sega Saturn.<ref name="RetroST" /> Naka stated that the release of Nights is when Sonic Team was truly formed as a brand.<ref name="Edge 89" />
Few Sonic games were released for the Saturn.<ref name="allgameJam">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since Sonic Team was preoccupied with Nights into Dreams, it outsourced the development of the last Genesis Sonic game, Sonic 3D Blast (1996), to the British studio Traveller's Tales.<ref name="MMPrev">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Sonic Team developed bonus levels for a Saturn port,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> released in place of the canceled STI game Sonic X-treme.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="segasaturnmag">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Yasuhara moved to London to assist the development of Sonic R (1997),<ref name=":1" /> a Sonic racing game co-developed by Sonic Team and Traveller's Tales.<ref name="autogenerated25">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The only other Saturn Sonic game was Sonic Jam (1997), a compilation of the Genesis games with a 3D overworld Sonic Team used to experiment with 3D Sonic gameplay.<ref name="RGNights">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
The Saturn was a commercial failure, which some writers attributed to its lack of a major Sonic game.<ref name="allgameJam" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sega shifted focus to the Dreamcast, which launched in Japan in 1998.<ref name="RetroST"/> Sonic Team saw the Dreamcast as an opportunity to revisit the Sonic series.<ref name="RetroST"/><ref name="polygon history" /> They had begun working on a 3D Sonic game for the Saturn, but development moved to the Dreamcast to align with Sega's plans.<ref name="polygon history" /> Iizuka led the project; Iizuka had long wanted to create a Sonic role-playing video game and felt the Dreamcast was powerful enough to achieve his vision. The game became Sonic Adventure (1998),<ref name="RetroST"/> the bestselling Dreamcast game.<ref name="gameinformer_sega_nintendo" />
Around this time, CS3 was renamed Sega Research and Development Department 8 (R&D No. 8).<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It was sometimes referred to as AM8 or "Sega-AM8",<ref name="RetroST" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as Sega's R&D department was named Sega Amusement Machine Research and Development (AM), though Sonic Team focused solely on home console games.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Until 2000, media referred to Sonic Team as both R&D No. 8<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and AM8.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
1999–2003: Dreamcast, Sonic Team USA and formation into an actual companyEdit
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. Shortly afterward, a number of key employees—including Ohshima—left Sega to form a new studio, Artoon. Sonic Team achieved success in the arcade game market in 1999 with the launch of rhythm game Samba de Amigo, released for the Dreamcast. They also began developing online games; in 1999, they released ChuChu Rocket!, a puzzle game that used the Dreamcast's online capabilities. In 2000, Sonic Team launched the role-playing game Phantasy Star Online to critical and commercial success.<ref name="RetroST" />
Sega began to restructure its studios in October 2000 and spun off its software divisions into subsidiary companies.<ref name="Edge 89" /><ref name="RetroST" /> When the departments took new names, Naka felt it important to preserve the Sonic Team brand name,<ref name="RetroST" /> and the division's new legal name as a company was SONICTEAM, Ltd.<ref name="RetroST" /> Naka was installed as the CEO, and Sonic Team USA became a subsidiary of the new company.<ref name="Edge 89" />
Despite a number of well-received games, Sega discontinued the Dreamcast in 2001<ref name="RetroST" /> and exited the hardware business.<ref name="gameinformer_sega_nintendo" /> Sega transitioned into a third-party developer and began developing games for multiple platforms.<ref name="gameinformer_sega_nintendo" /> 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. 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. We do somewhat miss the idea of being able to address these constant challenges."<ref name="RetroST" /> Yasuhara left to join Naughty Dog after Sega discontinued the Dreamcast.<ref name=":1" /> However, originality remained important for Naka; Sonic Team developed Sonic Heroes instead of Sonic Adventure 3, explored the digital card game genre with Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution, and developed the original game Billy Hatcher.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Naka credited the enduring success of Sonic to the character's appeal to children. Naka's goal was to appeal to the largest audience possible and to appeal to children.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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. As part of Oguchi's restructuring plan, he announced his intention to consolidate Sega's studios into "four or five core operations".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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).<ref name="RetroST" /><ref name="eurog mizuguchi" />
2004–present: Reintegration and recent yearsEdit
In 2004, the Japanese company Sammy acquired a controlling interest in Sega and formed Sega Sammy Holdings.<ref name="RetroST" /> Prior to the merger, Sega began the process of re-integrating its subsidiaries into the main company.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Sonic Team USA became Sega Studios USA,<ref name="RetroST" /> while SONICTEAM Ltd. became Sega's Global Entertainment 1 research and development division (GE1).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The team is still referred to as Sonic Team.<ref name="polygon history" /> As of 2005, senior Sega figures including Toshihiro Nagoshi and Yu Suzuki were reporting to Naka; according to Takashi Yuda, he was involved in all Sega game development.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Naka announced his departure on 8 May 2006 and formed a new studio, Prope, to focus on creating original games.<ref name="RetroST" /> He left Sonic Team during the development of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), released as part of the 15-year anniversary of the Sonic franchise. Sonic the Hedgehog was panned for its bugs and design flaws; Sonic Unleashed (2008) received mixed reviews, but sold well.<ref name="polygon history" /> 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.<ref name="gameinformer_sega_nintendo" />
By 2010, Sonic Team had become part of CS Research and Development No. 2 (CS2), Sega Studios USA had been reintegrated into the Japanese team, and Iizuka had become the head of the department.<ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After a series of poorly received Sonic releases, Sonic Team refocused on speed and more traditional side-scrolling in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and II, Sonic Generations, and Sonic Colors, which all received better reviews. 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 Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. He hoped the Sonic Team logo would stand as a "mark of quality"; he planned to release quality games and expand the Sonic brand, while retaining the modern Sonic design.<ref name="polygon history" /> Iizuka stated that doing new things with the franchise has had good and bad points at times.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Sonic Team's first Sonic game exclusive to smartphones, Sonic Runners, was released in 2015. An endless runner, it was designed to have more replay value than other games in the genre.<ref name="TAInterview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sonic Runners received mixed reviews<ref name="MC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was unprofitable,<ref name="SegaStrategic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> resulting in its discontinuation a year later.<ref name="NLifeShutdown">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2017, Sonic Team developed and released Sonic Forces, and oversaw the development of Sonic Mania by Christian Whitehead. Forces was aimed at a broad audience of young and adult players, while Mania was focused on fans of the original Genesis games.<ref name=":6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Mania became the best reviewed Sonic game in fifteen years<ref name="rs">Template:Cite magazine</ref> following nearly two decades of mixed reviews for the franchise.<ref name="polygon history" /><ref name=":02">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sonic Team also contributed to the 2019 reboot of Sakura Wars.<ref name=":7">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sonic Team is embedded within the second business division of Sega, which has more than 400 employees as of 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Sonic Team USA / Sega Studios USAEdit
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Sonic Team USA, later Sega Studios USA, was a division of Sega and of Sonic Team while Sonic Team was a subsidiary company. It was founded when twelve Sonic Team members, including Takashi Iizuka, relocated to San Francisco, California, in 1999,<ref name="RetroST" /> and was a subsidiary of SONICTEAM, Ltd. by 2000.<ref name="Edge 89" /> The team worked on game development, translation,<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and market studies in the United States,<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> until they returned to Japan and merged back into Sonic Team in 2008.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite news</ref>
Sonic Team USA translated Sonic Adventure and tested ChuChu Rocket! in America<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> before beginning work on Sonic Adventure 2. They took inspiration from their location in San Francisco, as well as Yosemite National Park and other areas of the United States.<ref name=":2" /> Sonic Adventure 2 was released on 23 June 2001,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was ported to the GameCube.<ref name="chatting">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The next Sonic Team USA project was Sonic Heroes (2003), the first Sonic game developed for multiple platforms.<ref name="website2">Interview section. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sonic Team USA took a different approach with Heroes from the Sonic Adventure games, focusing on gameplay more similar to the Genesis games to which even casual gamers could adapt.<ref name="NPowerQ&A">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
After SONICTEAM, Ltd. merged back into Sega in 2004, Sonic Team USA was renamed Sega Studios USA.<ref name="RetroST" /> Its next project was Shadow the Hedgehog, released in 2005,<ref name="allgame">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a spin-off starring Shadow.<ref name="Herald Sun">Template:Cite journal</ref> Unlike previous games, Shadow the Hedgehog was targeted at older players and featured different gameplay styles, including the use of guns and different endings to the game.<ref name="preview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Shadow the Hedgehog was critically panned for its mature themes and level design,<ref name="Game Informer">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="GSreview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but was a commercial success, selling at least 1.59 million units.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The final Sega Studios USA game was Nights: Journey of Dreams, the sequel to Nights into Dreams and the first Nights game since the cancellation of Air Nights in 2000.<ref name="ODM-UK">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="rumour">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Iizuka felt it was important to retain the original game's concepts while developing new mechanics, and released it on the Wii, a more family-oriented console.<ref name="CBS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="dev2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Journey of Dreams was also designed to have a more European feel, in contrast to the Sonic games, which were more American. 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.<ref name="dev1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Sega Studios USA oversaw the development of Sonic Rivals (2006) and Sonic Rivals 2 (2007) by Backbone Entertainment.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2008, Sega Studios USA merged with Sonic Team,<ref name=":4" /> making Iizuka the head of Sonic Team and a vice president of product development for Sega.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":0" /> In 2016, Iizuka relocated to Los Angeles to oversee development, with the goal of making the studios there "a centralized hub for the global brand".<ref name=":4" />
GamesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}Sonic Team has developed a number of video games, with many of them becoming bestsellers.<ref name="bbcsonic20">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="sales">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Sonic Team have also developed a wide variety of other games, including action games such as Nights into Dreams, Burning Rangers, and Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, the online puzzle game ChuChu Rocket!, the online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online, and the music game Samba de Amigo.<ref name="RetroST" /> Phantasy Star Online is credited for introducing online RPGs to consoles and was the first online RPG for many players.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="RetroST" /> Some Sonic Team games, such as the original Sonic games for the Genesis and Nights, are considered some of the best video games ever made.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Iizuka has said Sonic Team would be open to developing a third Nights game or a sequel to Knuckles' Chaotix (1995), if Sega were to commission them.<ref name="Gamestm Iizuka">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Sega and Sonic Team have been criticized for their handling of Sonic the Hedgehog after the beginning of the 3D era of video games. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell of Eurogamer described the 3D Sonic games as "20-odd years of slowly accumulating bullshit", and wrote that unlike Sonic's main competitor, Nintendo's Mario series, Sonic in 3D never had a "transcendental hit".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sega of America marketing director Al Nilsen and Sonic Mania developer Christian Whitehead said the large number of characters was problematic, with Whitehead describing them as "padding".<ref name="polygon history" /> In 2015, Sega CEO Haruki Satomi acknowledged that Sega had "partially betrayed" the trust of their fans and hoped to focus on quality over quantity.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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