Sonic Team is a Japanese video game development division of Sega. The initial team was composed of developers from Sega's Consumer Development division, 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 Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis. The game was a major success, and started the long-running Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
The next several games were developed by Naka and Yasuhara in America at Sega Technical Institute. In late 1994, Naka returned to Japan to become the head of CS3, later renamed R&D #8. During this time, the division was branded with the Sonic Team name but also 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 diversification of its studios, R&D #8 became Sonic Team 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 2005, Sonic Team was restructured to become Sega's GE1 research and development department, and later, CS2. As of 2019, Sonic Team is a team within CS2.
In addition to the Sonic series, the company has developed other games for Sega, such as Nights into Dreams (1996) and Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (2003).[1][2] The 1991 release of Sonic the Hedgehog is considered significant in video game history, as it increased the Sega Genesis's sales and Sega displaced Nintendo as the leading video game company.[3] Some Sonic Team games, such as the Sonic games and Nights, are considered among the greatest of all time.[4][5]
On this list, games are gathered that are either on the official Japanese Sonic Team website or titles where it is officially mentioned that Sonic Team is involved.
Games
edit| Game | Platforms | Release date | JP | NA | PAL | Role | Producer | Director | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonic the Hedgehog | Sega Genesis | June 23, 1991 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Shinobu Toyoda | Hirokazu Yasuhara | [6] | |
| Nights into Dreams | Sega Saturn | July 5, 1996 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Yuji Naka | Naoto Oshima | [7] | |
| PlayStation 2 | February, 2008 | Yes | No | No | Supervision | Makoto Uchida | Akira Ogata | |||
| Xbox 360 | October 5, 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| PlayStation 3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Sonic 3D Blast | Sega Genesis | November 7, 1996 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer Traveller's Tales | Kats Sato | Takao Miyoshi | ||
| Sega Saturn | November 20, 1996 | No | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Sonic Jam | Sega Saturn | June 20, 1997 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Yuji Naka | Takashi Iizuka | ||
| Sonic R (Co-developer) | Sega Saturn | November 18, 1997 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer Traveller's Tales | Masamitsu Shiino | |||
| Windows | November 11, 1998 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Burning Rangers | Sega Saturn | February 26, 1998 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Naoto Ohshima | |||
| Sonic Adventure | Dreamcast | December 23, 1998 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Takashi Iizuka | ||||
| GameCube | June 17, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Kenjiro Morimoto | Includes more content, titled Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut. | ||||
| Windows | December 18, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| ChuChu Rocket! | Dreamcast | November 11, 1999 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yuji Naka | ||||
| Game Boy Advance | March 21, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Space Channel 5 | Dreamcast | December 16, 1999 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Originally developed by United Game Artist | Tetsuya Mizuguchi | Takashi Yuda | ||
| Samba de Amigo | Arcade | December 1999 | Yes | Yes | No | Developer | Yuji Naka | Shun Nakamura | ||
| Dreamcast | April 27, 2000 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Phantasy Star Online | December 21, 2000 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Takao Miyoshi | |||||
| Windows | December 20, 2001 | Yes | No | No | Enhanced version subtitled Blue Burst, which includes a new exclusive episode, released in 2004. | |||||
| GameCube | September 12, 2002 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Includes more content, titled Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II. A Plus enhanced version was later published. | |||||
| Xbox | April 15, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Includes more content, titled Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II. | |||||
| Sonic Adventure 2 | Dreamcast | June 19, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Takashi Iizuka | Developed by Sonic Team USA | |||
| GameCube | December 20, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Includes more content, titled Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. | |||||
| Puyo Pop | Game Boy Advance | October 18, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Caret House | Akinori Nishiyama | |||
| Rez | PlayStation 2 | November 22, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Originally developed by United Game Artist | Tetsuya Mizuguchi | Jun Kobayashi | ||
| Space Channel 5: Part 2 | PlayStation 2 | February 14, 2002 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Sonic Advance | Game Boy Advance | December 20, 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Dimps | Yuji Naka, Hiroshi Matsumoto | Akinori Nishiyama | ||
| Sonic Mega Collection | GameCube | November 10, 2002 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Yuji Naka | Yojiro Ogawa | Games were compiled by VR-1 Japan | |
| PlayStation 2 | November 2, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Includes more content, titled Sonic Mega Collection Plus. | |||||
| Xbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Sonic Advance 2 | Game Boy Advance | December 19, 2002 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Dimps | Yuji Naka, Hiroshi Matsumoto | Akinori Nishiyama | ||
| Sonic Pinball Party | Game Boy Advance | June 1, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Jupiter | ||||
| Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg | GameCube | September 23, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yuji Naka | Shun Nakamura | |||
| Puyo Pop Fever | Arcade | November 26, 2003 | Yes | No | No | Co-developer with MileStone Inc. | Takashi Yuda | |||
| PlayStation 2 | February 4, 2004 | Yes | No | Yes | Developer | |||||
| Dreamcast | February 24, 2004 | Yes | No | No | ||||||
| GameCube | February 27, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Xbox | Yes | No | Yes | |||||||
| Mac OS X | June 24, 2004 | Yes | No | No | ||||||
| Game Boy Advance | July 24, 2004 | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||
| Windows | September 24, 2004 | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||
| Pocket PC | October 24, 2004 | Yes | No | No | ||||||
| Nintendo DS | December 24, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| PlayStation Portable | Yes | No | Yes | |||||||
| Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution | GameCube | November 27, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yojiro Ogawa | ||||
| Sonic Battle | Game Boy Advance | December 4, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tomoyuki Hayashi | ||||
| Sonic Heroes | PlayStation 2 | December 30, 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Takashi Iizuka | Developed by Sonic Team USA | |||
| GameCube | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Astro Boy | PlayStation 2 | April 18, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Tezuka Productions | Yuji Naka, Mineko Okamura | Hideki Anbo | ||
| Sonic Advance 3 | Game Boy Advance | June 7, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Dimps | Yuji Naka, Kochi Sakita | Akinori Nishiyama | ||
| Sega Superstars | PlayStation 2 | October 22, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Yuji Naka | Yoshihisa Hashimoto | ||
| Feel the Magic: XY/XX | Nintendo DS | November 16, 2004 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yuji Naka, Yojiro Ogawa | Takumi Yoshinga | |||
| Sonic Gems Collection | PlayStation 2 | August 11, 2005 | Yes | No | Yes | Mizuki Hosoyamada | ||||
| GameCube | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| The Rub Rabbits! | Nintendo DS | October 20, 2005 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Takumi Yoshinaga | ||||
| Shadow the Hedgehog | PlayStation 2 | November 15, 2005 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yuji Naka | Takashi Iizuka | Developed by Sega Studios USA | ||
| GameCube | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Sonic Rush | Nintendo DS | November 15, 2005 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Dimps | Yuji Naka, Koichi Sakita | Akinori Nishiyama | ||
| Puyo Puyo Fever 2 | PlayStation 2 | November 24, 2005 | Yes | No | No | Developer | Yuji Naka, Takashi Yuda | N/A | ||
| PlayStation Portable | Yes | No | No | |||||||
| Nintendo DS | December 24, 2005 | Yes | No | No | ||||||
| Sonic Riders | PlayStation 2 | February 21, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Now Production | Yuji Naka, Takashi Yuda | Kenjiro Morimoto | ||
| GameCube | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Windows | November 17, 2006 | No | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Jukugon | PlayStation Portable | July 13, 2006 | Yes | No | No | Developer | N/A | N/A | [8] | |
| Phantasy Star Universe | PlayStation 2 | August 31, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yuji Naka, Takao Miyoshi | Satoshi Sakai | [7] | ||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox 360 | October 25, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Mind Quiz: Your Brain Coach | Nintendo DS | September 14, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Takumi Yoshinaga | |||
| Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) | Xbox 360 | November 14, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Masahiro Kumuno | Shun Nakamura | |||
| PlayStation 3 | December 21, 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary | Nintendo DS | December 14, 2006 | Yes | No | No | Akinori Nishiyama | Mizuki Hosoyamada | |||
| PlayStation 2 | March 21, 2007 | Yes | No | No | ||||||
| PlayStation Portable | Yes | No | No | |||||||
| Wii | July 26, 2007 | Yes | No | No | ||||||
| Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games | Wii | November 22, 2007 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervisor | Osamu Ohashi | Eigo Kasahara | ||
| Nintendo DS | January 17, 2008 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Sonic and the Secret Rings | Wii | February 20, 2007 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Yojiro Ogawa | Yojiro Ogawa | ||
| Onsei Kanjou Sokuteiki: Kokoro Scan | Nintendo DS | August 16, 2007 | Yes | No | No | N/A | Takumi Yoshinaga | |||
| Sonic Rush Adventure | Nintendo DS | September 13, 2007 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Dimps | Akinori Nishiyama | Sakae Osumi | ||
| NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams | Wii | December 13, 2007 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Takashi Iizuka | Takashi Iizuka | Developed by Sega Studios USA | |
| Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity | PlayStation 2 | January 8, 2008 | No | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with O-Two | Kenjiro Morimoto | Kenjiro Morimoto | ||
| Wii | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Phantasy Star Portable | PlayStation Portable | July 31, 2008 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Alfa System | Satoshi Sakai, Tatsuya Sasaki | Katsuya Kira | ||
| Sonic Unleashed | PlayStation 2 | November 18, 2008 | No | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Dimps, O-Two | Akinori Nishiyama | Yoshihisa Hashimoto | ||
| Wii | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Dimps | ||||||
| Xbox 360 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Toshiyuki Nagahara | |||||
| PlayStation 3 | December 9, 2008 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Sonic and the Black Knight | Wii | March 3, 2009 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tetsu Katano | Tetsu Katano | |||
| Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games | Wii | November 5, 2009 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervisor | Osamu Ohashi | Takashi Iizuka | ||
| Nintendo DS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Eigo Kasahara | ||||||
| Puyo Puyo 7 | Nintendo DS | July 30, 2009 | Yes | No | No | Co-developer with h.a.n.d. | Mizuki Hosoyamada | Takumi Yoshinaga | ||
| PlayStation Portable | November 26, 2009 | Yes | No | No | ||||||
| Wii | Yes | No | No | |||||||
| Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I | Wii | October 11, 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Dimps | Takashi Iizuka, Hiroyuki Kawano | Toshiyuki Nagahra | ||
| PlayStation 3 | October 12, 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Xbox 360 | October 13, 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Sonic Free Riders | Xbox 360 | November 4, 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with O-Two | Kenjiro Morimoto | Kenjiro Morimoto | ||
| Sonic Colors | Wii | November 11, 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Takashi Iizuka | Morio Kishimoto | ||
| Nintendo DS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Dimps | Takashi Iizuka, Hiroyuki Kawano | Takao Hirabayashi | ||||
| Nintendo Switch | September 7, 2021 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Blind Squirrel Games | Takashi Iizuka | Morio Kishimoto | Includes more content, titled Sonic Colors Ultimate. | ||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games | Wii | November 15 2011 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervisor | Osamu Ohashi | Eigo Kasahara | ||
| Nintendo 3DS | February 9 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Koji Shindo | |||||
| Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary | Nintendo DS | July 14, 2011 | Yes | No | No | Co-developer with h.a.n.d. | Mizuki Hosoyamada | Takumi Yoshinaga | ||
| PlayStation Portable | December 15, 2011 | Yes | No | No | Co-developer with O-Two | |||||
| Wii | Yes | No | No | |||||||
| Nintendo 3DS | Yes | No | No | Co-developer with h.a.n.d. | ||||||
| Sonic Generations | PlayStation 3 | November 1, 2011 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Takashi Iizuka | Hiroshi Miyamoto | ||
| Xbox 360 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Windows | November 3, 2011 | No | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Nintendo 3DS | November 22, 2011 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Dimps | Takashi Iizuka, Hiroyuki Kawano | Tetsu Katano | |||
| PlayStation 4 | October 25, 2024 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Takashi Iizuka | Hiroshi Miyamoto | Includes more content, titled Sonic X Shadow Generations. | ||
| PlayStation 5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox Series X/S | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Nintendo Switch | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Sonic CD | Xbox 360 | December 14, 2011 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Naoto Ohshima | Includes in HD. | ||
| PlayStation 3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Android | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| iOS | December 15, 2011 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Windows | January 1, 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II | PlayStation 3 | May 15, 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Makoto Suzuki | ||||
| Xbox 360 | May 16, 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games | Wii U | November 8, 2013 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervisor | Eigo Kasahara, Nobuya Ohashi | Hiroshi Miyamoto | ||
| Sonic Lost World | Wii U | October 18, 2013 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Takashi Iizuka | Morio Kishimoto | ||
| Nintendo 3DS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Dimps | Takashi Iizuka, Hiroyuki Kawano | Takao Hirabayashi | ||||
| Windows | November 2, 2015 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Takashi Iizuka | Morio Kishimoto | |||
| Puyo Puyo Tetris | PlayStation 3 | February 6, 2014 | Yes | No | No | Co-developer with O-Two | Mizuki Hosoyamada | Koji Shindo | ||
| Nintendo 3DS | Yes | No | No | |||||||
| PlayStation Vita | Yes | No | No | |||||||
| Wii U | Yes | No | No | |||||||
| Xbox One | December 4, 2014 | Yes | No | No | Developer | |||||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Nintendo Switch | March 3, 2017 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Windows | February 27, 2018 | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric | Wii U | November 11, 2014 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supervision | Stephen Frost, Lisa Kapitas | Bob Rafei | ||
| Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal | Nintendo 3DS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Jenny Huang | Bill Spence | ||||
| Sonic Runners | Mobile | February 25, 2015 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Hardlight | Takashi Iizuka | Takao Hirabayashi | Discontinued on July 27, 2016.[9] | [10] |
| Sonic Forces | Windows | November 7, 2017 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Takashi Iizuka, Shun Nakamura | Morio Kishimoto | [11] | |
| Nintendo Switch | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Sakura Wars | PlayStation 4 | December 12, 2019 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Sega CS2 | Tetsu Katano | Tetsuya Ohtsubo | Developed the battle portion, and lent the Hedgehog Engine 2 | [12] |
| Sonic Origins | Nintendo Switch | June 23, 2022 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developer | Takashi Iizuka | Katsuyuki Shigihara | Games ported by Headcannon and Christian Whitehead | [13] |
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| PlayStation 5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox Series X/S | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Sonic Frontiers | Nintendo Switch | November 8, 2022 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Takashi Iizuka, Sachiko Kawamura | Morio Kishimoto | [14] | ||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| PlayStation 5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox Series X/S | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Sonic Superstars | Nintendo Switch | October 17, 2023 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-developer with Arzest | Takashi Iizuka, Naoto Ohshima, Yasuyuki Tsuzuki | Shunsuke Kawaraduka | ||
| PlayStation 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| PlayStation 5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox One | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Xbox Series X/S | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Smith, Sean (2006). "Company Profile: Sonic Team". Retro Gamer. No. 26. Imagine Publishing. pp. 24–29.
- ^ Casamassina, Matt (20 September 2003). "Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg". IGN. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ "This Month in Gaming History". Game Informer. Vol. 12, no. 105. January 2002. p. 117.
- ^ Cork, Jeff (November 16, 2009). "Game Informer's Top 100 Games Of All Time (Circa Issue 100)". Game Informer. Archived from the original on November 19, 2009. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- ^ "100 Greatest Games of All Time". Computer and Video Games (218). Future plc: 53–67. January 2000.
- ^ Parish, Jeremy (June 5, 2014). "Who Makes the Best Sonic the Hedgehog Games?". USgamer. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- ^ a b "SEGA | ソニックチーム | プレイステーション2 専用ソフト". www.sonicteam.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ Jukugon ジュクゴン [ULJM-05139] PPSSPP Gameplay Test, 27 March 2015, archived from the original on 2021-12-20, retrieved 2021-06-26
- ^ Whitehead, Thomas (May 28, 2016). "Sonic Runners, SEGA's Mobile Release by the Sonic Team, is Getting Shut Down". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ Musgrave, Shaun (February 26, 2015). "Sonic Team's 'Sonic Runners' Soft Launches In Japan And Canada". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
- ^ "Project Sonic 2017 Confirmed for Nintendo NX Release". Nintendo Life. 2016-07-23. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ "『新サクラ大戦』に『龍が如く7』！ 2020年に向けて飛躍するセガゲームスの取り組みを名越氏に訊く【電撃PS】". 電撃オンライン (in Japanese). 8 November 2019. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ^ Sonic Origins Credits Reel, 22 June 2022, retrieved 2022-08-02
- ^ Shea, Brian (2022-08-23). "Sonic Frontiers Release Date Set For November". Game Informer. Archived from the original on August 23, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-23.