Sonic Team
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Sonic Team (Japanese: ソニックチーム Hepburn: Sonikku chīmu) is a Japanese video game developer under ownership of Sega. Established in 1988 as Sega AM8 in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, the studio was renamed to Sonic Team in 1991 after the release of Sonic the Hedgehog. The game was a huge success and began the long-running Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. During the mid-1990s, Sonic Team began to create and develop new intellectual properties, though they continued to oversee production of the Sonic series.
Following the release of Sonic Adventure in 1998, some staff of Sonic Team moved to the United States to form Sonic Team USA. Parent company Sega's financial troubles in the early 2000s led to structural changes at the studio, with United Game Artists being absorbed by Sonic Team in 2003, and Sonic Team USA becoming Sega Studio USA in 2004.
Notable Games Developed
- Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)
- Sonic CD (1993)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994)
- Sonic & Knuckles (1994)
- Ristar (1995)
- Nights into Dreams (1996)
- Burning Rangers (1998)
- Sonic Adventure (1998)
- ChuChu Rocket! (1999)
- Samba de Amigo (2000)
- Phantasy Star Online (2000)
- Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)
- Puyo Pop (2001)
- Sonic Pinball Party (2003)
- Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (2003)
- Sonic Battle (2003)
- Sonic Heroes (2003)
- Puyo Pop Fever (2004)
- Astro Boy (2004)
- Sega Superstars (2004)
- Feel the Magic: XY/XX (2004)
- The Rub Rabbits! (2005)
- Puyo Puyo Fever 2 (2005)
- Sonic Riders (2006)
- Phantasy Star Universe (2006)
- Nights: Journey of Dreams (2007)
- Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008)
- Sonic Unleashed (2008)
- Phantasy Star Zero (2008)
- Sonic Free Riders (2010)
- Sonic Colors (2010)
- Sonic Generations (2011)
- Sonic Lost World (2013)
- Puyo Puyo Tetris (2014)
- Sonic Forces (2017)
- Puyo Puyo Champions (2019)
- Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (2020)
Why They Used To Rock
- Sonic Team has produced a variety of unique, colorful titles.
- Created the Sonic the Hedgehog series and are named after it.
- Excellent graphics.
- Catchy and memorable soundtracks.
- Their games are full of personality and heart.
- Their games are also mostly free of DLC, microtransactions, and other anti-consumer practices.
- Created games that were considered ground-breaking in their time, such as Phantasy Star Online.
Bad Qualities
- Nowadays they're making almost nothing but Sonic the Hedgehog games.
- They've constantly struggled with making Sonic work in 3D and alternative gameplay styles. Most notably, the Werehog and the Hedgehog Engine's boost formula.
- Due to Sega's constant pressure, some of the key members left from the team, in order to work with other companies like Nintendo or Square Enix.
- They've developed several terrible games including Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and Sonic Free Riders due to Sega forcing them to rush the games.
- Due to their constant purpose attempt to please the Sonic fanbase (mostly the nostalgia-tards), which is very notorious for constantly arguing with itself over what makes a Sonic game, the series has had a very mixed reception in recent years.
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