Sonic Team

Overview

Based in Ota, Tokyo, Japan, Sonic Team is one of SEGA's most popular development teams.

The team was named Sonic Team when Sega asked one of their AM8 teams to develop a game with a popular enough character to rival Nintendo's Mario character in 1990. Ever since their first game, they've dubbed themselves Sonic Team. Over the course of time, Sonic Team has lost most of its AM8 members that started the franchise, such as the original level designer, who left to join Naughty Dog; the character designer, who left to form his own company, Artoon; the music producer, and even the original programmer / Sonic Team head, Yuji Naka, who left to form his own company Prope.

Sonic Team also has a branch in San Francisco, USA dubbed Sonic Team USA (also known as SEGA Studio USA), which is headed by Takashi Iizuka. Unlike other SEGA divisions in Tokyo, Sonic Team still retains its original structure.

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Also Known As

SONICTEAM, Ltd. (from Apr, 2000 to Jul, 2004)
Sonic Team (from 1991 to Apr, 2000)
Sega AM8 R&D Division (from 1990 to 1991)

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Trivia

Producer guru Naka Yuji, the reknown programming genius behind Sonic, had a really cool tatami floored office on the top floor of the Sega Corp. building where he oversaw his dedicated team of developers. He was known to reward competency in his staff and free-lance support. In spite of his gruff, rockstar exterior, he was surprisingly approachable during game show parties and often spoke of the challenge of personal creative growth.

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