Sonic Team
The initial team formed in 1990 and 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 that 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. Naka returned to Japan in late 1994 to become the head of CS3, later renamed R&D #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).
Platform game
1990 marked the release of the Super NES, along with the eagerly anticipated "Super Mario World". In order to fend off the new competition, Sega released "Sonic the Hedgehog". Whereas Nintendo's offering featured a conservative design, true to the "Mario" tradition, "Sonic" showcased a new style of design made possible by a new generation of hardware. "Sonic" featured large stages that scrolled effortlessly in all directions, as well as all manner of uneven terrain, curved hills, and a complex physics system that allowed players to rush through its levels with well-placed jumps and rolls. Lastly, there was the game's eponymous main character. Sega decided to give Sonic a rebellious personality in order to appeal to older gamers, and super speed to help show off the "Genesis"' hardware capabilities. The game proved to be a massive hit, was a successful pack-in with new systems, and cemented the view that platform games would make or break a console.