List of Sonic Team games
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). 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. Some of Sonic Team's games, such as the Genesis-era "Sonic" games and "Nights", are considered by critics to be among the greatest video games ever released.
Educational games in the Sonic series
In 1996, Sega and Orion Interactive collaborated to produce "Sonic's Schoolhouse", an educational game in the Sega PC brand for Microsoft Windows. It was developed using a game engine similar to "Wolfenstein 3D"s and ten educators and psychologists helped create the game's challenges. A cartoon clock was originally the star of the game but was replaced with Sonic; thus, "Sonic's Schoolhouse" is only tenuously connected to the rest of the franchise. The game was released as part of Sega's 20 million "Blue is Back" marketing campaign to promote six "Sonic" games releasing in the holiday shopping season; advertisements for the game were run in magazines and it was promoted in store displays. "Sonic's Schoolhouse" also came bundled coupons worth 40 in discounts for "Sonic" merchandise, including comics and plush toys.