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).
Sonic Team
Sonic Team has developed a number of video games, with many of them becoming bestsellers. The studio is best known for its "Sonic the Hedgehog" series of platform games, which account for the majority of Sonic Team's work; the 1991 release of "Sonic the Hedgehog" is considered one of the most important moments in video game history, as it propelled Genesis sales and displaced Nintendo as the leading video game company. Sonic Team have also developed a wide variety of other games, including action games such as "Nights into Dreams", "Burning Rangers", and "Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg," the online puzzle game "ChuChu Rocket!", the online role-playing game "Phantasy Star Online," and the music game "Samba de Amigo". "Phantasy Star Online" is credited for introducing online RPGs to consoles and was the first online RPG for many players. According to Sean Smith of "Retro Gamer", few companies could claim to have released as many AAA games over such a long period, especially between 1991 and 2000. Some Sonic Team games, such as the original "Sonic" games for the Genesis and "Nights", are considered some of the best video games ever made.