In 1991, in order to compete with Nintendo, the 16-bit gaming giant at the time, Sega decided to launch a racing-focused game. Yuji Naka, who was an employee of Sega at the time, and his two colleagues Naoto Oshima and Hirokazu Yasuda started planning a new game. In the final vote held within Sega, two animals, the hedgehog and the armadillo, designed by Naoto Oshima, won the spot to compete for the protagonist. After repeated weighing, Naka Yuji decided to use Oshima Naoto's hedgehog as the protagonist of the new game and named him Sonic, which means the speed of sound. At the video game show that year, Yuji Naka launched a trial version of this game. At that time, many players were obsessed with this game mode. In fact, Yuji Naka's gameplay in the trial version is very simple: players can rush to the finish line without any hindrance as long as they keep pressing the forward button. This mindless mode brings players an unprecedented speed experience, so that year At the Game Show, Sega was a huge success. At this time, the SonicTeam team headed by Yuji Naka was also established. The game music was produced by Masato Nakamura of the famous Japanese POP music group "Dreams Come True" and has received favorable reviews.
On June 23, 1991, the Sonic the Hedgehog game on the Sega MegaDrive console was officially released in North America. This work was well received as soon as it was launched, and sales increased significantly. June 23rd has since been regarded as Sonic's birthday.
On November 21, 1992, Sega launched the second Sonic game on the MD platform, Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The game adds a new character, Tails, the two-tailed fox, and thus a two-player mode. When the game was released in Europe, three large planes loaded with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 arrived at Heathrow Airport in London, England. As soon as the cabin door was opened, 50 large Sonic dolls came out, and this situation was reported on the British news.
(Sonic the Hedgehog 2 once had a leaked version, called Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Beta. Yuji Naka said in a recent interview that it was actually a trial version of the game designed at the time. Unfortunately, it was shown at the video game show Stolen. There are four levels in this leaked version, and most of the others are unfinished. Some scenes in this leaked version are considered to be clues to the origin of Sonic's game design, but it has not been officially confirmed.)
Afterwards, many Sonic games were launched on the MD platform, and games were also developed on the 8-bit platform and other consoles. Among them, Sonic 3D, released on the Sega Saturn in 1996, is considered the earliest Sonic 3D game (but it could only be considered 2.5D according to the technology at the time). There are also many non-racing Sonic games released on various platforms.
In 1998, after careful planning, SonicTeam released the new game Sonic Adventure on the Sega DC console. The game almost overturns all previous character designs and is played in full 3D for the first time. But most of the classic elements are retained.
In 2000, SonicTeam officially became an independent company and became a subsidiary of Sega. In the same year, Sega DC's operating conditions began to deteriorate.
On Sonic's tenth anniversary in 2001, SonicTeam launched Sonic Adventure 2. The game players call the most popular Sonic game has some fresh ingredients. It is also one of the games with the richest storyline in the entire Sonic series. The disastrous failure of Sega DC later forced it to withdraw from the game console hardware market and turn to software.
In 2003, Sega launched the cross-platform game Sonic Heroes for the first time, which covers almost all major platforms including Xbox, PS2, GameCube, and PC. Since then there have been 2D games on the GBA console.
In 2005, SonicTeam launched the first cross-platform 3D game Shadow the Hedgehog that did not feature Sonic as the protagonist. The game introduced action shooting elements.
It has also been criticized for excessive use of profanity and replacement of voice actors.
2006 is the fifteenth anniversary of Sonic. Sega launched a new Sonic game on the new platform PS3 and XBOX360. The game is named Sonic the Hedgehog (in view of the difference between the first generation of the game and the players' habits). Called "Next Generation Sonic"), it means that it will return to the origins of the game while adding new characters and plots. However, due to the hasty release of the game, many bugs and serious errors appeared, which also made players disappointed. In the same year, Yuji Naka quit the production team SonicTeam.
Of course, not every game is produced by SonicTeam. For example, the Sonic game production company on GBA is Dimps. In fact, many current Sonic games are produced by other companies and signed by SonicTeam or cooperated with both parties. In 2008, Sega produced the first Sonic role-playing game with BioWare, a well-known veteran RPG game company.
In 2007, Sega also released some Sonic games, such as "Sonic and the Secret Rings" on the new platform Wii, and its first cooperation with Nintendo on Wii, a Beijing Olympic-themed sports game Game "Mario & Sonic at BeiJing Olympics". Due to the sluggish performance of several recent games, Sega may consider delaying the next Sonic game. Sega may not release Sonic games for next-generation platforms next year, but will instead focus on the handheld and Wii markets.
In early 2008, "Sonic Riders II: Zero Gravity", the sequel to the well-received "Sonic Riders", was released on PS2. At the same time, Sonic has also made guest appearances in some games, such as "Super Smash Bros." and "Sega Star Tennis." Released in the fall of 2008, the first Sonic RPG game "Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood" in cooperation with the famous company BioWare changed the Sonic series' action-adventure-based game model. Sonic Unleashed, released on next-generation and PS2 consoles, also mixes action combat mode with racing for the first time.