171-768: Sega All Stars was Sega 's budget series for the Dreamcast in North America . It included a total of 17 titles, each retailing for $ 19.95 in the United States and $ 29.95 in Canada. Seven of these were first released as Dreamcast launch titles. Sega All Stars titles are typically rated "E for Everyone" by the ESRB , and typically have a sports theme, but there are a few exceptions. Game covers were given an orange bar (as opposed to Europe 's blue color scheme) with
342-455: A dot matrix . Naka's prototype was a platform game with a fast-moving character rolling in a ball through a long, winding tube, and this concept was fleshed out with Ohshima's character designs and levels by Yasuhara. Yasuhara originally intended to work on the game for three months due to the delay of his planned move to the United States by the outbreak of the Gulf War , but was engrossed in
513-531: A rabbit able to grasp objects with prehensile ears, showed promise but was too complex for the Genesis hardware. The team narrowed its search to animals that could roll into a ball, their idea for an attacking move, and considered armadillos and hedgehogs . The hedgehog character, proposed by Naoto Ohshima , prevailed. Ohshima went on vacation to New York, taking sketches with him. He went to Central Park and asked locals for their opinions on them, and Sonic
684-664: A $ 1 billion stock swap whereby Sega would wholly acquire Bandai, was set to form a company known as Sega Bandai, Ltd. Though it was to be finalized in October of that year, it was called off in May after growing opposition from Bandai's mid-level executives. Bandai instead agreed to a business alliance with Sega. As a result of Sega's deteriorating financial situation, Nakayama resigned as Sega president in January 1998 in favor of Irimajiri. Nakayama's resignation may have in part been due to
855-678: A 65% share of the European console market. Sonic the Hedgehog set a Sega software sales record with 2.8 million cartridges sold by March 1992, including 1.8 million copies in the United States and another 1 million in Europe and Japan. The game went on to sell 3.7 million units by October 1992, and 4.5 million copies worldwide by November 1992. By 1997, the game had sold over 14 million copies worldwide, and earned over $ 400 million ( $ 890 million adjusted for inflation), higher than
1026-582: A 92% replay rate. While the eight-player Japanese version of the game was released in 1999, the game was reduced to a smaller four-player version due to size issues and released in North America in 2003. The cabinet was too expensive and the game did not entice casual users which are essential to the western arcade market. While the Japanese market retained core players, western arcades had become more focused on casual players, and Sega Amusements Europe,
1197-669: A Dreamcast launch game . It was promoted with a large-scale public demonstration at the Tokyo Kokusai Forum Hall . Due to a high failure rate in the manufacturing process, Sega could not ship enough consoles for the Dreamcast's Japanese launch. As more than half of its limited stock had been pre-ordered, Sega stopped pre-orders in Japan. Before the launch, Sega announced the release of its New Arcade Operation Machine Idea (NAOMI) arcade system board , which served as
1368-525: A bad performance and poor implementation of the original music and gameplay. As a response to the poor reception and claims that the system could not handle the original game, Simon "Stealth" Thomley, who later assisted with the development of the 2013 mobile port, released an unofficial, proof-of-concept version of Sonic the Hedgehog for the system. The unofficial version contains a complete Green Hill Zone and two bonus stages, as well as Tails and Knuckles as playable characters. A remastered mobile port
1539-465: A cheaper alternative to the Sega Model 3 . NAOMI shared technology with the Dreamcast, allowing nearly identical ports of arcade games. The Dreamcast launched in Japan on November 27, 1998. The entire stock of 150,000 consoles sold out by the end of the day. Irimajiri estimated that another 200,000 to 300,000 Dreamcast units could have been sold with sufficient supply. He hoped to sell more than
1710-622: A computer, the SC-3000. Learning that Nintendo was developing a games-only console , the Famicom , Sega developed its first home video game system, the SG-1000 , alongside the SC-3000. Rebranded versions of the SG-1000 were released in several other markets worldwide. The SG-1000 sold 160,000 units in 1983, which far exceeded Sega's projection of 50,000 in the first year but was outpaced by
1881-471: A day on the project for several months. Due to the need to demonstrate the Genesis' technological prowess, the game underwent extensive testing and redesign, which took over six months. According to Naka, the game had the fastest-ever character speed in a video game and a rotation effect in the bonus stages that had been considered impossible on the console. The team intended to add a two-player mode displayed via split-screen , but Naka's programming knowledge
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#17327837125762052-492: A decrease in profitability due to the investments required to launch the Dreamcast in Western markets and poor software sales in Japan. At the same time, worsening conditions reduced the profitability of Sega's Japanese arcade business, prompting the closure of 246 locations. Moore became the president and chief operating officer of Sega of America on 8 May 2000. He said the Dreamcast would need to sell 5 million units in
2223-407: A few names in black text on a black background, identifiable only by looking at the code. Naka stated that level design was a major challenge: he created maps much wider than normal and tried to ensure players would not get lost. It took him around eight months to develop Green Hill Zone as he kept restarting from scratch. He stated that he found the process "very interesting". Naka also stated that
2394-512: A former executive at Sony Computer Entertainment of America, became Sega of America's executive vice president in charge of product development and third-party relations. Stolar was not supportive of the Saturn, believing its hardware was poorly designed. While Stolar had said "the Saturn is not our future" at E3 1997, he continued to emphasize the quality of its games, and later reflected that "we tried to wind it down as cleanly as we could for
2565-556: A four-point plan: cut the price of the Genesis, create a US team to develop games targeted at the American market, expand the aggressive advertising campaigns, and replace the bundled game Altered Beast with Sonic the Hedgehog . The Japanese board of directors disapproved, but it was approved by Nakayama, who told Kalinske, "I hired you to make the decisions for Europe and the Americas, so go ahead and do it." In large part due to
2736-597: A hedgehog is. According to Mark Cerny , who worked in Tokyo as an intermediary between the Japanese and American Sega offices, the American staff felt the character was "unsalvageable". They made plans to educate Sonic Team on character design with the work of Will Vinton , the creator of the California Raisins . They proposed a full-scale recreation of the character, but compromised with Sonic Team to simply make design changes for western audiences. The antagonist
2907-574: A larger focus on exploration, with no vertical loops, and Sonic cannot re-collect his rings after being hit. The game has a different soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro , which includes adaptations of music from the original version. It was the final game released for the Master System in North America. The Master System version was re-released for Wii 's Virtual Console service in North America and Europe in August 2008. The Game Gear version
3078-420: A million Dreamcast units in Japan by February 1999, but less than 900,000 were sold. The low sales undermined Sega's attempts to build up a sufficient installed base to ensure the Dreamcast's survival after the arrival of competition from other manufacturers. Sega suffered a further ¥42.881 billion consolidated net loss in the fiscal year ending March 1999, and announced plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs, nearly
3249-673: A playable character in an upgraded version of Origins . Sonic the Hedgehog has been available for all three major seventh-generation video game consoles . It was part of the Wii Virtual Console at the service's 2006 introduction, and was released for the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network shortly afterwards. The game was released for the iPod Classic , iPod video , and video-capable iPod Nano models in 2007 and for Apple's iOS in April 2009. Sonic
3420-435: A popular form of entertainment among youths across East Asia , laying the foundations for modern selfie culture. By 1997, about 47,000 Purikura machines had been sold, earning Sega an estimated ¥25 billion ( £173 million ) or $ 283,000,000 (equivalent to $ 537,000,000 in 2023) from Purikura sales that year. Various other similar Purikura machines appeared from other manufacturers, with Sega controlling about half of
3591-527: A press release confirming it was considering producing software for the PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance as part of its "new management policy". On January 31, 2001, Sega announced the discontinuation of the Dreamcast after March 31 and the restructuring of the company as a "platform-agnostic" third-party developer. Sega also announced a Dreamcast price reduction to eliminate its unsold inventory, estimated at 930,000 units as of April 2001. This
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#17327837125763762-557: A quarter of its workforce. Before the Western launch, Sega reduced the price of the Dreamcast in Japan by JP¥9,100, effectively making it unprofitable but increasing sales. On August 11, 1999, Sega of America confirmed that Stolar had been fired. Peter Moore , whom Stolar had hired as a Sega of America executive only six months before, was placed in charge of the North American launch. The Dreamcast launched in North America on September 9, 1999, with 18 games. Sega set
3933-456: A record by selling more than 225,132 Dreamcast units in 24 hours, earning $ 98.4 million in what Moore called "the biggest 24 hours in entertainment retail history". Within two weeks, US Dreamcast sales exceeded 500,000. By Christmas, Sega held 31 percent of the US video game market by revenue. On November 4, Sega announced it had sold more than a million Dreamcast units. Nevertheless, the launch
4104-589: A rival to Nintendo's mascot Mario . For the next three years, programmers and designers at Sega worked on a brand character to rival Mario. In 1990, Sega ordered its in-house development studio to develop a game featuring a mascot for the company. Sega's president Hayao Nakayama wanted a character as iconic as Mickey Mouse . The team developed ideas for characters, an engine , and gameplay mechanics . Development emphasized speed, so Sega considered fast creatures such as kangaroos and squirrels and eliminated designs not associated with fast animals. One idea,
4275-566: A second, faster processor, vastly expanded system memory, a graphics chip that performed scaling and rotation similar to the company's arcade games, and another sound chip. In North America, it was renamed the Sega CD and launched on October 15, 1992, with a retail price of US$ 299. It was released in Europe as the Mega-CD in 1993. The Mega-CD sold only 100,000 units during its first year in Japan, falling well below expectations. Throughout
4446-462: A simple control scheme, with jumping and attacking controlled by a single button. Development began in 1990 when Sega ordered its developers to create a game featuring a mascot for the company. The developers chose a blue hedgehog designed by Naoto Ohshima after he won an internal character design contest, and named themselves Sonic Team to match their character. It uses a novel technique that allows Sonic's sprite to roll along curved scenery which
4617-481: A slight increase in the fiscal year ended March 1997, partly driven by increasing arcade revenue, while outperforming Nintendo during the mid-term period. However, in the fiscal year ending March 1998, Sega suffered its first financial loss since its 1988 listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as both a parent company and a corporation as a whole. In the company's 1998 year end report, Irimajiri placed
4788-408: A time attack mode and the unlockable option to play as Tails or Knuckles ; it additionally features a heavily expanded debug mode , which allows for use of unused elements and elements from more recent games (such as the characters' super forms ). The iOS version was updated in 2016, adding compatibility with Apple TV . A Nintendo 3DS version, 3D Sonic the Hedgehog , was released as part of
4959-532: Is hit without holding any rings, he loses a life. Shields and temporary invincibility can be collected to provide additional layers of protection, but certain hazards, such as drowning, being crushed, falling into bottomless pits, or running out of time, kill Sonic regardless of rings or other protection. The game is split into six principal zones , followed by a short Final Zone. Each main zone has its own visual style, and while some enemies appear throughout, each zone has unique enemies and obstacles. Each main zone
5130-472: Is one of the world's most prolific arcade game producers and its mascot, Sonic , is internationally recognized. Its name and branding are used for owned or affiliated companies that operate amusement arcades and produce other entertainment products, including Sega Fave; however, these are largely separate ventures. Sega is recognized for its video game consoles, creativity and innovations. In more recent years, it has been criticized for its business decisions and
5301-447: Is right, every loop-the-loop is perfect, and you're in the flow, sailing above the game's strange structure ... Sonic is incorrect game design and yet ... it's a masterpiece." Primarily because of its Genesis bundling, Sonic the Hedgehog was a factor in popularising the console in North America, thus solidifying it as a competitor to Nintendo and their Super Nintendo Entertainment System . During October–December 1991, with
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5472-425: Is split into three acts, all of which must be completed. At the end of each main zone's third act, the player confronts Dr. Robotnik for a boss fight . For most of the fights, Robotnik's vehicle is fitted with different weapons. After completing the sixth zone, the player continues to the single-level Final Zone for a last encounter with Robotnik inside a large machine environment. Destroying Robotnik's machine ends
5643-642: The Dreamcast Collection in 2011, which also includes Space Channel 5: Part 2 . Two Sega All Stars titles ( Crazy Taxi and an updated version of Virtua Tennis ) were ported to Android and iOS as free Sega Forever downloads. Sega Sega Corporation is a Japanese multinational video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Shinagawa , Tokyo . It produces several multi-million-selling game franchises for arcades and consoles , including Sonic
5814-608: The $ 200–300 million typically grossed by a blockbuster movie at the time. The original version bundled with the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive hardware had sold over 15 million copies as of February 2009 . The mobile game version also had eight million paid downloads by 2008, 482,960 units were sold on Xbox Live Arcade as of 2011 , and over 500,000 paid Android downloads were sold between 2013 and 2016, bringing total sales to approximately 24 million copies sold worldwide across all platforms. Sonic
5985-463: The 3D Classics line in 2013. This version, unlike most downloadable re-releases of the game, is not emulated ; rather, the code was restructured to take advantage of the 3DS system's stereoscopic 3D graphics and comes with additional enhancements, such as the option to use the Spin Dash move, a CRT -style filter, and the option to start from any level. With its sequels for the Genesis, Sonic
6156-465: The Famicom and lagged behind Nintendo's Super Famicom and the TurboGrafx-16 , made by NEC , in Japanese sales throughout the 16-bit era . For the North American launch, where the console was renamed Genesis, Sega had no sales and marketing organization. After Atari declined an offer to market the console in the region, Sega launched it through its own Sega of America subsidiary. The Genesis
6327-522: The Genesis/Mega Drive . It was released in North America on June 23 and in PAL regions and Japan the following month. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog , who can run at near supersonic speeds; Sonic sets out on a quest to defeat Dr. Robotnik , a scientist who has imprisoned animals in robots and seeks the powerful Chaos Emeralds . The gameplay involves collecting rings as a form of health , and
6498-572: The Mega Drive is capable of "beautiful things" in the technical department. Reviewers praised the colorful, detailed graphics. Rand called its color scheme "lively, but never garish", praising the interaction of color with detail in the sprites, backgrounds, and animations and describing its graphics as the best available for the Mega Drive. Reviewer Boogie Man of GamePro called the intricate backgrounds "eye-popping" and "gorgeous", which
6669-465: The PAL regions and Japan the following month. In November 1991, Sega of America included Sonic as a pack-in game with American Genesis consoles, replacing Altered Beast . This enabled Sega of America to sell 15 million Genesis units. Genesis owners who bought their consoles before the switch could request free copies of Sonic the Hedgehog by mail. Sega of America created a marketing campaign, making Sonic its new mascot. A version of Sonic
6840-684: The Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Sonic Team brands for several core franchise entries), Sega Sapporo Studio which mainly provides support for the Tokyo-based development teams as well as handling partial game development, and Atlus (including their R&D divisions, such as P-Studio and Studio Zero respectively) and five development studios in the UK and Europe: Creative Assembly , Sports Interactive , Sega Hardlight , Two Point Studios , and Rovio Entertainment (including Ruby Games). Sega
7011-496: The SG-1000 and Master System , but struggled against competitors such as the Nintendo Entertainment System . In 1984, Sega executives David Rosen and Hayao Nakayama led a management buyout , with backing from CSK Corporation . In 1988, Sega released the Mega Drive , or the Genesis in North America. The Mega Drive struggled against competition in Japan, but the Genesis found success overseas after
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7182-464: The best-selling video games . On the Genesis, which it was bundled with, it sold 15 million copies, making it the best-selling Genesis game . It established the Genesis as a key player in the 16-bit era and made it competitive with the Super NES . It has been ported to multiple systems and inspired several clones , a successful franchise , and adaptations into other media. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
7353-474: The review aggregator GameRankings based on nine reviews published online in the 2000s. Sonic the Hedgehog has maintained its popularity, and has since been considered one of the greatest video games of all time . Frank Provo of GameSpot described the game as "one of the best platformers of all time", finding that despite technical issues in the Game Boy Advance port "after all these years,
7524-604: The "Sega!" scream, and holding press events for the education industry. Sega partnered with GE to develop the Sega Model 2 arcade system board, building on 3D technology in the arcade industry at the time. This led to several successful arcade games, including Daytona USA , launched in a limited capacity in late 1993 and worldwide in 1994. Other popular games included Virtua Cop , Sega Rally Championship , and Virtua Fighter 2 . Virtua Fighter and Virtua Fighter 2 became Sega's best-selling arcade games of all time, surpassing their previous record holder Out Run . There
7695-431: The "catchy" soundtrack, calling some of the sound effects "absolutely brilliant". Although Mean Machines called the songs "vaguely appealing", the sound effects were better appreciated. However, Boardman of Raze considered the music "a little boring". Critics cited the fast gameplay, unprecedented in platformers. The difficulty was disputed, described as "impossible" by Rand and "average" by EGM . Rand said about
7866-445: The 1980s. Former Sega director Akira Nagai said Hang-On and Out Run helped to pull the arcade game market out of the 1982 downturn and created new genres of video games. With the arcade game market once again growing, Sega was one of the most recognized game brands at the end of the 1980s. In the arcades, the company focused on releasing games to appeal to diverse tastes, including racing games and side-scrollers . Sega released
8037-468: The 1994 release of the Atari Jaguar , and that the Saturn would not be available until the next year. As a result, Nakayama decided to have a second console release to market by the end of 1994. Sega began to develop the 32X , a Genesis add-on which would serve as a less expensive entry into the 32-bit era . The 32X would not be compatible with the Saturn, but would play Genesis games. Sega released
8208-466: The 32X on November 21, 1994, in North America, December 3, 1994, in Japan, and January 1995 in PAL territories, and was sold at less than half of the Saturn's launch price. After the holiday season, interest in the 32X rapidly declined. Sega released the Saturn in Japan on November 22, 1994. Virtua Fighter , a port of the popular arcade game, sold at a nearly one-to-one ratio with the Saturn at launch and
8379-613: The 3rd , Case Closed , and Anpanman & Marza Animation Planet , which specializes in CG animation. In May 1940, American businessmen Martin Bromley, Irving Bromberg and James Humpert formed Standard Games in Honolulu , Hawaii. Their aim was to provide coin-operated amusement machines , including slot machines , to military bases as the increase in personnel with the onset of World War II would create demand for entertainment. After
8550-485: The 8-bit version. An enhanced port for the Sega CD was also planned, but was canceled in favor of Sonic CD . Sonic the Hedgehog was a commercial success. It became America's best-selling video game for several months in 1991, outselling Super Mario . By Christmas 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog had sold nearly 1 million game cartridges in the United States. It was also Blockbuster Video 's highest-renting game of
8721-535: The Acro-Bat , James Pond 3 , Earthworm Jim , Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel , and Radical Rex . "Animal with attitude" games carried over to the next generation of consoles, with the developers of Crash Bandicoot and Gex citing Sonic as a major inspiration. Sonic 's success led to an extensive media franchise , with the first of many sequels, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 , released
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#17327837125768892-626: The CEO and managing director, while Stewart was named president and LeMaire was the director of planning. Shortly afterward, Sega stopped leasing to military bases and moved its focus from slot machines to coin-operated amusement machines. Its imports included Rock-Ola jukeboxes, pinball games by Williams , and gun games by Midway Manufacturing . Because Sega imported second-hand machines, which required frequent maintenance, it began constructing replacement guns and flippers for its imported games. According to former Sega director Akira Nagai, this led to
9063-449: The Dreamcast as much as expected, as many disappointed consumers continued to wait or purchased a PSone . Eventually, Sony and Nintendo held 50 and 35 percent of the US video game market, while Sega held only 15 percent. CSK chairman Isao Okawa replaced Irimajiri as president of Sega on May 22, 2000. Okawa had long advocated that Sega abandon the console business. Others shared this view; Sega co-founder David Rosen had "always felt it
9234-472: The Famicom. This was in part because Nintendo expanded its game library by courting third-party developers , whereas Sega was hesitant to collaborate with companies with which it was competing in the arcades. In November 1983, Rosen announced his intention to step down as president of Sega Enterprises, Inc. on January 1, 1984. Jeffrey Rochlis was announced as the new president and CEO of Sega. Shortly after
9405-410: The Hedgehog , Angry Birds , Phantasy Star , Puyo Puyo , Super Monkey Ball , Total War , Virtua Fighter , Megami Tensei , Sakura Wars , Persona , and Yakuza . From 1983 until 2001, Sega also developed its own consoles . Having American origins, Sega was founded by Martin Bromley and Richard Stewart as Nihon Goraku Bussan on June 3, 1960. Shortly after, the company acquired
9576-635: The Hedgehog became available on GameTap in September 2009. In October 2010, it was released on Windows via Steam . The game was ported to Android and released in December 2012. Additionally, it is an unlockable reward in the console versions of Sonic Generations . The 2013 remaster was made available on the Sega Forever service on iOS and Android in June 2017. A port for Nintendo Switch
9747-656: The Hedgehog has been ported for a wide range of home and handheld consoles and personal computers through compilations. The first collection it appeared in was Sonic Compilation (1995) for the Genesis. It has since appeared in Sonic Jam (1997) for the Saturn , Sonic Mega Collection (2002) for the GameCube , Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004) for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox , Sega Genesis Collection for
9918-495: The Hedgehog is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, with over 140 million copies sold or downloaded worldwide across consoles, PC's, mobile phones and tablets by May 2014. The game's first level, Green Hill Zone , has been featured in later games such as Sonic Adventure 2 , Sonic Generations , Sonic Mania , Sonic Forces , and the Super Smash Bros. series. The game inspired
10089-468: The Hedgehog was developed by Ancient and released in late 1991 for Sega's 8-bit consoles, the Master System and Game Gear . Its plot and gameplay mechanics are similar to the 16-bit version, though some level themes and digital assets are different and Chaos Emeralds are scattered throughout levels rather than bonus stages. Gameplay as a whole is simplified; the level design is flatter and has
10260-429: The Hedgehog was praised by critics, with scores above 90% from most video game magazines at the time. It was considered Sega's answer to Nintendo's widely popular Mario series, as it was a platformer featuring the company's mascot. In a preview following its CES debut in January 1991, John Cook of Computer and Video Games called it the most impressive game at the show and said it was "another jumpy jumpy game in
10431-487: The Mario mould, but with an astonishing turn of speed and great music." Upon release, Paul Rand of Computer and Video Games compared the two in depth and characterized Sonic the Hedgehog as being faster, with brighter colors and Super Mario World as having more "depth of play". Frank Ladoire of Génération 4 [ fr ] believed Sonic the Hedgehog was part of a new generation of games that demonstrate that
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#173278371257610602-597: The Master System and featured a full-color screen, in contrast to the monochrome Game Boy screen. Due to its short battery life, lack of original games, and weak support from Sega, the Game Gear did not surpass the Game Boy, having sold approximately 11 million units. Sega launched the Mega-CD in Japan on December 1, 1991, initially retailing at JP¥ 49,800. The add-on uses CD-ROM technology. Further features include
10773-430: The Master System's successor, the Mega Drive , in Japan on October 29, 1988. The launch was overshadowed by Nintendo's release of Super Mario Bros. 3 a week earlier. Positive coverage from magazines Famitsu and Beep! helped establish a following, with the latter launching a new publication dedicated to the console, but Sega shipped only 400,000 units in the first year. The Mega Drive struggled to compete against
10944-551: The Nihon Goraku Bussan name. Around the same time, David Rosen , an American officer in the United States Air Force stationed in Japan, launched a photo booth business in Tokyo in 1954. This company became Rosen Enterprises, and in 1957 began importing coin-operated games into Japan. In 1965, Nihon Goraku Bussan acquired Rosen Enterprises to form Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Rosen was installed as
11115-467: The North American home console market without Sega games for over a year, with most of its activity in the country coming from arcade divisions. The Saturn lasted longer in some Europe territories and particularly Japan, with it notably outperforming the Nintendo 64 in the latter. Nonetheless, Irimajiri confirmed in an interview with Japanese newspaper Daily Yomiuri that Saturn development would stop at
11286-614: The PlayStation 2 and PSP , Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009) for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 , Sonic Classic Collection (2010) for the Nintendo DS , Oculus Arcade for the Oculus Rift , and Sega Genesis Classics (2018) for Microsoft Windows , the PlayStation 4 , Xbox One and Nintendo Switch . The 2013 remaster was included in the 2022 compilation Sonic Origins . This remaster saw Amy Rose becoming
11457-518: The SNES at release. Nintendo's dollar share of the US 16-bit market dropped from 60% at the end of 1992 to 37% at the end of 1993, Sega claimed 55% of all 16-bit hardware sales during 1994, and the SNES outsold the Genesis from 1995 through 1997. In 1990, Sega launched the Game Gear , a handheld console , to compete against Nintendo's Game Boy . The Game Gear was designed as a portable version of
11628-644: The Saturn an advantage over the PlayStation. At the first Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles on May 11, 1995, Kalinske revealed the release price and that Sega had shipped 30,000 Saturns to Toys "R" Us , Babbage's , Electronics Boutique , and Software Etc. for immediate release. A by-product of the surprise launch was the provocation of retailers not included in Sega's rollout; KB Toys in particular decided to no longer stock its products in response. The Saturn's release in Europe also came before
11799-478: The Sega Enterprises name used in Japan as well as transitioning to the Sega name used globally. Sega stated in a release that this was to display its commitment to its "network entertainment business". On January 23, 2001, Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shinbun reported that Sega would cease production of the Dreamcast and develop software for other platforms. After an initial denial, Sega released
11970-420: The US by the end of 2000 to remain viable, but Sega fell short of this goal with some 3 million units sold. Moreover, Sega's attempts to spur Dreamcast sales through lower prices and cash rebates caused escalating financial losses. In March 2001, Sega posted a consolidated net loss of ¥51.7 billion ($ 417.5 million). While the PlayStation 2's October 26 US launch was marred by shortages, this did not benefit
12141-482: The US. Sega was surprised by the success, and for the next two years, the company produced and exported between eight and ten games per year. The worldwide success of Periscope led to a "technological renaissance" in the arcade industry, which was reinvigorated by a wave of "audio-visual" EM novelty games that followed in the wake of Periscope during the late 1960s to early 1970s. However, rampant piracy led Sega to cease exporting its games around 1970. In 1969, Sega
12312-539: The United States, as company revenues rose to $ 214 million. 1979 saw the release of Head On , which introduced the "eat-the-dots" gameplay Namco later used in Pac-Man . In 1981, Sega licensed Frogger , its most successful game until then. In 1982, Sega introduced the first game with isometric graphics , Zaxxon . Following a downturn in the arcade business starting in 1982, Gulf and Western sold its North American arcade game manufacturing organization and
12483-408: The United States. While the port is mostly identical to the original, it includes several new features not seen in the original Genesis release, such as the ability to save game progress and the inclusion of the Spin Dash move. This version, unlike others, received poor reviews, with a Metacritic score of 33/100. The chief complaints concerned its poor conversion to the Game Boy Advance, resulting in
12654-651: The Xbox. As part of the restructuring, nearly one third of Sega's Tokyo workforce was laid off in 2001. 2002 was Sega's fifth consecutive fiscal year of net losses. After Okawa's death, Hideki Sato, a 30-year Sega veteran who had worked on Sega's consoles, became the company president. Following poor sales in 2002, Sega cut its profit forecast for 2003 by 90 percent, and explored opportunities for mergers. In 2003, Sega began talks with Sammy Corporation –a pachinko and pachislot manufacturing company–and Namco. The president of Sammy, Hajime Satomi , had been mentored by Okawa and
12825-427: The assets of its predecessor, Service Games of Japan . In 1965, it became known as Sega Enterprises, Ltd., after acquiring Rosen Enterprises, an importer of coin-operated games . Sega developed its first coin-operated game, Periscope , in 1966. Sega was sold to Gulf and Western Industries in 1969. Following a downturn in the arcade business in the early 1980s, Sega began to develop video game consoles, starting with
12996-473: The awards for Best Video Game and Going Live Viewers Award. In 1992, Mega ranked Sonic as their third-favorite Genesis game. In 1995, Flux rated the game fourth in its "Top 100 Video Games." In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game 78th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time." In 2016, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted Sonic the Hedgehog to its World Video Game Hall of Fame . Retrospective reception has been positive, with an 86% rating at
13167-424: The blame for these losses on the failure to transition from the Genesis to the Saturn in North America and Sega Enterprises covering the debts of Sega of America. Shortly before the announcement of the losses, Sega discontinued the Saturn in North America to prepare for the launch of its successor, the Dreamcast , releasing remaining games in low quantities. The decision to discontinue the Saturn effectively left
13338-539: The brand name written from top to bottom. The disc labels were also changed to include a small circle and the Sega All Stars brand printed inside of it. Also, in printing, original releases said "Sega Dreamcast" on the disc but the All-stars versions just simply said "Dreamcast" to match up games released with the black label. Original Dreamcast games were released in the white labels and said "Sega Dreamcast" on
13509-493: The colors. After this, four people came onto the team to speed development up. Due to the popularity of Mario, Naka wanted Sonic to take over the American market. Sonic's default speed was set to that of Mario while running. Tests were run using the Genesis' tool library, and problems such as flickering, slow frame rates, and shaky animation soon became apparent. Increasing Sonic's speed caused animation problems. Naka solved this by developing an algorithm retained fluidity. All that
13680-430: The company developing its own games. The first arcade electro-mechanical game (EM game) Sega manufactured was the submarine simulator Periscope , released worldwide in the late 1960s. It featured light and sound effects considered innovative and was successful in Japan. It was then exported to malls and department stores in Europe and the United States and helped standardize the 25-cent-per-play cost for arcade games in
13851-429: The company survive the third-party transition. He held failed talks with Microsoft about a sale or merger with their Xbox division. According to former Microsoft executive Joachim Kempin , Microsoft founder, Bill Gates , decided against acquiring Sega because "he didn't think that Sega had enough muscle to eventually stop Sony". A business alliance with Microsoft was announced whereby Sega would develop 11 games for
14022-601: The company's console, mobile and PC games on a year-to-year basis until the fiscal year of 2014. In order to drive growth in western markets, Sega announced new leadership for Sega of America and Sega Europe in 2005. Simon Jeffery became president and COO of Sega of America, and Mike Hayes president and COO for Sega Europe. In 2009, Hayes became president of the combined outfit of both Sega of America and Sega Europe, due to Jeffery leaving. Sega sold Visual Concepts to Take-Two Interactive , and purchased UK-based developer Creative Assembly , known for its Total War series . In
14193-503: The consumer." At Sony, Stolar had opposed the localization of certain Japanese PlayStation games that he felt would not represent the system well in North America. He advocated a similar policy for the Saturn, generally blocking 2D arcade games and role-playing games from release, although he later sought to distance himself from this stance. Other changes included a softer image in Sega's advertising, including removing
14364-794: The continued popularity of the Genesis; 16-bit sales accounted for 64 percent of the market in 1995. Despite capturing 43 percent of the US market dollar share and selling more than 2 million Genesis units in 1995, Kalinske estimated that, if prepared for demand, another 300,000 could have been sold. Sega announced that Shoichiro Irimajiri had been appointed chairman and CEO of Sega of America in July 1996, while Kalinske left Sega after September 30 of that year. A former Honda executive, Irimajiri had been involved with Sega of America since joining Sega in 1993. The company also announced that Rosen and Nakayama had resigned from their positions at Sega of America, though both remained with Sega. Bernie Stolar ,
14535-408: The decline of the global arcade industry in the late 1990s, Sega created several novel concepts tailored to the Japanese market. Derby Owners Club was an arcade machine with memory cards for data storage, designed to take over half an hour to complete and costing JP¥500 to play. Testing of Derby Owners Club in a Chicago arcade showed that it had become the most popular machine at the location, with
14706-403: The early 1990s, Sega largely continued its success in arcades around the world. In 1992 and 1993, the new Sega Model 1 arcade system board showcased in-house development studio Sega AM2 's Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter (the first 3D fighting game ), which, though expensive, played a crucial role in popularizing 3D polygonal graphics. In addition, complex simulator equipment like
14877-459: The eight-member team changed his name to "Sonic" and took the name Sonic Team . Ohshima said that "Sonic" was chosen because it represented speed. Ideas proposed to flesh out the character included placing him in a rock band, giving him vampire fangs, and giving him a human girlfriend named Madonna. Sega of America scrapped these ideas to keep his identity simple. Sega of America also expressed concerns that most Americans would not know what
15048-543: The emeralds himself. If the player collects all the Chaos Emeralds and completes the game, an ending sequence is shown. If all the emeralds are not collected, Robotnik taunts the player while juggling any of the Chaos Emeralds not collected by the player. In the 1980s, Sega had limited success with Genesis ports of its arcade games , but wanted a stronger foothold against its main competitor, Nintendo . In 1988, Sega of Japan began an in-house competition to create
15219-668: The end of 1998 and games would continue to be produced until mid-1999. With lifetime sales of 9.26 million units, the Saturn is retrospectively considered a commercial failure in much of the world. While Sega had success with the Model 3 arcade board and titles like Virtua Fighter 3 , Sega's arcade divisions struggled in the West during the late 1990s. On the other hand, Sega's arcade divisions were more successful in Asia, with Sega's overall arcade revenues increasing year-on-year throughout
15390-479: The end of 1999 —began to decline as early as January 2000. Poor Japanese sales contributed to Sega's ¥42.88 billion ($ 404 million) consolidated net loss in the fiscal year ending March 2000. This followed a similar loss of ¥42.881 billion the previous year and marked Sega's third consecutive annual loss. Sega's overall sales for the term increased 27.4 percent, and Dreamcast sales in North America and Europe greatly exceeded its expectations. However, this coincided with
15561-587: The entities of Service Games worldwide. The company expanded over the next seven years to include distribution in South Korea , the Philippines , and South Vietnam . The name Sega, an abbreviation of Service Games, was first used in 1954 on a slot machine, the Diamond Star. Due to notoriety arising from investigations by the US government into criminal business practices, Service Games of Japan
15732-733: The entity created to officially distribute and manufacture Sega's machines on the continent after the consolidation of its regional divisions, subsequently decided to develop more games locally that were better suited to western tastes. In 2005, the GameWorks chain of arcades came under the sole ownership of Sega, which previously was shared with Vivendi Universal , and remained under their ownership until 2011. In 2009, Sega Republic , an indoor theme park, opened in Dubai . Sega gradually reduced its arcade centers from 450 in 2005 to around 200 in 2015. Arcade machine sales incurred higher profits than
15903-548: The failure of the merger, as well as Sega's 1997 performance. Stolar became CEO and president of Sega of America. After the launch of the Nintendo 64 in the US during 1996, sales of the Saturn and its games fell sharply in much of the west. The PlayStation outsold the Saturn three-to-one in the US in 1997, and the latter failed to gain a foothold in Europe and Australia, where the Nintendo 64 would not release until March 1997. After several years of declining profits, Sega had
16074-544: The family-friendly GA rating to the more mature rating of MA-13, and the adults-only rating of MA-17. Executive vice president of Nintendo of America Howard Lincoln was quick to point out in the United States congressional hearings in 1993 that Night Trap was not rated at all. Senator Joe Lieberman called for another hearing in February 1994 to check progress toward a rating system for video game violence. After
16245-456: The following year. It has generated dozens of additional games and a large cast of recurring characters, keeping Sonic and Robotnik (later renamed as Eggman) mainstays, and continued beyond Sega's exit from the console industry after the Dreamcast . The series has ventured from platformers to fighting , racing , role-playing , and sports games , and also expanded into anime , manga , cartoons comic books , novels, and toys. Sonic
16416-534: The game an A+ and wrote that it was a very fast game, yet never felt chaotic or impossible, and they later named it the best game available in 1991. At the 1991 Golden Joystick Awards , Sonic the Hedgehog won Overall Game of the Year . In the 1991 Electronic Gaming Monthly awards, Sonic the Hedgehog won Game of the Year . At the European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) awards, it won
16587-415: The game was made to play quickly, which was where he focused most of his effort. Naka explained that the reason he wanted a fast game was that he had ported Ghouls 'n Ghosts , and wanted to work on its movement but found it slow. Sonic the Hedgehog was developed by a team of seven: two programmers, two sound engineers, and three designers, although it began with just Ohshima and Naka. People came onto
16758-422: The game's success, the Genesis outsold the SNES by two to one; at its January 1992 peak it gained a foothold in the industry and had 65 percent of the market for 16-bit consoles. Although Nintendo eventually overtook Sega, it was the first time since December 1985 that Nintendo did not lead the console market. Sonic the Hedgehog inspired similar platformers starring animal mascots, including Bubsy , Aero
16929-408: The game. The player must also avoid touching spikes, falling into bottomless pits, being crushed by moving walls or platforms, and drowning, which may be prevented by breathing air bubbles from vents. Sonic's main means of attack is the spin attack, in which he curls into a ball and spins his body, damaging enemies and certain obstacles upon collision. This may be performed by jumping or rolling. At
17100-512: The game. UFO Catcher was introduced in 1985 and as of 2005 was Japan's most commonly installed claw crane game. In 1986, Sega of America was established to manage the company's consumer products in North America, beginning with marketing the Master System. During Sega's partnership with Tonka, Sega of America relinquished marketing and distribution of the console and focused on customer support and some localization of games. Out Run , released in 1986, became Sega's best selling arcade cabinet of
17271-475: The game. A brief animation shows Sonic's return to the first zone, with animals liberated from Dr. Robotnik. If Sonic reaches the end of any zone's Act 1 or Act 2 while holding at least 50 rings, a large ring appears through which he can jump to enter a bonus stage . In them, Sonic is continually curled up in his Spin Attack animation, and bounces off the bumpers and walls of a fully rotating maze. In these levels,
17442-463: The gameplay in general that it "plays like a dream"; according to GameZone it would enchant players for hours, and Boogie Man praised Sonic Team's ability to provide an engaging experience primarily from running and jumping. Although EGM , Dragon , Paul of Mean Machines and Boardman of Raze praised the level design (especially the hidden rooms), Paul found losing all of one's rings frustrating. Bob Strauss of Entertainment Weekly gave
17613-496: The hardest part was working with the limited number of sounds that could play concurrently: he was limited to four, and said that his lack of knowledge of music on computers made it "impossible". He wrote the soundtrack concurrently with the Dreams Come True album Million Kisses . After he finished the compositions, they were digitized using an Atari ST and the program Notator. On October 19, 2011, over 20 years after
17784-671: The hearings, Sega proposed the universal adoption of the VRC; after objections by Nintendo and others, Sega took a role in forming the Entertainment Software Rating Board . Sega began work on the Genesis' successor, the Sega Saturn , more than two years before showcasing it at the Tokyo Toy Show in June 1994. According to former Sega of America producer Scot Bayless, Nakayama became concerned about
17955-466: The high-profile urban areas of Roppongi and Ikebukuro . In 1993, this success was mirrored in overseas territories with the openings of several large branded entertainment centers, such as Sega VirtuaLand in Luxor Las Vegas . In 1994, Sega generated a revenue of ¥354.032 billion or $ 3,464,000,000 (equivalent to $ 7,121,000,000 in 2023). In 1993, the American media began to focus on
18126-555: The inlay like the Sega All-stars labels. In Japan, the budget line was known as Dreamcast Collection , or DoriKore for short. The first six games in the series feature completely redesigned cover art. Another 50 games in the series only featured a DoriKore sticker on the plastic wrapper, making these games otherwise indistinguishable from regular releases. Three Sega All Stars titles ( Crazy Taxi , Sega Bass Fishing and Sonic Adventure ) were remastered in high definition for
18297-418: The inspiration of Michael Jackson 's boots on the album cover for Bad and the red and white color scheme of Santa Claus , whom Ohshima saw as the most "famous character in the world". Sonic's spikes were emphasized to make him sleeker, and he was given the ability to spin while jumping (so attacking and jumping could be controlled with one button). The new character was originally named "Mr. Hedgehog", but
18468-487: The late 1970s, with revenues climbing to over US$ 100 million by 1979. During this period, Sega acquired Gremlin Industries , which manufactured microprocessor -based arcade games, and Esco Boueki, a coin-op distributor founded and owned by Hayao Nakayama . Nakayama was placed in a management role of Sega's Japanese operations. In the early 1980s, Sega was one of the top five arcade game manufacturers active in
18639-427: The late 1990s, but it was not enough to offset the significant declining revenues of Sega's home consumer divisions. Despite a 75 percent drop in half-year profits just before the Japanese launch of the Dreamcast, Sega felt confident about its new system. The Dreamcast attracted significant interest and drew many pre-orders. Sega announced that Sonic Adventure , the first major 3D Sonic the Hedgehog game, would be
18810-518: The launch of the Genesis, Sega sought a new flagship line of releases to compete with Nintendo's Mario series. Its new character, Sonic the Hedgehog , went on to feature in one of the best-selling video game franchises in history. Sonic the Hedgehog began with a tech demo created by Yuji Naka involving a fast-moving character rolling in a ball through a winding tube; this was fleshed out with Naoto Ohshima 's character design and levels conceived by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara . Sonic's color
18981-478: The launch of the SG-1000, and the death of company founder Charles Bluhdorn , Gulf and Western began to sell off its secondary businesses. Nakayama and Rosen arranged a management buyout of the Japanese subsidiary in 1984 with financial backing from CSK Corporation , a prominent Japanese software company. Sega's Japanese assets were purchased for $ 38 million by a group of investors led by Rosen and Nakayama. Isao Okawa , head of CSK, became chairman, while Nakayama
19152-426: The licensing rights for its arcade games to Bally Manufacturing in September 1983. Gulf and Western retained Sega's North American R&D operation and its Japanese subsidiary, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. With its arcade business in decline, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. president Nakayama advocated for the company to use its hardware expertise to move into the home consumer market in Japan. This led to Sega's development of
19323-485: The market in 1997. Sega also made forays in the PC market with the 1995 establishment of SegaSoft , which was tasked with creating original Saturn and PC games. From 1994 to 1999, Sega also participated in the arcade pinball market when it took over Data East 's pinball division, renaming it Sega Pinball. In January 1997, Sega announced its intentions to merge with the Japanese toy maker Bandai . The merger, planned as
19494-508: The mature content of certain video games, such as Night Trap for the Sega CD and the Genesis version of Midway's Mortal Kombat . This came at a time when Sega was capitalizing on its image as an "edgy" company with "attitude", and this reinforced that image. To handle this, Sega instituted the United States' first video game ratings system, the Videogame Rating Council (VRC), for all its systems. Ratings ranged from
19665-453: The merger went ahead as both companies were facing difficulties. Satomi said Sega had been operating at a loss for nearly ten years, while Sammy feared stagnation and over-reliance of its highly profitable pachislot and pachinko machine business and wanted to diversify. Sammy acquired the remaining percentages of Sega, completing a takeover . The stock swap deal valued Sega between $ 1.45 billion and $ 1.8 billion. Sega Sammy Holdings
19836-543: The more arcade-like experience available on the Genesis, with slogans including "Genesis does what Nintendon't". Since Nintendo owned the console rights to most arcade games of the time, the second part involved creating a library of games which used the names and likenesses of celebrities, such as Michael Jackson's Moonwalker and Joe Montana Football . Nonetheless, Sega had difficulty overcoming Nintendo's ubiquity in homes. Sega of America sold only 500,000 Genesis units in its first year, half of Nakayama's goal. After
20007-511: The music industry and suggested his friend Yūzō Kayama write the Sonic score. However, Sonic Team did not think Kayama's music would fit, and so commissioned Masato Nakamura , bassist and songwriter of the J-pop band Dreams Come True . Nakamura said he was surprised, as he had just started with Dreams Come True, but accepted as he was inspired by the team's desire to outperform Nintendo. He said
20178-481: The overall market share in North America at the end of 1999. On March 2, 1999, in what one report called a "highly publicized, vaporware -like announcement", Sony revealed the first details of the PlayStation 2 . The same year, Nintendo announced that its next console would meet or exceed anything on the market, and Microsoft began development of its own console, the Xbox . Sega's initial momentum proved fleeting as US Dreamcast sales—which exceeded 1.5 million by
20349-591: The player earns a number of continues for each multiple of 50 rings collected, but the main goal is to obtain the Chaos Emerald hidden within the maze. Colliding with any of the blocks marked "GOAL" ends the level. In his attempt to steal the six Chaos Emeralds and harness their power, Dr. Ivo Robotnik has trapped the animal inhabitants of South Island inside aggressive robots and stationary metal capsules. The player controls Sonic, who aims to thwart Robotnik's plans by freeing his animal friends and collecting
20520-480: The player runs out of lives, although the player may return to the beginning of the act with three lives if they have any continues . Scattered around each level are gold rings . Collecting 100 rings rewards the player with an extra life. Rings act as a layer of protection against hazards: if Sonic holds at least one ring when he collides with an enemy or dangerous obstacle, all his rings will scatter. He can recollect some of them again before they disappear. If he
20691-510: The popularity of Sonic the Hedgehog , the Genesis outsold its main competitor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), in the United States nearly two to one during the 1991 holiday season. By January 1992, Sega controlled 65 percent of the 16-bit console market. Sega outsold Nintendo for four consecutive Christmas seasons due to the Genesis' head start, lower price, and a larger library compared to
20862-441: The previously announced North American date, on July 8, 1995. Within two days of the PlayStation's American launch on September 9, 1995, the PlayStation sold more units than the Saturn. Within its first year, the PlayStation secured over twenty percent of the US video game market. The console's high price point, surprise launch, and difficulty handling polygonal graphics were factors in its lack of success. Sega also underestimated
21033-559: The project for nearly a year. His designs for levels were intended to attract both hardcore and casual gamers by integrating occasional challenging set pieces into the mostly accessible level design. The color scheme was influenced by the work of pop artist Eizin Suzuki, and the aesthetics of Green Hill were influenced by the geography of California . In designing the gameplay, Naka was inspired by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto , whose games he had enjoyed playing years earlier. Admiring
21204-491: The quality of its creative output. Being the entertainment contents division of Sega Sammy Holdings, forming one half of the Sega Sammy Group, Sega also owns a toy and amusement machine company, Sega Fave , which comprises their arcade development and manufacturing divisions that were previously under Sega and two animation studios: TMS Entertainment , which animates, produces, and distributes anime such as Lupin
21375-501: The region, Tectoy . By 2016, the Master System had sold 8 million units in Brazil. During 1984, Sega opened its European division of arcade distribution, Sega Europe. It re-entered the North American arcade market in 1985 with the establishment of Sega Enterprises USA at the end of a deal with Bally. The release of Hang-On in 1985 would prove successful in the region, becoming so popular that Sega struggled to keep up with demand for
21546-509: The region. This was less market share in North America than both Nintendo and Atari , which controlled 80 percent and 12 percent of the market. The Master System was eventually a success in Europe, where its sales were comparable to the NES. As late as 1993, the Master System's active installed user base in Europe was 6.25 million units. The Master System has had continued success in Brazil. New versions continue to be released by Sega's partner in
21717-432: The release of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 and briefly outsold its main competitor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System , in the US. In 2001, after several commercial failures such as the 32X , Saturn , and Dreamcast , Sega stopped manufacturing consoles to become a third-party developer and publisher, and was acquired by Sammy Corporation in 2004. Sega Holdings Co. Ltd. was established in 2015; Sega Corporation
21888-417: The release, a three-disc compilation of music from Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released in Japan. The first disc features original tracks from both games, the second contains Nakamura's demo recordings before they were programmed into the Genesis, and the third has songs by Dreams Come True and their associated Akon remixes. Game-package illustrator Akira Watanabe said that his goal
22059-503: The right time and because they saw an opportunity to "steal the show". Sonic the Hedgehog was believed to be the most impressive game at the show and won the CES award for innovation. Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske wanted reassurance that the character would not fail. The global head of marketing, Al Nilsen, and the senior product manager, Madeleine Schroeder, became involved in redesigning Sonic for American audiences. Artist Greg Martin
22230-603: The rights to port games from other developers. To help market the console in North America, Sega planned to sell the Master System as a toy, similar to how Nintendo had done with the Nintendo Entertainment System. Sega partnered with Tonka , an American toy company, to make use of Tonka's expertise in the toy industry. Ineffective marketing by Tonka handicapped sales of the Master System. By early 1992, production had ceased in North America. The Master System sold between 1.5 million and 2 million units in
22401-453: The rotational R360 kept Sega competing with machines by rival arcade companies, including Taito . New official region-specific distributors and manufacturers, including the UK's Deith Leisure, allowed Sega to sell its machines outside of Japan with ease. Sega's domestic operations division also opened hundreds of family-oriented suburban Sega World amusement arcades in Japan during this period, as well as large over-18s "GiGO" facilities in
22572-640: The same year, Sega Racing Studio was also formed by former Codemasters employees. In 2006, Sega Europe purchased Sports Interactive , known for its Football Manager series. In the console and handheld business, Sega found success in the Japanese market with the Yakuza , Phantasy Star Portable and Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA series. Sega began providing the 3D imaging for Hatsune Miku holographic concerts in 2010. Sega also distributes games from smaller Japanese game developers and sells localizations of Western games in Japan. In 2013, Index Corporation
22743-421: The same year, Hajime Satomi said Sega's activity would focus on its profitable arcade business as opposed to loss-incurring home software development. In 2004, Sega Sammy Holdings , an entertainment conglomerate, was created; Sega and Sammy became subsidiaries of the new holding company, both companies operating independently while the executive departments merged. According to the first Sega Sammy Annual Report ,
22914-464: The simplicity of Miyamoto's mechanics in complex environments, Naka decided that Sonic would be controlled with only a directional pad for movement and a single button for jumping. He also wanted his creation to be more action -oriented than the Mario series; while playing Super Mario Bros. , he had wondered why the levels could not be cleared more quickly. Ohshima, Naka and Yasuhara worked 19 hours
23085-430: The start of the game, the player is given three lives , which may be lost if Sonic collides with hazardous enemies or objects while in possession of no rings, falls to the bottom of the level screen, or exceeds an act's ten-minute time limit. Signposts act as checkpoints to allow Sonic to return to the most recently activated post when he loses a life. The time resets when he returns to the checkpoint. The game ends when
23256-437: The team as the need for content increased. After being assigned a project with the code name "Defeat Mario", Ohshima and Naka began work, but encountered problems: Ohshima's Rabbit proved hard to program. Catching items and throwing them caused the action's rhythm to break. Naka stated that the rabbit was not suitable for his game engine, and he also wanted the game to be playable with only one button. Hirokazu Yasuhara came onto
23427-435: The team to supervise Ohshima and Naka and develop levels. He became the lead designer due to his greater experience, and found the way to make the game playable with only one button by having Sonic do damage by jumping. The trio came up with the idea of him rolling into a ball. After the hedgehog character was chosen, many characters were redrawn, and the team agreed on the environments' visual complexity, with particular focus on
23598-416: The team was trying to create smooth maps, and that implementing looping structures was a challenge because Sonic would break through them instead of running around them. The backgrounds were also a challenge, as the game's speed created the impression of going backwards. The zones were based on designs by Naka and Ohshima, with the goal of creating the world's fastest action game. According to Ohshima, Robotnik
23769-664: The underlying graphics, audio, and gameplay still hold up". Lucas M. Thomas of IGN agreed that it stood the test of time. Writing in The Guardian , Keith Stuart observed that Sonic the Hedgehog ' s emphasis on speed and pinball mechanics dramatically departs from generally accepted precepts of game design, requiring that players "learn through repetition rather than observation" as "the levels aren't designed to be seen or even understood in one playthrough." However, Stuart concluded that "sometimes in Sonic , when you get better, or through sheer luck, things take off, every jump
23940-438: The war, the founders sold Standard Games in 1945, and established Service Games the next year, named for the military focus. After the US government outlawed slot machines in its territories in 1952, Bromley sent employees Richard Stewart and Ray LeMaire to Tokyo to establish Service Games of Japan to provide coin-operated slot machines to US bases in Japan. A year later, all five men established Service Games Panama to control
24111-804: The world proposed to be opened by 2000, however only two, Sega World London and Sega World Sydney , would ultimately materialise in September 1996 and March 1997, respectively. Following on from difficulties faced in setting up theme parks in the United States, Sega established the GameWorks chain of urban entertainment centers in a joint venture with DreamWorks SKG and Universal Studios during March 1997. In 1995, Sega partnered with Atlus to launch Print Club (purikura), an arcade photo sticker machine that produces selfie photos. Atlus and Sega introduced Purikura in February 1995, initially at game arcades, before expanding to other popular culture locations such as fast food shops, train stations, karaoke establishments and bowling alleys. Purikura became
24282-485: The year. In the United Kingdom, it was the top-selling Mega Drive game for two months following its release. Sonic the Hedgehog was the best-selling home video game of 1991 , with 2 million copies sold worldwide by the end of the year, becoming Sega's best-selling home video game up until then. In 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog helped Sega generate a gross revenue of $ 1 billion in console sales and capture
24453-549: Was a bit of a folly for them to be limiting their potential to Sega hardware", and Stolar had suggested Sega should have sold the company to Microsoft. In a September 2000 meeting with Sega's Japanese executives and heads of its first-party game studios, Moore and Sega of America executive Charles Bellfield recommended that Sega abandon its console business. In response, the studio heads walked out. Sega announced an official company name change from Sega Enterprises, Ltd. to Sega Corporation effective November 1, 2000, officially dropping
24624-403: Was also a technological arms race between Sega and Namco during this period, driving the growth of 3D gaming. Beginning in 1994, Sega launched a series of indoor theme parks in Japan under a concept dubbed "Amusement Theme Park", including Joypolis parks sited in urban Tokyo locations such as Yokohama and Odaiba . A rapid overseas rollout was planned, with at least 100 locations across
24795-565: Was based on Humpty Dumpty . Yasuhara wanted the game to appeal to both Japanese and American players, which was why Green Hill Zone was redesigned many times. Sonic Team wanted the level to portray the character correctly. Its checkered ground was inspired by 3D image rendering from computers, an idea Naka obtained from Sega developer Yu Suzuki , who used this technique with Space Harrier . The team read Famitsu to stay informed of what their rivals were doing so they could avoid their mistakes. Sega director Fujio Minegishi had connections to
24966-467: Was based on a concept by Oshima from 1989. Sonic the Hedgehog , designed for fast gameplay, was influenced by games by Super Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto . The music was composed by Masato Nakamura , bassist of the J-pop band Dreams Come True . Sonic the Hedgehog received positive reviews for its visuals, audio and gameplay and is widely considered one of the greatest video games . It sold approximately 24 million copies, becoming one of
25137-432: Was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo; his shoes were inspired by Michael Jackson 's boots, and his personality by Bill Clinton 's "can-do" attitude. Nakayama hired Tom Kalinske as CEO of Sega of America in mid-1990, and Katz departed soon after. Kalinske knew little about the video game market, but surrounded himself with industry-savvy advisors. A believer in the razor-and-blades business model , he developed
25308-455: Was commissioned to redesign the character, and a new backstory was created where Sonic was from Nebraska. Sega playtested Sonic across the United States with Mario fans: they were shown Mario and then played Sonic the Hedgehog . 80 percent preferred Sonic the Hedgehog , and the game was shown at the 1991 summer Consumer Electronics Show. It arrived in the United Kingdom on June 21, 1991, widely released in North America on June 23, and in
25479-432: Was crucial to the system's early success in Japan. Sega's initial shipment of 200,000 Saturn units sold out on the first day, and it was more popular than the PlayStation , made by Sony , in Japan. In March 1995, Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske announced that the Saturn would be released in the US on Saturday, September 2, 1995, advertised as " Saturn-day ". Sega executives in Japan mandated an early launch to give
25650-512: Was dissolved on May 31, 1960. On June 3, Bromley established two companies to take over its business activities, Nihon Goraku Bussan and Nihon Kikai Seizō. The two new companies purchased all of Service Games of Japan's assets. Kikai Seizō, doing business as Sega, Inc., focused on manufacturing slot machines. Goraku Bussan, doing business under Stewart as Utamatic, Inc. , served as a distributor and operator of coin-operated machines, particularly jukeboxes . The companies merged in 1964, retaining
25821-495: Was echoed by Mean Machines . The Lessers (Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk) of Dragon claimed the graphics made Sonic a possible contender for the best game of 1991 and GameZone called the animation "some of the smoothest and fastest ... ever seen". Julian Boardman of Raze praised the "colourful and highly detailed" backdrops and "fabulous" sprites. The music and sound effects were also well received; Dragon called them "great", and GameZone "amazing". Rand praised
25992-581: Was followed by further reductions to clear the remaining inventory. The final manufactured Dreamcast was autographed by the heads of all nine of Sega's first-party game studios, plus the heads of sports game developer Visual Concepts and audio studio Wave Master, and given away with all 55 first-party Dreamcast games through a competition organized by GamePro . Okawa, who had loaned Sega $ 500 million in 1999, died on March 16, 2001. Shortly before his death, he forgave Sega's debts to him and returned his $ 695 million worth of Sega and CSK stock, helping
26163-606: Was installed as CEO of Sega Enterprises, Ltd. In 1985, Sega began working on the Mark III, a redesigned SG-1000. For North America, Sega rebranded the Mark III as the Master System , with a futuristic design intended to appeal to Western tastes. The Mark III was released in Japan in October 1985. Despite featuring more powerful hardware than the Famicom in some ways, it was unsuccessful at launch. As Nintendo required third-party developers not to publish their Famicom games on other consoles, Sega developed its own games and obtained
26334-608: Was insufficient to implement it. A two-player mode appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), whereby the second player controls Sonic's sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower . Sonic Team also intended to include a sound test with animations of Sonic breakdancing to a band of animal characters; including a crocodile keyboardist who was later introduced into the series as Vector the Crocodile in Knuckles' Chaotix in 1995. The sound test
26505-467: Was launched in New York City and Los Angeles on August 14, 1989, and in the rest of North America later that year. The European version of the Mega Drive was released in September 1990. Former Atari executive and new Sega of America president Michael Katz developed a two-part strategy to build sales in North America. The first part involved a marketing campaign to challenge Nintendo and emphasize
26676-425: Was left was to optimize of the game speed to adhere to the staff's expectations. The team noticed that different people had different perceptions of the game's speed: some believed it was too fast, which caused disagreements. As a result, it was slowed down. The loop running was implemented in a tech demo by Naka, who developed an algorithm allowing a sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with
26847-439: Was marred by a glitch at one of Sega's manufacturing plants, which produced defective GD-ROMs where data was not properly recorded onto the disc. Sega released the Dreamcast in Europe on October 14, 1999. While Sega sold 500,000 units in Europe by Christmas 1999, sales there slowed, and by October 2000 Sega had sold only about a million units. Though the Dreamcast was successful, Sony's PlayStation still held 60 percent of
27018-406: Was named "Dr. Eggman" in Japan and "Dr. Robotnik" in other regions as a result of a dispute between Sega's American and Japanese divisions. With a satisfying protagonist established, Sega turned to the programmer Yuji Naka , who had impressed them with his work on Phantasy Star and the Genesis port of Ghouls 'n Ghosts . Naka was a fan of Super Mario Bros. but wanted something faster, so
27189-432: Was previously asked to be CEO of Sega. On February 13, Sega announced that it would merge with Sammy; however, as late as April 17, Sega was still in talks with Namco, which was attempting to overturn the merger. Sega's consideration of Namco's offer upset Sammy executives. The day after Sega announced it no longer planned to merge with Sammy, Namco withdrew its offer. In 2003, Sato and COO Tetsu Kamaya stepped down. Sato
27360-437: Was purchased by Sega Sammy after going bankrupt. The year before, Sega signed a deal to distribute Atlus titles in Japan. After the buyout, Sega implemented a corporate spin-off with Index. The latter's game assets were rebranded as Atlus , a wholly owned subsidiary of Sega. Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game) Sonic the Hedgehog is a 1991 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for
27531-619: Was re-released for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console on June 13, 2013, and included as an unlockable game in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut for GameCube and Windows and Sonic Mega Collection Plus for PlayStation 2 , Xbox , and Windows. To mark the game's fifteenth anniversary, a port for the Game Boy Advance , Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis , was released on November 14, 2006, in
27702-408: Was released in 1992. Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2D side-scrolling platform game . The gameplay centers on Sonic the Hedgehog's ability to run at high speed through levels that include springs, slopes, bottomless pits and vertical loops . The levels are populated with robot enemies, inside which Dr. Robotnik has trapped animals; destroying a robot frees the animal, but is not necessary to complete
27873-517: Was released on iOS on May 15, 2013, with an Android version following the next day. This version was developed by Christian "Taxman" Whitehead and Simon Thomley of Headcannon from scratch using the Retro Engine , previously used in the 2011 remaster of Sonic CD . This port features several enhancements, such as widescreen graphics, the optional ability to Spin Dash, an additional bonus stage,
28044-648: Was released on September 20, 2018 as part of the Sega Ages line of rereleases. It adds features including the ability to use moves from Sonic 2 and Sonic Mania , a challenge mode, a time attack for the first stage, and features from the 3DS rereleases of the game and its sequel. U.S. Gold acquired the rights to make a version of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Amiga , ZX Spectrum , Commodore 64 , Amstrad CPC and Atari ST personal computers, but these went unreleased. Several screenshots exist, some of which resemble
28215-464: Was renamed to Sega Games Co., Ltd., and its arcade, entertainment, and toy divisions separated into other companies. In 2020, Sega Games and Sega Interactive merged to become Sega Corporation. Sega's international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe are headquartered in Irvine, California , and London. Its development studios include their internal research and development divisions (which utilize
28386-501: Was replaced by Hisao Oguchi, the head of the Sega studio Hitmaker . Moore left Sega in January 2003, feeling that the Japanese executives were refusing to adapt to industry changes, such as the demand for mature games such as Grand Theft Auto III . Hideaki Irie, who had worked at Agetec and ASCII , became the new president and COO of Sega of America in October 2003. In August 2003, Sammy bought 22.4 percent of Sega's shares from CSK, making Sammy into Sega's largest shareholder. In
28557-474: Was scrapped for time reasons and Naka used the freed up memory to add the " Se-ga! " chant used in TV commercials as a startup sound. Naka's relationship with Sega was tenuous during this time, and he received little credit for his work. He left the company shortly after the game's release, although Sega of America hired him later. Before leaving, however, he defied Sega's prohibition of developer credits by displaying
28728-421: Was sold to the American conglomerate Gulf and Western Industries , although Rosen remained CEO. In 1974, Gulf and Western made Sega Enterprises, Ltd., a subsidiary of an American company renamed Sega Enterprises, Inc. Sega released Pong-Tron , its first video-based game, in 1973. Despite late competition from Taito 's hit arcade game Space Invaders in 1978, Sega prospered from the arcade video game boom of
28899-425: Was structured into four parts: Consumer Business (video games), Amusement Machine Business (arcade games), Amusement Center Business (Sega's theme parks and arcades) and Pachislot and Pachinko Business (Sammy's pachinko and pachislot business). According to an industry survey, as of 2005, sales of arcade machines were up for the previous four years in Japan, while down for nine straight years overseas. In response to
29070-477: Was the favorite. A man with a moustache, who eventually became Dr. Robotnik , was in second place. Sonic was originally teal-colored, then a light shade of blue, but he was changed to dark blue so he would stand out against certain backgrounds and to match the Sega logo. According to Ohshima, Sonic's basic design was created by combining Felix the Cat 's head with Mickey Mouse 's body. His shoes had buckles through
29241-418: Was to make the characters "colorful", using clear lines and gradation to "finish them neatly". According to Watanabe, the developers asked him to create a package design "similar to pop art ... without being particular to conventional packages" – something "original" and "stylish". Sonic was not revealed until the January 1991 international Consumer Electronics Show because Sega wanted to wait until
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