Sega

Sega Corporation is a Japanese multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Japan, with various offices around the world. Sega previously developed and manufactured its own brand of home video game consoles, such as the (known as the Sega Genesis in North America), the , and the , from 1983 to 2001. On January 31, 2001, Sega announced that they ceased production of the Dreamcast, effectively exiting the company from the home console business and market. While arcade development would continue unchanged, the restructure shifted the focus of the company's home video game software development to consoles developed by various third-party manufacturers.
Sega has developed many Disney video games that were released exclusively on their own consoles throughout the 1990s. Sega's mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog and his nemesis, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, made cameo appearances in Wreck-It Ralph in 2012 and its sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet in 2018. Additionally, Ralph, the titular character of the films, was a playable character in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Prior to that, reruns of were shown on Toon Disney from 1998 to 2003, and reruns of aired on Disney XD in 2012. Sega also hosted an exhibit in Epcot's Innoventions West pavilion, where guests could play Sega games ranging from the Genesis to the Dreamcast, and Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Princess Sally were all present. The 2022 film Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, features cameo appearances from "Ugly Sonic", based on the scrapped original design of the character in the 2020 .
==Association with Disney==
In 1993, Buena Vista Home Video formed a partnership with DIC Animation City to release some of their titles on VHS, under the newly formed DIC Toon-Time Video label. During this time, DIC had already produced and , and both series were reissued under this deal.
As a result of Disney’s acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC three years later in 1996, Disney also assumed the latter’s ownership of DIC Entertainment in the form of a Limited Partnership through the company’s CEO, Andy Heyward. At the time, Disney owned the previous shows released as part of DIC’s television license to the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, under license from Sega. Later that same year, the Sonic Christmas Blast television special aired during the holiday season on the USA Network, becoming the first post-acquisition Sonic-related production from DIC to be distributed through Disney. The special was also meant to tie-in with Sonic 3D Blast, hence the “Blast” in the title, despite it having very little to do with the game, and instead combining aspects of both of the aforementioned series.
On January 6, 1999, the third series and the fourth overall Sonic-related production by DIC, known as , was released. DIC Entertainment had their own distribution unit in the United States, whereas Buena Vista International Television distributed the series internationally. As a result, it was the first Sonic-related television series and the second overall production in the franchise to be released through Disney, following the aforementioned Christmas special from three years prior. The series was cancelled on May 23, 1999 after running for a total of 40 episodes in one season.
In 2000, The Walt Disney Company sold DIC Entertainment back to CEO Andy Heyward. As a result of this occurring, Disney would lose the rights to DIC’s catalogue of Sonic-related productions. Despite this, re-runs of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic Underground would continue airing on the Toon Disney channel for another few years, with Sonic the Hedgehog becoming the first and only non-Disney character to receive an original logo variant on the network.
Following Disney’s acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide in 2002, Disney inherited the rights to the international Fox Kids channels through Fox Kids Europe N.V. In the United States however, the Fox Kids channel was a block on the Fox channel that was still owned by Fox Broadcasting Company, and in the same year, it was announced that Sega was developing a new anime series in-association with TMS Entertainment, known as . The next year in 2003, Sonic X aired on the FoxBox block, which served as the North American replacement to Fox Kids. Internationally, however, the European license to the series was acquired by Fox Kids Europe in August 2003, and as a result, the series aired on the Fox Kids channels, and like Sonic Underground, was also distributed by Buena Vista International Television. In late 2004, during the release of the show's second season, the international Fox Kids channels were rebranded as Jetix, and Disney also held consumer rights to the show in Pan-European territories through their Jetix Consumer Products division. Disney would eventually lose the rights to the anime in Europe in 2009 after their license expired.
Sonic the Hedgehog, alongside Dr. Eggman, would also make an appearance in the 2012 CGI animated film Wreck-It Ralph, with Sonic returning for its 2018 sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet. To tie-in with Wreck-It Ralph, the titular character became a playable character in , a racing crossover game developed and published by Sega that also featured Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails the Fox as playable characters.
==Disney games developed or published by Sega==
Castle_of_illusion_Mickey_mouse.jpg|Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse
Fantasia Genesis game cover.jpg|Fantasia
Lucky_Dime_Caper_Starring_Donald_Duck.jpg|The Lucky Dime Caper starring Donald Duck
Quackshot.jpg|Quackshot
Ariel - The Little Mermaid cover.png|Ariel: The Little Mermaid
Aladdin genesis cover.jpg|Aladdin
Land_of_Illusion_starring_Mickey_Mouse_Coverart.png|Land of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse
Deep_Duck_Trouble_Starring_Donald_Duck_Coverart.png|Deep Duck Trouble
Beauty_and_the_Beast_Belle_s_Quest-Megadrive-US.jpg|Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Quest
RoarOfTheBeast.jpg|Beauty & The Beast: Roar of the Beast
Mickey Mania - Sega CD Cover.jpg|Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse
Goofy's_Hysterical_History_Tour_Genesis_cover.jpg|Goofy's Hysterical History Tour
Jungle Book game cover.jpg|The Jungle Book
Bonkers_Genesis_cover.jpg|Bonkers
The Lion King Sega Genesis Cover.jpg|The Lion King
The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey & Minnie (Genesis Cover Art).png|The Great Circus Mystery starring Mickey and Minnie
Mickey's Ultimate Challenge Genesis Cover.png|Mickey's Ultimate Challenge
Gargoyles_Coverart.png|Gargoyles
Donald_in_Maui_Mallard_Mega_Drive_Cover.jpg|Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow
Toy Story - Sega Genesis.jpg|Toy Story
LegendOfIllusion.jpg|Legend of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse
Pocahontas Genesis Cover.jpg|Pocahontas
Castleofillusionremake.jpg|Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (2013 video game)
==Connections==
The following actors, who have appeared in Disney productions, have voiced or portrayed Sega characters in various adaptations.
*Charlie Adler voiced Snively in the ABC cartoon.
*Laura Bailey voiced Blaze the Cat and Omochao in the Sonic games from 2010 to 2016, Rise Kujikawa in , and Isara Gunther in the game series.
*Troy Baker voiced Espio the Chameleon in the Sonic games from 2010 to 2016.
*Christine Cavanaugh voiced Bunnie Rabbot in the ABC Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon.
*Jim Carrey portrayed Dr. Robotnik in the live-action .
*Lacey Chabert voiced Princess Elise in the 2006 video game .
*Greg Chun voiced Takayuki Yagami in and its sequel , and as Yu Nanba in and its sequel .
*Cam Clarke voiced Takashi in the original .
*Ian James Corlett voiced Coconuts in and Cyrus in .
*Jim Cummings voiced Dr. Robotnik in the ABC Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon and the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog pilot.
*Tim Curry voiced King Acorn in the ABC Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon.
*Idris Elba voiced Knuckles the Echidna in the 2022 live-action film and its spinoff miniseries .
*Bill Farmer voiced Makoto Date in the game series.
*Quinton Flynn voiced Silver the Hedgehog in the Sonic games from 2010 to 2017.
*Nika Futterman voiced Sticks the Badger in the Sonic Boom series.
*Mark Hamill voiced Goro Majima in the original Yakuza.
*Kate Higgins voiced Miles "Tails" Prower from 2010 to 2014, and Wave the Swallow in the Sonic games since 2010 and Archduchess Cordelia in the Valkyria Chronicles game series.
*Amber Hood voiced Aliasse in .
*Daniel Dae Kim voiced Masataka Ebina in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
*Roger L. Jackson voiced Wizeman in .
*Maurice LaMarche voiced Sleet, the Oracle of Delphius, and the Swatbots in the DIC Entertainment cartoon Sonic Underground.
*Erica Lindbeck voiced Blaze the Cat and Omochao in the Sonic games since 2019.
*James Marsden portrayed Thomas "Tom" Wachowski in the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movies.
*Matthew Mercer voiced Espio the Chameleon in the Sonic games since 2016, Goro Majima in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Yusuke Kitagawa in .
* voiced Knuckles the Echidna in the Sonic games since 2019.
*Sumalee Montano voiced Pudding in the series.
*Colleen O'Shaughnessey voiced Miles "Tails" Prower in the multiple Sonic media since 2014, and Alicia Melchiott in the Valkyria Chronicles series.
*Adam Pally portrayed Wade Whipple in the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movies and their spinoff miniseries Knuckles.
*Rob Paulsen voiced Antoine Depardieu in the ABC Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon.
*Keanu Reeves is voicing Shadow the Hedgehog in the upcoming live-action movie .
*Eden Riegel voiced Hifumi Togo in Persona 5, Marie in Persona 4 Golden, and Princess Ophelia in .
*Robbie Rist voiced Swifty the Shrew in the Sonic Boom series.
*Cindy Robinson voiced Amy Rose in the Sonic games since 2010.
*Natasha Rothwell portrayed Rachel in the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movies.
*Michelle Ruff voiced Cream the Rabbit in the Sonic games since 2010, Yukari Takeba in , and Sadayo Kawakami in Persona 5.
*Dwight Schultz voiced Marquis Maurits and Captain Giorgios in the Valkyria Chronicles game series.
*Ben Schwartz voiced Sonic the Hedgehog in the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movies.
*Roger Craig Smith voiced Sonic the Hedgehog in the games since 2010, and Daigo Dojima in Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
*Kath Soucie voiced Princess Sally and Nicole in the ABC Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon.
*April Stewart voiced Selvaria Bles in the first video game.
*Cree Summer voiced Dulcy in the ABC Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon.
*George Takei voiced Masumi Arakawa in Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
*Fred Tatasciore voiced Knuckles the Echidna in the short film Sonic Drone Home.
*Kirk Thornton voiced Shadow the Hedgehog in the Sonic games since 2010.
*Danny Trejo voiced Dwight Mendez, head of the Barracudas, in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
*Kari Wahlgren voiced Irene Ellet in the first Valkyria Chronicles game.
*Travis Willingham voiced Knuckles the Echidna from 2010 to 2019, Zavok, and Storm the Albatross in the Sonic games.
*Jaleel White voiced Sonic the Hedgehog in all three DIC Entertainment cartoons.
==External links==
*
*Sega on SEGA Wiki
*Sega of America's official website
*Sega of Japan's official website
*Sega of Europe's official website
*Sega's Official YouTube Channel
*Sega Sammy Holdings official website
*Sega Retro, an expansive Sega wiki
Category:Video game companies
Category:Non-Disney companies