from http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?p=182225
Same for the Master System. It was successful in Europe and Brasil
because they stuck with it even when they didn't have a billion seller on day one.
Sega of Japan designed games like Asterix, Sonic or the Disney games specifically for these markets, even when they didn't sell SMS stuff in Japan or North-America anymore.
But this goes for Japan itself too, where they had the hardware in stores since 1983 ("SG-1000", "Mark 3" since 1986) and supported it with software until 1990 (Master System), or actually 1996 (Game Gear).
Of course, there also was a lot of nostalgia involved. They just totally were in love with the Z80, the SN76489 and the TMS9918 VDP. Practically all the designers that created our favorite MD/G games started with devloping for the SG-1000/Mark III, from Yuji Naka and Rieko Kodama to Yuzo Koshiro.
I agree.
Usually it's Kalinske who is associated with the success of the Genesis but actually he didn't do much if anything at all - other than being at the right place at the right time.
The Genesis was a success because it was an excellent hardware with incredible games. When Kalinske joined they could sell Genesis at a lower price than when Michael Katz was in charge.
Kalinske acutally did a piss-poor job at positioning all the systems Sega released since 1990: Game Gear, Sega CD, 32X, Sega Saturn.
Most of the games that were produced under Kalinske at SOA were absolutely terrible, from Fantasia to that FMV garbage on SCD to Bug! on Saturn.
It's not so much the hardware itself but these games that ruined Sega's reputation and turned away customers.