Sega Genesis
Sega sold 30.75 million Genesis units worldwide. Of these, 3.58 million were sold in Japan, and sales in Europe and the U.S. are roughly estimated at 8 million and 18–18.5 million as of June 1997 (at which time Sega was no longer manufacturing the system) respectively. In 1998, Sega licensed the Genesis to Majesco Entertainment in North America so it could re-release the console. Majesco began reselling millions of formerly unsold cartridges at a budget price, together with 150,000 units of the second model of the Genesis. It released the Sega Genesis 3, projecting to sell 1.5 million units of the console by the end of 1998. An estimated 3 million Genesis units were sold by Tec Toy in Brazil.
Sega
In mid-1990, Nakayama hired Tom Kalinske to replace Katz as CEO of Sega of America. Although Kalinske knew little about the video game market, he surrounded himself with industry-savvy advisors. A believer in the razor and blades business model, he developed a four-point plan: cut the price of the console, create a U.S.-based 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 of the plan, 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." Magazines praised "Sonic" as one of the greatest games made, and Sega's console finally became successful. In large part due to the popularity of "Sonic the Hedgehog", the Sega Genesis outsold its main competitor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, in the United States nearly two to one during the 1991 holiday season. By January 1992, Sega controlled 65% of the 16-bit console market, making it the first time Nintendo was not the console leader since 1985. Sega outsold Nintendo four Christmas seasons in a row due to the Genesis' head start, lower price, and a larger library of games when compared to the Super Nintendo at its release.