Sega Saturn
Released in 1988, the Genesis (known as the Mega Drive in Europe, Japan and Australia) was Sega's entry into the fourth generation of video game consoles. In mid-1990, Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama hired Tom Kalinske as president and CEO of Sega of America. Kalinske developed a four-point plan for sales of the Genesis: lower the price of the console, create a U.S.-based team to develop games targeted at the American market, continue aggressive advertising campaigns, and sell "Sonic the Hedgehog" with the console. The Japanese board of directors initially disapproved of the plan, but all four points were 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 ever made, and Sega's console finally took off as customers who had been waiting for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) decided to purchase a Genesis instead. However, the release of a CD-based add-on for the Genesis, the Sega CD (known as Mega-CD outside of North America), was commercially disappointing.
Sega Ages
Sega Ages is a series of compilations and rereleases of classic Sega video games across several platforms, primarily developed by M2. The first set of games was released for the Sega Saturn primarily in Japan, and another set was released on the PlayStation 2 in Japan, known as "Sega Ages 2500". Some of the 2500 titles were released in North America and Europe in "Sega Classics Collection". There is also the "Sega Ages Online" series on the PlayStation Store for PlayStation 3 in Japan, and a new series for the Nintendo Switch will be released on the Nintendo eShop in 2018. The "Sega Ages" series differs from most "retro" video game rereleases in that rather than compiling a number of games, most of them contain only one game and are instead sold at a very low price.