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.
History of Sega
Rosen continued to develop his relationship with Gulf and Western chairman Charles Bluhdorn, and in 1974, Gulf and Western made Sega a subsidiary of an American company renamed Sega Enterprises, Inc. During 1973, Sega would release "Pong-Tron", its first video-based game. Despite late competition from Taito's hit arcade game "Space Invaders" in 1978, Sega profited heavily from the arcade gaming boom of the late 1970s, with revenues climbing to over  million by 1979. During this period, Sega acquired Gremlin Industries, a manufacturer of microprocessor-based arcade games. In 1979, Sega also acquired Esco Boueki (Esco Trading), founded and owned by Hayao Nakayama. This brought Nakayama into the company, where he was placed in charge of Sega's Japanese operations. Rosen later admitted that he mainly purchased Esco Trading for Nakayama's leadership. In the early 1980s, Sega was one of the top five arcade game manufacturers active in the United States, as company revenues rose to $214 million. In 1979, the company released "Head On", which introduced the "eat the dots" gameplay Namco later used in "Pac-Man". During 1981, Sega licensed and released "Frogger", its most successful title up until then. In 1982, Sega introduced the first game with isometric graphics, "Zaxxon".