According to the book "Console Wars," rivalry between Sega Japan and Sega USA was a major factor in the decline of Sega post-Genesis. Sega Japan delayed the re

According to the book "Console Wars," rivalry between Sega Japan and Sega USA was a major factor in the decline of Sega post-Genesis. Sega Japan delayed the release of the SegaCD due to the politics of setting up alliances with other Japanese manufacturers and was also directly responsible for the complex design of the Saturn. Sega USA stole a lot of thunder with the Genesis and Sega Japan wanted to take control back. Sega USA had an alternate design in the works, but Sega Japan insisted on the Saturn. Up until that point, the "friendly rivalry" between Sega USA and its parent Sega Japan had been mostly beneficial. For example, Sonic would have turned out very differently if it were 100% developed in Japan or 100% developed in the USA. The back and forth on Sonic really benefitted the character and the game.