Here's John currently, taken directly from his site (YES, I got permission for this).

Which game saw the most production and which game saw the most intense production?

SMS game development was a lot less complicated and more time was spent (seemed to me) on localization. Phantasy Star took a lot of time, there was reams of text to have translated and rewritten. Genesis game development was another thing. It was state of the art and the advent of games such as Sonic put real production value into gaming.

Did you work with the Genesis at all?

I worked on the first versions of the Genesis, doing packaging for Altered Beast, the unit itself and some work on system cost reductions. I also worked on games for third party developers such as Bandai and Dreamworks.

This brings up a quick side question now that I think about it. Since you were the man for marketing, where did the idea for the lined design of the SMS boxes come from? Did you do any of the artwork and if not do you remember who did?

The lined design was concepted by the creative director and lead designer. I have one of the old boxes but it has seen better days! I wrote the copy for the packaging.

Fans know of a few games slated for release or that appeared in magazines in the US, but which were never released. These include Woody Pop, Pat Riley Basketball (the latter which exists in nearly complete prototype form) and the ever mysterious Cube Zone. Do you know anything about them or their history?

There were quite a few. Woody Pop was popular in Japan but when play tested in the US, received poor feedback.

Through a bit of research (didn't want to ask him too much), I found out a few side answers to these questions. Woody Pop was also canned because of the necessity in producing the Paddle Controller. John and others did not find the games released for it capable of selling in the US, so it was forgotten. One of the reasons for this was the failure of the Sports Pad; they simply didn't want to risk releasing another periphreal that could possibly fail (you'll read him mentioning this below). Riley was canned because the Genesis version was better and the SMS was pretty much dead at the time. Cube Zone, which he wasn't sure of but vaguely remembered, I found was actually a hacked version of Galactic Protector. If thee don't believe me, here is a short blurb from the Sega retail sales folder I picked up on the slide and will be doing my next article on: Wild NEW action from the outer reaches of space! Defend your moon against the evil alien fleet. Colorful, explosive graphics! Don't get too smart, either, Global Defense is nearly listed right next to this title, so there is only one possibility. And don't ask any questions about the folder, it's an article yet to come, so you can sit there and squirm for now. It's doubtful a prototype of Cube Zone exists, but start looking...

Do you know of any other games that were intended to be released or perhaps were even worked on some but never saw actual production or even programming?

Ultima. It would have been an awesome SMS game for the states (I still have the BETA on ROM), but was never fully developed here.

Did you have any ideas or worked on any games that were later canceled?

The Ultima project. It was my baby.

As most of you know, this was eventually released in Europe for the SMS in a few different versions. It's easy to assume the UK version is essentially what fans would have received here.

Are there any foreign titles that were considered for release but were also canceled? Some fans wonder about this since there were a number of incredible games released in Europe that never saw the light of day in the US (such as the Asterix series).

Yes. Most of these games were play tested and did not receive high enough marks to be potential good sellers in the US.

In case anyone has been wondering why some PAL games appear in prototype form in the US, there you go. It's curious to wonder what they may have hacked the titles into for audiences here. Alex Kidd may have faired better had the first Asterix game been altered a bit.

Many fans wonder about the decision to release many of the great sports titles since all of them were not the best of games. Only three are really consider worth the effort to play, including Great Volleyball, so many fans wonder why Sega decided to release these games in America instead of going the route they did with titles like Joe Montana Football and James Buster Douglas Boxing. Why wasn't more of an effort put into releasing games like this and why was the great series decided on?

The sporting games category was the top selling category and a lot of attention was focused on making sports games, both by Sega and the growing base of third parties. More was better and Sega Japan had a vested interest in getting titles sold, so many titles were released here that might have done very well. It was a time of big learning for Japanese and American game companies and many of the decisions you see today are based on the learning that came from that time.

Speaking of sports, what was the general opinion of the Sega Sports Pad? Many fans consider it to be a useless controller, which is evident from the lack of titles, all of which are nearly impossible to play using it. Do you know anything about this periphreal and its history in the US?

It was indeed a pretty useless controler, a good idea that did not execute well. It limited rather than enhanced play. I still have a few in the original Japanese box. In addition, there were a few games developed for it that did not score well in play testing, so they were canned.

On a side note, I asked him why Great Golf (Japanese version) was passed over for Master Golf. He said he wasn't sure. He also wasn't sure what was the best selling title and the worst selling title in the states.

Do you know anything about the mispelling of Monopoly on a number of Monopoly cartridges? Some say Mono Poly, and others say Monopoly. Do you happen to know the print run of either of these?

I don't but a lot of people were angry about that!

Why did Sega decide, near the end, to release games like Spider-Man and Sonic the Hedgehog for the SMS in import format? Do you know how many of these three titles (Sonic the Hedgehog, Spider-Man and Strider) were released in the US? Were there any others?

Because they were already developed and US resources were focused on the Genesis. Time and money! There were no others.

We've kind of touched on this before, but do you know of any accessories (controllers, system add-ons, etc.) that were being considered for release but never saw the light of day or may have been released in prototype format?

There was a lot of exploration in 3D technology (like the LCD glasses used with games like Maze Hunter) that was never fully pursued because of cost. Motion sensor technology, one of these, was also a holy grail of sorts. Also a cost issue.

Remember The Activator? Good thing they didn't go through with it early on!

Was there any attempt by Sega of America to file a lawsuit against Nintendo for their notorious business practices during the 8-Bit era?

It was always considered but I cannot remember if any lawsuit was filed.

Many fans wonder about the Psycho Fox connection to Kid Kool for the NES. Why are these games so similar?

I believe there were members of the development team who worked on both games, but I'm not certain.

Though this is probabaly a long-shot, do you know anything about Smurfs 2 (Smurfs Travel the World) or Mah-Jong, two of the most difficult to find SMS releases? The first was apparently only released in the Czech Republic and the other only in Hong Kong. Why did Sega, if you know, release only a single game on the Hong Kong market?

I can't say I know anything about the Smurfs game (thank God!), but I had played Mah-Jong. The reason is that Nintendo, at that time, had a very strong footing in Hong Kong and Sega didn't.

Thus Mah-Jong was a good shot because of the popularity of the game in many Asian countries. However, seeing Nintendo's presence and their eventual failure at dealing with rampant piracy, Sega made the right decision. Had they went forward who knows how many pirate cartridges would be added to the SMS library!

What was your fondest memory working at Sega?

Being at a toy fair in New York and having kids come up to me on the street asking to play the SMS with me because they had seen me in the Challenge newsletter. It was fun being recognized, but even more fun to know these kids really loved the SMS and I had a part in that.

When did you finally leave Sega and explain what you currently do?

I left Sega in the mid 80s but continued to consult for third party developers. I came back to Sega in the early 90s to run Sega Visions magazine for Game Pro publishing and did that until Sega ended the publication. I have my own business doing sales and marketing consulting and am a glass artist.

Any plans of working with video games in the future?

I would never close that door. Video games have been very good to me and it would be fun to usher in a new generation of gaming and help take game play to new levels.

I'd like to thank John for his time and the effort he put into remembering his past with Sega, as well as answering the slew of questions I sent to him. I hope everyone enjoyed this interview, and I myself plan on having more in the future. Once again, I find that collecting for the SMS and piecing together its history with the help of those who are knowledgeable about the system is always rewarding. I don't think I'll ever get sick of this. Until next time guys, and here's a final word from John himself:

Hi Stan,

Great job, you captured the essence of the SMS history in the US and represented both Sega and myself honestly, which is very much appreciated. Love the cheesy photos, takes me back to the Miami Vice days! I hope you get lots of positive responses from this and thanks again for helping to keep alive such a wonderful time in the history of video games.

Talk to you soon,

John