“The original idea was to release several add-ons for the Genesis, such as one that would allow CDs to be played and another that would boost the processing power. I suggested that we just invest these technologies into a successor to the Genesis. At first, I think Mr. Nakayama was hesitant, but I’m glad he gave this plan a chance. Who knows where we would be otherwise?” –Tom Kalinske
By the end of 1991, Sega was at the top of their game. Their rise was sudden and provided a real threat to Nintendo. Behind the rise of Sega, was Tom Kalinske, the CEO of Sega of America. Kalinske had joined just a year before and already made his mark on the industry with a new marketing campaign, a price cut for the Genesis and the pack-in debut of Sonic the Hedgehog. It was all just in time to compete with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. And though Sega President Hayao Nakayama and the board of directors were once skeptical of Kalinske’s ideas, he proved himself and now looked to him to decide the future of Sega.
In 1992, Sega of Japan was interested in developing an upgraded version of Genesis. It later became a pitch as an add-on for the highly successful Sega Genesis that would give it more power. Already upset with the recent release of the Sega CD add-on, Tom Kalinske did not believe this was the way to go either. Kalinske believed that this research should go toward a successor to the Genesis, not an add-on or an update. Kalinske convinced Sega of Japan not to go through with the add-on, but Sega of Japan also had a new console in development. The console in development had a disastrous early development already. Thankfully, Kalinske had a plan. He and American R&D head, Joe Miller met with Jim Clark at Silicon Graphics, who were building a chipset for a video game machine.
“We called the guys from Japan to take a look. They seemed uninterested and I was worried that they would not take the deal. We were getting an amazing deal. I’m glad they realized what we were getting.” –Tom Kalinske
By the end of 1991, Sega was at the top of their game. Their rise was sudden and provided a real threat to Nintendo. Behind the rise of Sega, was Tom Kalinske, the CEO of Sega of America. Kalinske had joined just a year before and already made his mark on the industry with a new marketing campaign, a price cut for the Genesis and the pack-in debut of Sonic the Hedgehog. It was all just in time to compete with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. And though Sega President Hayao Nakayama and the board of directors were once skeptical of Kalinske’s ideas, he proved himself and now looked to him to decide the future of Sega.
In 1992, Sega of Japan was interested in developing an upgraded version of Genesis. It later became a pitch as an add-on for the highly successful Sega Genesis that would give it more power. Already upset with the recent release of the Sega CD add-on, Tom Kalinske did not believe this was the way to go either. Kalinske believed that this research should go toward a successor to the Genesis, not an add-on or an update. Kalinske convinced Sega of Japan not to go through with the add-on, but Sega of Japan also had a new console in development. The console in development had a disastrous early development already. Thankfully, Kalinske had a plan. He and American R&D head, Joe Miller met with Jim Clark at Silicon Graphics, who were building a chipset for a video game machine.
“We called the guys from Japan to take a look. They seemed uninterested and I was worried that they would not take the deal. We were getting an amazing deal. I’m glad they realized what we were getting.” –Tom Kalinske
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