How Sega used Sonic the Hedgehog to challenge Nintendo

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created for Sega by Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara. They developed the first game, released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis, to provide Sega with a mascot to compete with Nintendo's Mario.

2 articles, 1 video, 1 book · about 2 hr 21 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   Sonic the Hedgehog and Sega's mascot strategy · Wikipedia · 60+ min read

   Sega president Hayao Nakayama decided Sega needed a flagship series and mascot to compete with Nintendo's Mario franchise. Nakayama recognized that Sega needed a star character in a game that could demonstrate the power of the Genesis's hardware. Sonic the Hedgehog contributed greatly to the Genesis's popularity in North America, primarily because it was bundled with the console. Between October and December 1991, the Genesis outsold its chief competitor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, by a two-to-one ratio. Sega's mascot strategy included approaching the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1992 to produce two Sonic television series: "a syndicated show for the after-school audience" and a Saturday-morning cartoon. Sega president Kalinske believed Sonic could repeat the success he had seen the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series bring to Mattel's toyline.

2. Read
   

   Interview: "We Were Doing Nintendo A Favour" - Former Sega Head Of Marketing Al Nilsen on Genesis & The Birth Of 'Sonicmania' · Time Extension · 17 min read

   Sonic the Hedgehog and Sega's mascot strategy took aim at Nintendo's hold on the North American video game market, which had lasted for many years. Sega of America sought to make Sonic a viable alternative to Mario through television ads, direct comparisons, and other methods, hoping players would switch to the Genesis. For Sega's Sonic mascot strategy, Al Nilsen, Sega of America's former group director and global head of marketing, was responsible for making Sonic a household name and ensuring the hedgehog's success would impact Genesis sales. Nilsen was among those tasked with developing ideas to sell Sonic in the US.

3. Watch
   

   The Decline of Sega...What Happened? · YouTube · 13 min watch

   The video profiles Sega's rise and fall as a maker of home video game consoles and attempts to provide reasons behind what happened.

4. Book
   

   Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation · Bookshop.org

   Console Wars by Blake J. Harris follows Tom Kalinske's venture as CEO of Sega of America and details the competition between Sega and Nintendo. It describes his decision to replace the Genesis's bundled game, Altered Beast, with Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sega of Japan's later discontinuation of Genesis support despite Kalinske's protests.

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