Tom Kalinske: Sega 32X Will Outsell PlayStation & Saturn (w/ Mark McAvoy)

Welcome to Interview Reenactment, where we recreate some of the greatest video game interviews of all time. Today's episode reenacts Next Generation magazine's interview with Sega's chief, Tom Kalinske. Tom is best known for his aggressive marketing tactics, which included calling out the competition and creating the iconic Sega scream. In this interview he suggests the 32X will outsell the PlayStation and that Nintendo isn't a threat.

CAST: Cyril Lachel as Next Generation, Mark McAvoy as Tom Kalinske.



WHO IS TOM KALINSKE: While you may not know the name, I guarantee you know Tom Kalinske's work. Between 1990 and 1996, Tom managed to do the impossible: He turned Sega around and made the company competitive against the dominant Nintendo. With games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage, coupled with an aggressive ad campaign, Tom was able to make the Genesis the must-own 16-bit system of the 1990s.

This interview is especially interesting because it comes right before the U.S. launch of Sega Saturn. After the success of the Genesis, Tom's legacy was beginning to get scuffed up thanks to the tepid response to Sega CD. At this point the Sega 32X was available on store shelves, and Tom is here to explain why it will be the top selling system of that generation. No, seriously.

This interview is interesting for another reason. Up until this point, Sega's only real competition was Nintendo. Oh sure, they also fought against SNK's Neo Geo, NEC's TurboGrafx-16, Atari's Jaguar and the 3DO Multiplayer, but none of them could stack up against the money and resources of Sony. This was the right as Sony was entering the market, and it's interesting to hear Tom's bravado when assessing his competition.

SPECIAL THANKS: We would like to thank Next Generation magazine for not only running this interview, but also asking challenging questions. This episode would not have been possible without the editors at Next Generation, as well as Tom Kalinske. We would also like to thank Mark McAvoy for providing the voice of Tom Kalinske. Make sure and check out Super Gamer Podcast. Dig around his site long enough and you may discover an episode starring somebody with a familiar voice.

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