By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/26/2016
All your Chaos Emeralds belong to us in this awesome interlocking Sonic cover. Archie has been telling a long form story with the Sonic characters for the past three years via the ‘Shattered World Saga’ in Sonic the Hedgehog. The ‘Shattered World Saga’ is coming to an end with the ‘Panic in the Sky’ story […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/28/2014
Author Blake J. Harris surrounded by Sega and Nintendo.
By: Nick Eskey
Once upon a time, Nintendo resurrected what remained of the home console market, and thus ruled the gaming world. Almost 95% of the market belonged to them. People didn’t play videogames, they played “Nintendo.” But then, a competitor slowly loomed in sight. Sega’s star was on the rise, threatening the hold that Nintendo held over the industry. And a war was on. It wasn’t fought on any battlefield with guns, but in the retail market.
Blake J. Harris lived in the time where Nintendo and Sega’s war was at its peak. In his adulthood, Blake realized that there wasn’t anything officially written with a deep level of research regarding that time. So he took it upon himself to take three years to write what he later entitled “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and The Battle that Defined a Generation.” But aside from himself, Blake also collected a few others who actually “fought” in the battle: Bill White and Perrin Kaplan on behalf of Nintendo of America, and Tom Kalinske and Al Nilsen on behalf of Sega of America.
During the high sales of the NES, Sega wanted to create a mascot of their own. Nintendo had Mario after all. Al Nelson was presented with two possible candidates: Something that as Al put it looked a lot like “an egg shaped, weeble-wobble character,” and a spike-haired hedgehog that dated a human girl. “I chose the lesser of two evils.”
Around the same time, president of Sega Japan approached Tom Kalinske and asked him to help place his company in a prime position in the market. Tom had worked with Flinstones Vitamins and Matel (on their franchises such as Barbie, He-man, and Matchbox). The president of Sega had heard of Tom when he was with Matel, and sought him out after he left the company. Tom Kalinske suggested to the board that they take out Altered Beast (the game that originally was bundled with it) and replace it with Sonic. He also wanted a lowered price for the system, aggressive marketing that called out Nintendo, and more games made for adults. The Japanese executives didn’t agree with him, but the president had brought him on to help Sega, so he allowed the moves.
It was Bill White of Nintendo who had to steer the marketing when Sega had started to exert itself. He first came in 1987 when Nintendo was attempting to resurrect the collapsed home console market. Bill tried hard to advertise the titles themselves, which he knew would “drive the hardware.” He also helped to sell the movie rights to Mario, which lead to the box office flop “Mario Bros. 2000.” “I was told to not get anything less than $100,000,” said White. “But at the end of the day, it really was about using it in hopes of further driving the brand.”
When Sega started to gain ground on what use to be Nintendo territory, Perrin Kaplan was brought in as someone who was outside of the industry. “I was a fresh face,” she said. “And I definitely didn’t play games.”
When Tom’s aggressive marketing started, they boasted about their faster processes, and poked fun at how slow Nintendo’s hardware’s was in comparison. The aggressive marketing was paying off. “It was an exciting time where we felt we could get a piece of the pie,” said Al Nelson. Bill White pushed for the Super Nintendo which was in the works to get released sooner. “Our competitor was 16 bit… I felt we needed to match it, but the executives felt that the NES still had legs. That there were still homes that it could still find itself in.” So instead, Bill pushed for large marketing campaigns. They did the Nintendo Championships that toured the malls, “so people could play the game.” Bill continued to use the games as a big focus.
Sega took to another tactic and marketed their system more to teenagers. “Nintendo marketed more for kids,” said Tom Kalinske. “We decided to be unique… We were on college campuses and concerts… it was very grass roots.”
Eventually, Sega had claimed a good slice of what use to be Nintendo’s. This became a wakeup call to Nintendo. “Nintendo was poked, made fun of. And when awakened, it went back to what it was best at.”
Today, we all know how the wars ultimately ended. But for the time, it created competition, and forced videogames into new directions that are still felt today. So even though Sega is no longer in the console industry where Nintendo still is, the war they fought definitely shaped the generation we live in now.
For more on battle between the two, go and pick up Blake J. Harris’ book, “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and The Battle that Defined a Generation.”
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 2/13/2012
Today we bring you another installment of Youth Media Movers and Shakers. We’ve culled through industry publications looking for the recent executive placements we think you should know about. If you have executive news that you want us to... Read the rest of this post
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By: Jenny Turner,
on 2/19/2009
One of the hardest things for me in my busy life as a publisher is nutrition. In my travels, I tend to eat a lot of restaurant food and things from packages. I will say though, that when I stayed at Michele Scott's house in San Diego I got several home cooked meals. My favorite was the Ravioli with Michele's sauce. Yummy!
Thank You, Karen! I'm happy to have made you dinner!
I know you're not a huge veggie fan, but here is a tip that has helped in getting me to eat more salads and it comes from John (who is working on his fitness blog). When we make a salad we always put some kind of fruit in it--apple, berries, pear, even mandarin oranges. Then I sprinke walnuts or some kind of nut that we like. I top it with a sprinkle of cheese (I am a cheese fanatic). a little goes a long way, especially if you do blue, gorgonzola or even a smoked cheese. That's my two cents.
Miss writing with you at the kitchen table!
Cheers,
Michele
http://www.adventuresnwriting.blogspot.com
http://www.mkscott.com
When we travel, I always make sure the hotel has a fridge in the room and when we arrive, stop at a grocery store (not immediately, but usually the next day) for fruit, veggies (baby carrots are good), and things to make sandwiches. I hate the frustration of trying to find someplace to eat out that's not fast food in a strange place, especially when I'm tired.
I'm not particularly culinarily adventurous to begin with, and don't really consider trying new restaurants enjoyable, more anxiety-inducing. (Many years of being a vegetarian.)
I like soynuts. They're crunchy and satisfying with 12 grams of protein. Eat a few almonds with fruit; protein fills you up longer.
A protein bar helps too, for between. Apples also are filling. I'm a choco-fiend so have to cut that down somehow.
how about a small travel cooler with slimfast shakes; better than choosing candy? Filling and good snack between. (Even better, a whey protein drink in the morning is filling and more protein).
I got a 24 oz bag of string cheese (low fat) at Sam's. I think they only have about 60 calories each and give me a little someting to snack on when I start craving chips, cookies, and all the bad stuff. I've found they really do help.
I know this doesn't help when you're traveling, but we've also starting eating more low-cal soups and loading them with extra veggies. Canned soup never comes with enough veggies to satisfy me. Also makes the soup more filling.
I think you should be proud of losing a pound while you were away from home. I would've gained three or four!
http://www.cynthiasattic.blogspot.com
http://www.woofersclub.blogspot.com
Oh, this is perfect! I just grabbed a handful of almonds and poured myself a big ole glass of calcium-loaded OJ mixed with club soda and thought, haven't checked in on Karen today. (Can you hear me munching? BTW, I keep almonds refrigerated becuase it makes them even more crunchy. I've read our bodies want to chew x-amount of times a day.)
Anyhoo, keep up the healthy thoughts and work.
If you're good, I'll share a couple almonds with you when we meet up in SC.
Diana
http://woofersclub.blogspot.com
http://basicblackblog.blogspot.com
Fruit is at the top of my snacking list, too. I love tangerines, and they are easy to peel and eat at my desk while reading stuff on the 'net.
If you like diet and nutrition shakes, check out http://www.nancicorp.com
this is a great product which I have used for years, lots of ways to mix it up, super way to use up fruit that is a tad past its prime. The shakes are very filling and soooo nutritious!
Billie
http://otpblog.blogspot.com
My weird eating habits keep me from going off the deep end while traveling - I'm a vegan and I don't eat chocolate. That last one was tough to do, but I don't crave it anymore and have no desire to indulge.
Plus I just never eat out at fast-food restaurants.
L. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net
No CHOCOLATE?!?!? (kill me now)
http://www.cynthiasattic.blogspot.com
I munch on grapes at my computers: healthy and no mess. And when I travel, I take a bunch of protein bars and dried fruit and eat those for two meals of the day.
For hotels, we stop at the grocery store and stock up on water and fruits, and cheese if there's a refrigerator. Also, avoid the Starbucks (which we don't go to when at home).
I'm trying to come up with an answer to that also. The main thing is to quit eating foods I like even after I'm full. If I could do that, I'm sure I'd get rid of a few pounds.
Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Karen, when I used the Palm TX, I used the Diet & Exercise Assistant to track my food for the day and to make food choices (keyoe.com). It was pretty easy to use and easy to add to for 'favorites'. I used the Palm and the desktop client.
Now that I use the Touch, I'm using LoseIt plus several other food databases. I find that if I know the calorie/fat 'cost' of a food, I make better choices. Calorieking.com is the granddaddy of 'em all. I like to know what the cost is before I indulge so I can make an informed choice.
I'm also wearing a pedometer daily so I can try to get in my 10,000 steps. I only hit it once or twice a week, but I'm always in the 7-9K range, and I hope when the weather gets better, I can hit 10K on a regular basis.
I eat anything I want, but I eat far less than is served to me -- I always take food home. For example, I do get a DQ or Sonic malt but I take it home and make it last for at least 5 days. That way I don't feel deprived.
Snacking? Grapes, almonds, snack packs (100 calorie cheese puffs are my favorites), V8 (mix with Bloody Mary mix to have a Virgin Mary). I love Hall's Vitamin C drops and Frango mints (not the chocolates but the mints, like TicTacs).
It's all a matter of retraining your habits. It's doable.