Al Nilsen
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Al Nilsen is an American businessman, best known for his work as the head of Global Marketing at Sega of America from 1989 to 1993, where he was credited for work on the marketing and release of the Sega Genesis and the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise. He had previously worked at Hasbro and Mattel, and later worked at Viacom.
Career[edit]
Al's education includes a bachelor of science degree at Boston University. He was a toy buyer for JCPenney before pivoting officially into the toy industry with his work at Mattel (where he first worked with Tom Kalinske).[1] He later worked at Hasbro, Sega of America, and Viacom.
At Sega of America, Al helped to choose the mascot the company would use to compete with Nintendo's Mario franchise, as part of an internal contest at the company.[2][3]
Sonic The Hedgehog[edit]
In preparation for the launch of the first Sonic game, Al spearheaded a playtesting campaign. In a mall tour across the United States, Mario fans were given the opportunity to play both Mario and Sonic The Hedgehog, with 80% choosing that they preferred Sonic.[4][5] The "Sega World Tour" took place at twenty-four malls in sixteen cities, starting with the Alderwood Mall in Seattle - located five miles from Nintendo of America's offices. The mall tour reached over 100,000 people, and was covered by newspapers reaching millions of readers across the United States.[6]
Al had the trademark for Sonic The Hedgehog include a capitalized "The" as Sonic's middle name.[7] The middle name trademark was made "on the reasoning that it would make a cool story one day."[8]
Al decided to make a global impact with the release of Sonic 2 as the world's first global launch. When deciding on the day for the release, Al said "it should be Tuesday, and we'll call it Sonic 2sday."[9] Games and music are regularly released on Tuesdays, which wasn't the norm before Sonic 2.
The "Sonic Bible" was the style guide created by Madeline Canepa and Al Nilsen in 1991 to ensure any partners working on Sonic product represented the character correctly.[10]
Console Wars[edit]
Many direct quotes from Al Nilsen appear in Console Wars (book) and interviews with Al can be seen in the Paramount+ Console Wars (film) documentary.[11] Console Wars is also in development as a miniseries.
Legacy[edit]
Al can be seen on the television series Computer Chronicles demonstrating games on the Sega Genesis including Michael Jackon's Moonwalker and the first Disney character in a video game: Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse.[12]
Al was chosen by Hayao Nakayama to be the interface between Michael Jackson and Sega as they worked on the development of the Moonwalker game, and he worked directly with Michael on the game design.[13]
Al is credited on many Sega games, including for his work on Michael Jackson's Moonwalker[14] and contributions to Ecco the Dolphin (video game).[15]
He is also credited on Viacom games such as Beavis and Butt-Head (video game).[16]
References[edit]
- ↑ Harris, Blake J. (2015). Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation. Dey Street Books. ISBN 978-0062276704. Search this book on
- ↑ Harris, Blake J. (Director) (September 23, 2020). Console Wars (Television production). Legendary Television.
- ↑ Hilliard, Kyle (July 27, 2014). "Remembering The Sega Vs. Nintendo Rivalry With The People Who Lived It". Game Informer. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ↑ Stuart, Keith (2014). "The Blue Blur". In Wall, Darren. Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Collected Works. Read-Only Memory. pp. 20–24. ISBN 978-0-9575768-1-0. Search this book on
- ↑ "How Sonic Helped Sega Win the Early 90s Console Wars". Kotaku. October 31, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ↑ Harris, Blake J. (2015). Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation. Dey Street Books. pp. 163–168, 172–173, 178. ISBN 978-0062276704. Search this book on
- ↑ Kent, Steven. "Chapter 23". The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. p. 428. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4.
the "t" in Sonic the Hedgehog is capitalized not lower case. Sega marketing wizard Al Nilsen had the "The" registered as Sonic's middle name.
Search this book on
- ↑ Harris, Blake J. (2015). Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation. Dey Street Books. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-0062276704. Search this book on
- ↑ Levy, Karyne (November 11, 2014). "The Weird Reason Why Video Games Are Released On Tuesdays". Business Insider. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ↑ Yarwood, Jack (November 24, 2021). "Sonic The Hedgehog at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". Polygon. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ↑ "Al Nilsen on IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
- ↑ "Video Game Consoles". The Computer Chronicles. Season 8. Episode 11. 6 December 1990. PBS.
- ↑ "Former Sega Head Of Marketing Al Nilsen On Genesis And The Birth Of 'Sonicmania'". Time Extension. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ↑ "Moonwalker credits". Sega Retro. July 2, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ↑ "Ecco the Dolphin credits". Sega Retro. December 1, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ↑ Yarwood, Jack (February 1, 2023). "Beavis and Butthead Instruction Manual" (PDF). Digital Press. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
External links[edit]
- The Behind-The-Scenes Story Of How Sonic 2 Became Sega’s Ace In The Hole
- Marketers Reflect on Sega and Nintendo's Console War
- 25 Years After The Console Wars: What We Can Learn From Sega’s Battle With Nintendo
- Sega Retro: Interview with Al Nilsen
- Al Nilsen profile on Sega Retro
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