Few events in video game history are more legendary than the Console War between Sega and Nintendo. Our guest today was one of the generals of that war, the head of Sega of America, Tom Kalinske. Tom's story is not just a story of Sega though, he started out in advertising, helping create the still iconic Flintstone's vitamins, he redefined Barbie's image, helped save Mattel from bankruptcy after the video game crash and lead one of the most important educational tech companies of our time, Leap Frog. Tom's insight into the world of toys, games and education over a career spanning 6 decades is a wild and fascinating ride.

Recorded: July 2025

Video version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/tom-kalinske-141140563

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Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintstones_Chewable_Vitamins Flintstones commercials: https://youtu.be/IMayKCViiRc?si=yOo7bIX3rhEaboJV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He-Man_and_the_Masters_of_the_Universe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox_(brand) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Montana_Football https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madden_NFL Michael Katz Part 2 - Atari - Sega - https://www.patreon.com/posts/63732329 https://retrogamingaus.com/1799/video-game-ad-of-the-day-game-gear https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Technical_Institute Roger Hector - Atari, Disney, Sega, Namco, Sente - https://www.patreon.com/posts/72058794 https://www.vendingtimes.com/news/videogame-pioneer-tom-petit-dies-at-62/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_CD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/32X https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Saturn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Channel https://youtu.be/xx-8QBX8qgc?si=1PtKhQvHf9qA5C1Y https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Pico https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeapFrog_Enterprises https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Console_Wars_(book)

Copyright Karl Kuras 2025