Many people credit Abramson with being an extremely influential part of both Sega’s and Sonic the Hedgehog‘s rise to fame in the early 90s. From 1990 to 1996 Abramson acted as Sega of America’s Vice President of Promotions and Events and saw Sega through what many consider to be their golden years.

Abramson was responsible for some of Sega’s greatest campaigns, most notably the inclusion of Sonic the Hedgehog in the 1993 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This was notable as being the first time a video game character had appeared in the Parade, and even today Sonic is one of only a handful of video game characters to have appeared in the Thanksgiving celebration.

Our hearts go out to Tom’s family. He was a huge force behind the Sonic “Rock the rock” contest at Alcatraz and a number of big SEGA events in the mid ’90s. Thank you for being such a key part of Sonic’s legacy. https://t.co/krDYocyU6B

— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) May 9, 2020

It’s clear that Tom Abramson will be missed greatly by those in the Sega and Sonic the Hedgehog community, with even the official Sonic the Hedgehog twitter account expressing their condolences.

Our hearts go out to Abramson’s friends and family during this difficult time, and we are thankful that he had as much passion for Sega as it’s many fans during the 90s.

The post Former Sega Marketing Executive, Tom Abramson, Passes Away at 59 appeared first on Retro Ages.