Tails, aka Miles Prower, aka Little Buddy

Sonic's faithful, tech-savvy buddy is best known as "Tails," a name that one typically wouldn't expect to have any reasoning behind it aside from acknowledging a plurality of appendages. However, in the corporate world, things often aren't so simple--especially if you had "Sega of America" on your office door during the '90s.

At the recent Portland Retro Gaming Expo, former Sega of America Marketing Director Al Nilsen discussed his ordeal in trying to convince Sega of Japan to change the new Sonic 2 sidekick's name from its first iteration:

Madeline Schroeder, who worked for me, we affectionately called her "The Mother of Sonic." And she defanged Sonic—I called her "Sonic's orthodontist." She was the one who worked with [Sonic co-creator Yuji] Naka and his team in Japan on Sonic 1, making him a little softer, and a little nicer. Because he was really a mean character—a mean-looking character. ... She was the one who came into my office and said those words which brought terror and fear into my life: "Miles Prower."

Nilsen expressed a distaste for the pun-tacular name and attempted to get Sonic Team to change their minds. According to Nilsen, initial attempts failed. Business relations between Sega's Japanese and North American offices weren't always the most agreeable. Eventually, then Sega of America President Tom Kalinske suggested Nilsen come up with a backstory for the fox to help in the persuasion.

Schroeder and Nilsen did so, hopping a flight to Japan to present it to the Japanese project representatives. The tale had to be translated a paragraph at a time through company liaison Shinobu Toyoda, which isn't exactly the best way to present a story. That combined with previous failures to elicit any changes from the team left Nilsen not very hopeful of success:

It's like, "They want to kill me." And then, all of a sudden, it just started to lighten up, and, at the end, I had won them over. And Naka came up to [Toyoda] and said "You may call him Tails." Shinobu and I were shocked because we didn't think it was going to work, but it was our Hail Mary play, and it absolutely worked. Naka didn't cry, but one of the designers actually teared up. It was interesting, because [the back story] really cemented the relationship between Sonic and Tails. And that's how big business works.

There you have it. Sometimes business is weird, kids. If it wasn't, however, we might not have one of the most charming and longest-lasting friendships in game history. As many might know, of course, Sega of Japan didn't fully concede. Everyone's favorite heli-fox is still listed as "Miles 'Tails' Prower" in Sonic 2. The lengths some will go to still make a pun, eh?

Nilsen's full telling of the story is over at USGamer and worth the read. It also includes a bit of what Sega of America's old guard thinks of hedgehog/human relations and Sonic Boom's fashion choices.

[source usgamer.net]