If Thomas J. Kalinske were a video game character, he would rack up more points than Sonic the Hedgehog. Mr. Kalinske, president and chief executive officer of Sega of America Inc. of Redwood City, Calif., a subsidiary of Sega Enterprises Ltd. of Japan, joined the toymaker Mattel as a product manager in 1973 and rose to president of the company in 1985.

When he took the control stick at Sega of America in 1990, the video game machine and software company lagged far behind Nintendo with annual sales of $125 million. This year's sales are "just under a billion," he said, and Sega's Genesis machine is outselling Nintendo's counterpart by two to one.

The game has only just begun: In the next year, Sega of America plans to release a "virtual reality" helmet, an interactive cable TV channel and other new technologies. This week, it is expected to introduce cartridge and CD-ROM versions of "Jurassic Park," a game based on the movie.

And don't forget the competition, notably from a newcomer, the 3DO Company, and Atari, both of which are developing advanced game systems.

Question: You've said "Jurassic Park" is just one of at least eight titles of which you expect to sell a million copies each. At $54.99 per copy, this game business isn't kids' stuff, is it?

Answer: Last year we did $450 million worldwide on one game, Sonic 2. That's more than any hit movie, more than any other entertainment property. It's a very compelling form of entertainment. We believe we have a very good shot at offering more entertainment per dollar spent, per hour spent, than movies or television. In essence we see them as our competition. You'll see, you'll want to spend more time on "Jurassic Park," the video game, than in seeing "Jurassic Park," the movie.

Q: Sega clobbered Nintendo by being first to move to 16-bit games from 8-bit games. Do you fear 3DO doing the same to you with 32-bit game machines?

A: The arcade side of our business has been doing 32-bit software for four years now, so we have a fairly extensive library of 32-bit games. We also know more about 32-bit hardware than just about anybody. I could do a 32-bit hardware system like that. [ Snaps fingers. ] The problem is, it's too expensive right now. The real engineering challenge is getting that cost down to where it's a mass-market product. I could do one today for $100 less than 3DO, but I'm not interested in that. I'm not interested in $200 less. It's got to be a substantially lower-priced unit.

Q: You don't think people will pay $700 for a 3DO game machine?

A: That's our view. Maybe we're wrong, but we think it's a niche product at that price. We've done a fair amount of research on it. VCRs had to cross the $300 price barrier before they became mass-market products. We're also somewhat skeptical of the technology itself. Frankly we don't think it's good enough. So I guarantee you that whatever we do, we'll be better than what they're currently doing, and it will be less money.

Q: In the meantime, you've already come out with Sega CD. You're developing Sega VR, a virtual reality device that looks really cool, and next year there will be the Sega Channel, for interactive cable TV. Aren't you afraid that at some point the kids of America . . .

A: That's my nightmare! One day they say, "That's it, no more."

Q: Could that happen?

A: Clearly they will if we don't keep re-inventing ourselves each year. Virtual reality we've shown already. There's special software for it. It's absolutely addictive. You put this helmet on, and . . .

Q: Is addiction good?

A: It is for us. Seriously, there hasn't been enough research done, but there's a fair amount of research that correlates video game playing and higher grades. Kids often get interested in computers through this door of video games. I think that's really positive.

Q: Are your own children deeply involved in playing Sega games?

A: No, they're a little young. Actually 70 percent of our Genesis players are over 12 years old. We really are not a kid business anymore; we're a teen-age and adult business. Eighty percent of our CD-ROM players are over 18. There are a lot of grown men playing CD-ROM. We think we'll sell 800,000 to a million Sega CD systems this year. If your seasonality is 80 percent of sales in November-December, our current sales would support that. THOMAS J. KALINSKE

Born: July 17, 1944; Iowa City.

Home: Atherton, Calif.

Education: B.A. economics, University of Wisconsin; M.B.A. University of Arizona.

Drives: 1991 Jaguar Vanden Plas.

Frequent-flier miles: "Millions. United tells me I'm their No. 2 frequent-flyer."

Hobbies: Tennis, skiing "and I'm trying to learn golf."

Noncomputer reading: "Truman," by David McCullough.

Ideal vacation: Taking the kids to Hawaii.

Family: Married to the actress Karen Panitz; four children, aged 1 to 8.

PC: Compaq notebook

Photo of Thomas J. Kalinske