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Sega president and COO Shuji Utsumi says the company has experienced an uptick in fans who don’t actually play the games it develops and publishes.
In a September 7 interview with Nikkei Gaming, Utsumi discussed the company’s current “transmedia” strategy, which has seen some of its biggest franchises — such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Persona, Yakuza, etc. — cross over into the worlds of film and television to expand their brands across multiple different mediums.
This, of course, has led to a rise in fans of these games who haven’t actually played them. Utsumi confirmed this sentiment to Nikkei Gaming’s editor-in-chief, Aya Hirano, after she broached the topic by saying, “Lately, there’s been an increase in fans who like an IP even though they’ve never played the game.”
“We’ve seen an increase in such fans for every title in recent years,” Utsumi answered. “For example, the Yakuza series has been doing exceptionally well in merchandising, with 60-70% of its buyers being women. They’ve become fans of the Yakuza world, story, and characters after watching our YouTube channel and popular YouTubers’ streams. And among them are many people who have never actually played the game.”
Utsumi isn’t calling these
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