Sega's President Notes Rise in Fans Who Don't Play Its Games, But Still Considers Them Gamers

Sega president and COO Shuji Utsumi has acknowledged that the company has seen an increase in fans who don't actually play the games it develops and publishes.

In a September 7 interview with Nikkei Gaming, Utsumi discussed Sega's current "transmedia" strategy, which has seen major franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog, Persona, and Yakuza expand into film and television, broadening their reach across multiple mediums.

This expansion has naturally led to a surge in fans who enjoy these franchises without ever having played the games. Nikkei Gaming's editor-in-chief, Aya Hirano, raised the topic, noting, "Lately, there's been an increase in fans who like an IP even though they've never played the game."

Utsumi confirmed this trend, saying, "We've seen an increase in such fans for every title in recent years. For example, the Yakuza series has been performing 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. Many of them have never actually played the game."

Despite this, Utsumi doesn't dismiss these fans as mere "LARPers." Instead, he emphasizes that Sega regards all its fans as gamers, regardless of whether they've ever picked up a controller.

"Even people who have never played games are considered fans and gamers by us. Transmedia's strength lies in increasing the entry points and contact points for people to become interested in IP. In some cases, their engagement is even higher than that of fans who actually play the games," he added.

Utsumi also discussed how the rise of female fans has influenced merchandise production, drawing on his experience at Cybird, a developer known for Otome romance games.

"I also worked on romance games for women at Cybird. There, in addition to traditional collectible goods like can badges and acrylic stands, we saw a significant shift in merchandising, with the emergence of lifestyle-oriented licensed products such as apparel and cosmetics that could be used daily, as well as limited-edition and commemorative goods created in collaboration with amusement facilities. That experience definitely broadened my perspective, and I believe it's been invaluable in my transmedia strategy at Sega," he said.

Sega's transmedia approach is clearly paying off, with all three live-action Sonic movies performing well at the box office and a fourth on the way, not to mention the upcoming Persona series at Netflix. Whether these projects translate into more players seems irrelevant to Sega, as they consider every fan a "gamer" at heart.