The website The Game Business interviewed SEGA President Shuji Utsumi. Several interesting comments were made, including the desire to “revive” the company.
See below a summary compiled on ResetEra:
Utsumi-san is CEO of SEGA America and SEGA Europe, and COO and President of SEGA Corporation. He’s also a true industry veteran. Over his 30-year career, he drafted the business plan for the first PlayStation. He oversaw first-party Dreamcast development, shepherding titles like Sonic Adventure, Space Channel 5, Crazy Taxi, and Jet Set Radio. At Disney, he was involved in brokering the Kingdom Hearts deal with Square Enix. And he co-founded Q-Entertainment with Tetsuya Mizuguchi, leading to the creation of Lumines and Meteos.
For my first question, I asked what he considered his greatest career achievement. His answer? He hopes it’s none of the previous ones.
“Now that I’ve returned to SEGA and am working to revive SEGA… I want to say this will be my greatest achievement.”
SEGA’s Japanese studios now think globally
“For some reason, when I came back to SEGA, Japanese studios were paying more attention to the domestic market, the Japanese market, [than to other markets],” said Utusmi-san. “We changed that attitude to say: ‘Hey, all players worldwide are our audience.'”
“We decided to launch Japanese and international versions simultaneously. And release on all platforms, including PC, at the same time. Then prepare international marketing materials concurrently. By changing the system, the studios began preparing for things from early stages, which helped their thought process when developing a game.”
Games as a service are SEGA’s biggest challenge
SEGA’s President and COO said their single-player properties are performing well and their next goal is achieving better results with games as a service (GAAS) projects.
“Gaming companies with a strong track record tend to have a solid global GAAS business,” he said. “The standalone console/PC market is improving, but we’re still working to globalize this GAAS business. That’s one of our biggest challenges.”
SEGA is familiar with online gaming experiences – having created one of the earliest online RPGs, Phantasy Star Online, in 2000. However, SEGA’s current GAAS focus leans more toward the free-to-play mobile space, which is where recently acquired Rovio comes in.
“Rovio has deep knowledge of the global mobile market and very strong IP with Angry Birds,” said Utsumi-san. “We believe the partnership between Rovio and SEGA is good. We’re collaborating closely with Rovio on a Sonic mobile game and are giving them access to IP including Sonic to create engaging, approachable GAAS titles.”
SEGA focuses heavily on balancing old and new
They currently plan to bring back several classic titles including Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Shinobi, Golden Axe, and Streets of Rage.
“I’m constantly discussing this with studios and developers. While we handle all our products, we need to innovate simultaneously to truly attract new audiences. Luckily, anything from around the year 2000 is trendy again these days. That’s good momentum. But we also need to include fresh elements. Developers understand that nostalgic elements and blending old with new are important.”
Transmedia and films
“We’re also investing in transmedia, and having a strong title creates a longer tail. So delivering a high-quality game ultimately generates more stable revenue long-term. That’s our approach.”
“When I got involved in gaming, I brought Crash Bandicoot to movie studios asking if they’d be interested in turning it into a film,” he revealed on The Game Business Show. “But they treated me like… ‘Hey, video games are like a toy industry.’ They didn’t take it seriously.”
Sonic films significantly boosted that franchise, with Sonic game sales seeing a major uptick. The company now seeks to similarly expand its other IP.
“Video games are finally becoming culture, and that’s spreading to the film industry. This is a major shift that I feel very happy about.”
Consoles, PC, mobile, and the games industry
Shuji Utsumi is a console fan. He launched PlayStation and Dreamcast, and SEGA remains a major console supporter. The publisher is among the largest developers working on Nintendo Switch 2, with three launch titles and two more games planned.
“Being on the PlayStation launch team left me deeply attached to the console business,” he said. “And Nintendo has played an incredible role… Wow, they’ve really contributed. We didn’t expect Switch 1 to be such a hit. Nobody did. But PC continues as the major trend due to its global reach, and mobiles of course are improving graphically.”
“There are many ways to enjoy games, and among all these activities, I believe consoles will still present great opportunities for us.”
“I worked briefly in the music industry. The music business is tough,” he concluded. “The film business is tough. But looking at video games? The foundation keeps expanding. Although it’s perhaps getting harder for consoles specifically, the overall games market continues growing. There are opportunities to reach more people. I’m optimistic about that.”
