SEGA Embraces Modernity: Looking Forward to the Future

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For over a decade, from the late ’80s to the early 21st century, Sega was one of the coolest video game companies on the planet. The company’s arcade games, from Golden Ax to Virtua Fighter, were huge hits. The Mega Drive brought a punk rock attitude to the console scene, challenging Nintendo’s family-friendly approach with eye-popping TV commercials and censorship-aiming games like Mortal Kombat and Night Trap.

But perhaps it wasn’t until the Dreamcast era that Sega studios produced some of their most innovative and extravagant work. Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi, Space Channel 5, and more were colorful celebrations of Tokyo pop culture. Now, Shuji Utsumi, who at the time managed developers at Sega Japan, is CEO of Sega America & Europe and plans to return the company to creative heights.

Mr. Utsumi has had a long and varied career in gaming, joining Sony with the launch of the PlayStation in 1993, before moving on to Sega, Q Entertainment, Warner Music, and Disney Interactive. He returned to Sega in 2019 and eventually became co-chief operating officer during a difficult period for Sega Europe. “European studios have some really great IP, but they also have their challenges,” he says. “We had to work on rebuilding the group.” This process meant the cancellation of Creative Assembly’s multi-million dollar online shooter Hyenas, the first of many live service game closures across the industry. It became the property of

Since taking over as CEO of Sega America and Europe in April of this year, Utsumi’s approach has been to further strengthen Sega’s heritage. Last December, the company announced new titles in its classic franchise treasure trove of Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Golden Ax, and Shinobi. At the Game Awards in Los Angeles last week, Sega also announced the return of Virtua Fighter. “We have some great pillars like Sonic, Persona, and Yakuza. But at the same time, we also have other properties that really show the style, attitude, and background of Sega. If we do this right, gamers will love it. There are high expectations, and if we can meet them, we will be able to return to Sega.”

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Speaking to Eurogamer, Utsumi said he wants Sega to be the rock’n’roll of Nintendo’s pop music again. But while little has been revealed about the nature of these returning series (will they be reboots of the original or all-new adventures?), he says they won’t be nostalgia exercises for nostalgia’s sake. Make a firm statement. “Gamers loved Sega because we showed gamers a new style, attitude and lifestyle,” he says. “We want to bring back that feeling. But we need to be innovative, not just a nostalgic company. We need to appeal to modern gamers as well. We respect our old IP, but we don’t want to We also ask them to think about innovation in each project.

“Our studio is really capable, very technologically advanced, and we have the drive to make it happen. The time has come when we have to challenge ourselves as much as we have in the past. We want to come back with a ‘n’ roll mindset. We can’t just be rock ‘n’ roll right now. Maybe we need hip-hop too!”

This sounds more like Dreamcast-era Sega attitude than Mega Drive-era teen brat iconography. Utsumi not only ushered in the birth of music-obsessed Jet Set Radio and Space Channel 5, but also co-founded Q Entertainment with Tetsuya Mizuguchi, a studio that put dance music at the heart of its design philosophy through titles like Rez and Lumines. Co-founded. How was this kind of creativity fostered in Tokyo in the late 1990s and early 2000s, especially in game development at Sega?

“SEGA was a challenger at the time,” says Utsumi. “The PlayStation was so successful that when the Dreamcast was released, the PlayStation 2 was the target. It was such a cool machine that young developers had to get creative. I think the product was very impressive, but you know, the PlayStation 2 beat us, so I can’t really say much about its success.”

The past five years have seen a resurgence of interest in a very Japan-centric game design concept at Sega and other companies. The worldwide success of role-playing adventures such as Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and most recently Metaphor: ReFantazio has led to the long-standing success of Western series such as Assassin’s Creed and Call of Duty. After its dominance, Japan’s RPG scene has regained mainstream attention. Duty and Grand Theft Auto. Why did that happen? “Everyone else was doing first-person shooters. We’re not very good at that, let’s be honest,” he jokes. . “But we can offer something else that we believe in. Of course we will listen to Western audiences, but we have a great opportunity to be unique in a Japanese way.” I think a lot of people became interested in Japanese anime and Korean dramas and music during the coronavirus pandemic…I think that audience is still there. , that’s really lucky.”

Another change since COVID-19 is the increased presence of video game properties in other media. The third Sonic the Hedgehog movie is currently in theaters, and the crime TV series Like a Dragon: Yakuza began streaming on Amazon earlier this year. It’s not just about the commercial potential of extending Sega’s brand. Utsumi believes there are also important creative reasons. “Nowadays, you might be watching a movie on your phone, playing a game seconds later, and then on TikTok…Users are used to that behavior, and in response, creators are We have to think in a new way about that audience. To capture these trends, we need to combine our creative talents by working with animation and film talent. , we can be inspired.”

Sega in 2025 and beyond will be reinvesting in classic titles, introducing Golden Axe, Virtua Fighter, and Jet Set Radio to new audiences rather than simply excavating them as museum pieces. When asked about the possibility of a new mini-console based on the Saturn or Dreamcast, he was dismissive. “I’m not going in the Mini direction. That’s not me. I want to embrace the modern gamer.” Sega later clarified that it had no plans to make more Minis.

This is a theme he repeats over and over again. Sega’s legacy exists, but it must be brought forward. “We are not a retro company,” Utsumi concluded. “We really appreciate our heritage and cherish it, but at the same time we want to deliver something new. Otherwise we will become history. . That’s not what we’re aiming for.