SEGA president and COO Shuji Utsumi recently talked to The Nikkei about the company’s pursuit of a global “transmedia strategy” in recent years – including the expansion of popular gaming franchises through movie adaptations, merchandise and other media. One of the topics he discussed within this context was the phenomenon of “game fans who don’t play the games” and why Sega considers such audiences important.
According to Utsumi, the company has in recent years seen an increasing number of fans who don’t necessarily play games. While he mentions this is true of all of Sega’s IPs, he singles out the Like a Dragon series as an example. Like a Dragon-related merchandise has been performing extremely well for Sega, with about 60-70% of customers being women. Utsumi explains that this layer of the fanbase often becomes acquainted with Like a Dragon’s story and characters through official YouTube content or by watching streams by popular content creators, and “many of them have never actually played the games.”
But even if someone has never played a game, Utsumi says Sega still considers them a fan and a “gamer.” The fact that people are growing interested in gaming franchises through different entry points is a benefit of Sega’s transmedia strategy, according to the president. Not only that, but Utsumi says that in some cases, engagement from such fans can be even higher than that of fans who actually play the games. He does not clarify what exactly this engagement entails, but it’s probably safe to assume that the company is seeing significant revenue from casual/non-gamer fans when it comes to merch, adaptations, events, and other media related to its major IPs.
Going forward, Utsumi says Sega will continue to strengthen its transmedia efforts, with 2026 being a big year for Persona and Angry Birds.
