{"id":22078,"date":"2023-10-05T16:20:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T07:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=22078"},"modified":"2023-10-05T16:20:37","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T07:20:37","slug":"20231005-22078","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20231005-22078\/","title":{"rendered":"Sega Japan analyzes overwhelming popularity of Sonic IP in the US compared to Japan, background of Sega-style marketing\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In an interview with Seizo Trend<\/a> published on October 5, Shuji Utsumi, Co-COO of Sega Corporation, discusses the overwhelming popularity enjoyed by the Sonic IP in the North American market as opposed to Japan, as well as tendencies in Sega-style marketing and the influence of the blockbuster Sonic films.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Analyzing the recent situation of Sega, Utsumi comments that Sega\u2019s signature character Sonic is what has \u201csaved\u201d the company, especially in view of the success of the Paramount Pictures Sonic the Hedgehog movie (box office $319.7 million) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (box office $405.4 million), which significantly raised Sega\u2019s power as a brand and opened new possibilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In North America, the Sonic movies were so popular that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 even topped Detective Pikachu in sales, which is quite different from the situation in Japan. Commenting this gap in popularity of the Sonic IP in North America and Japan, Utsumi mentions the Sega Genesis, released in 1988, as a factor. While this console was largely successful in the US market, it performed quite poorly in Japan, faced with the SNES and TurboGrafx-16 as rivals. Utsumi attributes the limited recognition of the Sonic IP in Japan to these circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, he mentions that in North America, Sonic has basically become the face of Sega, which was also the result of strategic targeted branding done by Tom Kalinsky during the \u201cgolden age of Sega\u201d in the 90\u2019s. He offers the interesting impression that, as opposed to Nintendo\u2019s family-oriented approach to gaming consoles, Sonic and Sega formed a \u201cslightly presumptuous, delinquent-like image,\u201d adding that, \u201cif Nintendo were to be compared to Coca Cola, Sega would be Pepsi.\u201d Pursuing this \u201crebellious spirit\u201d in branding is something Sega has remained conscious of, Utsumi mentions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the release of the Sega Saturn in 1994, things slowed down for Sega in terms of overseas hits. At the time, Utsumi had been involved in the Dreamcast project, which he realized needed marketing centered around Sonic for the US market. This is how the worldwide release of the Dreamcast came to have Sonic Adventure (1998) as its centerpiece, leading to \u201cSonic sales\u201d once again rising. Utsumi mentions that, while the blockbuster Sonic movies were a culmination of Sonic\u2019s popularity, Sonic Adventure had left a lasting impression in the period preceding them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the context of \u201ccreating hits,\u201d Utsumi mentions some of the conditions that allowed the Sonic movies to be created and reach the level they did. He explains how the generations that grew up playing video games have gradually become active in the entertainment industry in recent times, which has led to game makers becoming more desirable and well-respected as business partners in Hollywood. This is what allowed negotiations for a Sonic movie to begin in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the content of the movies themselves, although Hollywood is known for taking significant liberties with source material and limited consultation with original creators, Utsumi mentions that certain circumstances led to Paramount having a very cooperative relationship with the Sega team. This was the influx of negative reactions to the first trailer of the first Sonic movie, mostly caused by Sonic\u2019s initial design which had been deemed \u201ccreepy.\u201d After Sonic\u2019s design was changed based on the Sega team\u2019s opinions, reactions were favorable, leading to Paramount listening more closely to what they had to say.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally, discussing the importance of creating hits in entertainment, Utsumi also emphasizes the crucial importance of distribution. In this context, he mentions that Sega has begun direct negotiations with Tech Giants, including Netflix, aiming for global distribution. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recent interview, Shuji Utsumi, Co-COO of Sega Corporation, discussed the overwhelming popularity enjoyed by the Sonic IP in the North American market as opposed to Japan, as well as tendencies in Sega-style marketing and the influence of the blockbuster Sonic films.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":22080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-22078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nSega Japan analyzes overwhelming popularity of Sonic IP in the US compared to Japan, background of Sega-style marketing\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a recent interview, Shuji Utsumi, Co-COO of Sega Corporation, discussed the overwhelming popularity enjoyed by the Sonic IP in the North American market as opposed to Japan, as well as tendencies in Sega-style marketing and the influence of the blockbuster Sonic films.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20231005-22078\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sega Japan analyzes overwhelming popularity of Sonic IP in the US compared to Japan, background of Sega-style marketing\u00a0 - 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