SEGA COO Dismisses Acquisition Rumors, Says Persona and Yakuza Might Be Tailored to Films

2 weeks ago 2 min read

SEGA Chief Working Officer Shuji Utsumi spoke with CNBC on the current Net Summit expertise convention in Lisbon. The COO tackled quite a lot of subjects, together with the acquisition rumors that adopted Microsoft’s curiosity within the Japanese firm. Nonetheless, Utsumi-san dismissed the notion of a buyout:

Many firms have an interest. We really feel honored. We’ve enticing IPs and potential. Firms owned by the proprietor. A powerful proprietor. I don’t suppose that type of transaction goes to occur.

The SEGA government additionally teased that following the success loved by Sonic on the field workplace (the 2 films earned round $710 million with their theatrical releases), different IPs like Persona and Yakuza could possibly be ripe for adaptation.

As I stated, we are attempting to be in a whole lot of completely different classes, completely different areas like Roblox and films. All these IPs could be elsewhere apart from video games quickly.

Certainly, after Sonic, Persona and Yakuza are undoubtedly the most important franchises at present out there to SEGA. Subsidiary ATLUS is about to launch Persona 5 Tactica, a tactical RPG spin-off that our Francesco De Meo actually loved, and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio simply launched Like a Dragon: Gaiden Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Identify, an appetizer for the mainline installment Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, described as a ‘monster-class sport’ attributable to debut in two months from now.

In his chat with CNBC, Shuji Utsumi additionally touched upon the current layoffs that SEGA enforced upon Artistic Meeting after the cancellation of HYENAS. The manager admitted that the European studios have been struggling, partly attributable to excessive inflation. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that they are going to get well, having strong improvement studios and franchises at their disposal.

Following the acquisition of Indignant Birds developer Rovio, SEGA is not ruling out additional acquisitions, both:

As an entity of Sega Sammy, we’re buying a few of the firms. We simply made an announcement. We’re nonetheless in search of alternatives for progress.