Sega's COO and president of transmedia Shuji Utsumi opened RovioCon 23 in Helsinki with a confident insight into a bold transmedia future for the company post Rovio acquisition.
Starting with a discussion of Sega’s core franchises, freshly augmented by Angry Birds, Utsumi discussed how Sega are already working on their transmedia strategy, citing the example of Sonic (from their own games to Web3 via Roblox, Lego sets and of course movies), he stressed that the trend of physical and digital transmedia is growing faster than they imagined.
Utsumi also outlined how crucial the mobile platform would be as a key facilitator to this goal, and admitted that Sega weren't really as strong as they could be in this space, hence the acquisition. He also revealaed that they aren't wasting any time and that that Rovio was already working on new game projects based around Sonic. as well as exploring other IPs such as Yakuza and Persona.
Give and take
Naturally the relationship goes both ways, and after noting Rovio's own transmedia experience with film, licensing, real-world location based entertainment, etc, the Sega executive went onto suggest that he saw a big opportunities for Angry Birds IP on PC and console, an area in which Sega already has great relationships and experience with platform giants.
Sadly, that was the most detail we would get on product detail - "Let me share when the right time has come…but not today!", offered Ustumi, closing out his talk by stressing his excitement for the future and underlining the main points of his presentation - "To strengthen the touchpoints of great IPs, by merging the capabilities and networks we have honed over a long period of time”
Suffice to say we'll be watching this space very closely in the weeks and months ahead.
In the meantime, what Sega/Rovio IP combination would you be excited to see? One wag in the crowd suggested even broader IP collaborations with Sega owned properties "Total Angry Sonic Football Manager War?"
Let us know via LinkedIn here or Twitter below!
RovioCon 23 is ON! Sega just teased their 'Segaverse' and revealed that Rovio are already working on Sonic and Yakuza games. What Sega/Rovio crossover do YOU want to see first?? https://t.co/F4lQllK0oV
— PocketGamer.biz (@pgbiz) November 29, 2023
