Sega’s president is on a mission to bring back the company’s glory days, as shared in a recent interview. With a storied past and a bold push into movies, can Sega outrun its modern hurdles?
Here’s the TL;DR…
-
Sega president Shuji Utsumi told
The Game Business
in July 2025 that reviving Sega is his career’s biggest goal, focusing on global studios and classic IPs like
Crazy Taxi
. -
From arcade hits to
Sonic
’s console wars, Sega’s history is epic, but flops like the Dreamcast led to its 2001 exit from hardware. -
Recent losses and a new
Sonic
movie and
Golden Axe
cartoon make Sega’s revival a high-stakes gamble in a tough market.
Early Sonic the Hedgehog concept art. You’ve come a long way, lil’ guy.
Utsumi’s Big Pitch
In a July 2025
interview with
The Game Business
at Sega’s Burbank offices, president Shuji Utsumi laid out a bold vision. “Now I’ve rejoined Sega and I am working on reviving Sega… I want to say that this is going to be my greatest achievement,” he told interviewer Chris Dring during Summer Game Fest. The interview, available in text, video, and audio on
The Game Business
website and YouTube, details Utsumi’s plan to globalize Sega’s Japanese studios and revive IPs like
Crazy Taxi
,
Jet Set Radio
, and
Shinobi
.
Utsumi, who helped launch the PlayStation and worked on Dreamcast titles, noted a past flaw: “For some reasons when I rejoined Sega, the Japanese studios were paying attention to the domestic market, the Japanese market, more.” Now, hits like
Persona 3 Reload
and
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
launch globally across platforms, boosting sales. “Sega brings rock and roll,” he added, aiming to recapture the company’s rebellious edge.
Sega’s Wild Ride
Sega started in 1960 as Service Games in Hawaii, becoming Sega Enterprises by 1965. It ruled arcades with
Periscope
(1966) and
Out Run
(1986), then took on Nintendo with the Genesis, selling 40 million units thanks to
Sonic the Hedgehog
’s ’90s swagger. But missteps like the Mega-CD, 32X, Saturn, and Dreamcast tanked against PlayStation and Nintendo, forcing Sega to ditch consoles in 2001 and merge with Sammy Corporation in 2004.
Despite the pivot, Sega thrived with
Yakuza
(now
Like a Dragon
) and
Persona
.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
earned a 2024 Game of the Year nod, and
Persona 5 Royal
hit 7.25 million copies sold. Utsumi wants more than retro vibes, telling
The Guardian
in 2024: “We are not a retro company.”
Recent Rough Patches
Sega’s faced turbulence lately. In 2023, it scrapped
Hyenas
, a pricey shooter from Creative Assembly, and cut 121 jobs at Relic Entertainment. A 6.6 billion yen net loss in 2024, tied to European restructuring, hurt. Utsumi admitted to
The Game Business
that games-as-a-service (GAAS) is tricky: “The console/PC standalone business is getting better, but we are still working on making that GAAS business global.” While
Persona 5X
topped mobile charts, other GAAS titles struggled.
Fans on X and Reddit cheer IP revivals but call recent
Sonic
games inconsistent, with one X user griping they’re “a mixed bag.” Utsumi’s console passion—“Since I was a member of the PlayStation launch team, I have a big attachment to the console business”—faces a market leaning toward PC and mobile.
Movies and TV to the Rescue?
Sega’s diving deep into transmedia to boost its brand. The
Sonic the Hedgehog
films, starting in 2020, grossed over $1 billion globally, with
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
(December 2024) pulling in $60.1 million domestically in its opening weekend.
A
Golden Axe
animated series, greenlit by CBS and Comedy Central for 10 episodes, features
Sonic
voice actor Ben Schwartz and is co-developed with Original Film and Sony Pictures Television. Described as a “hilarious and heartfelt tribute” to the 1989 beat-’em-up, it’s a bold bet to tap nostalgia.
Utsumi emphasized niche appeal in
The Game Business
: “We are targeting some specific audiences in a deeper way.” X posts show excitement for
Sonic
’s cinematic wins, but some Reddit fans worry the
Golden Axe
cartoon could miss the mark like other modern adaptations. With a
Shinobi
film also in development, Sega’s transmedia push is a cornerstone of its revival.
The Takeaway
Sega’s Shuji Utsumi, in his
The Game Business
interview, is betting on global studios, classic IPs, and movies like
Sonic
to revive the brand. Past flops and recent losses make it a tough fight, like a
Virtua Fighter
showdown. With
Golden Axe
hitting TV and new games on the horizon, Sega’s got a shot at a comeback—if it plays its cards right.
News compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs and Steven Bubbles on July 1, 2025. Follow us on for more gaming, pop culture, and tech news, and consider
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Sources
:
- The Game Business: “Reviving Sega will be the greatest achievement in my career” (July 1, 2025)
- Eurogamer: “The Rise and Fall of Sega Enterprises” (October 28, 2015)
- Britannica: “Sega Corporation” (June 27, 2025)
- VGC: “Why Sega is reviving classics like Shinobi and Jet Set Radio” (November 6, 2024)
- AUTOMATON: “Sega sees net loss of 6.6 billion yen” (June 28, 2024)
- GamesRadar: “Sega accidentally reveals sales data” (July 1, 2025)
- Variety: “Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Opens to $60.1 Million” (December 24, 2024)
- IGN: “Golden Axe Animated Series Greenlit at Comedy Central” (October 24, 2024)
- X posts on Sega’s revival, Sonic, and Golden Axe (July 1, 2025)
