"Don't mess with X fans, we haven't even played the game". You've probably seen memes like that made about various games recently, whether it's a big series like Persona or a niche release like Mouthwashing. Indeed, this has been a phenomenon for years: people getting into a game series by watching playthroughs, or even just video essays about an aspect of the game.
Now, Sega wants to get in on this. With many franchises under its belt that this applies to, Sega is going to continue to develop its "transmedia strategy" in order to appeal to more "game fans who don't play the games", seeing this as a growing audience.
Speaking with The Nikkei (translated by Automaton), Sega president and COO Shuji Utsumi cited the Like a Dragon series as an example of a game series with many fans who have never played the games. He argues that many get into the series through YouTubers and streamers, and then go on to engage in the series in other ways. He says this is behind the success of Like a Dragon's merch, so there's clearly a market there.
Even though he admits many of these fans "have never actually played the games," he still considers them "gamers". I am not sure if those who have played the games would agree with him there, but it makes sense for Utsumi to adopt this approach when there's still money to be made from these fans. In fact, he says that the engagement from fans who don't play the games can be even higher than those who do, so they might even be buying more merch.
On the whole, Sega is very interested in continuing its “transmedia strategy”. We've seen this with the success of the Sonic movies, which has likely created an entirely new group of Sonic fans, or is even catering to those who thought Sonic was neat once upon a time, but weren't interested in playing the new games. You just have to look at how much those films made to see how much it can pay off to diversify an IP.
In the meantime, I fear this will do little to stop those who do play the games from calling anyone who doesn't tourists and LARPers. Just don't be surprised if Sega doesn't rush to defend you.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.thegamer.com/sega-appeal-to-non-gamers-like-a-dragon-sonic/
