Sega Hints Possible Film Adaptations for Persona, Yakuza: Like A Dragon Franchises

Sega teased the possibility of bringing more of its intellectual property to other platforms like film adaptations for Persona and Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Sega Wants to Continue Sonic's Success in Big Screen

After the box-office success of Sonic the Hedgehog movies on the big screen, Sega CEO Shuji Utsumi is looking for ways to replicate it with other IPs under their belt. In an interview with CNBC, the CEO confirmed that the company is thinking of reviving other classical IPs too.

"As I say, we are trying to be in a lot of different categories, different areas like Roblox, movies," Utsumi shared. Among the choices are the RPG franchise of Persona and the Yakuza game series, which are possible candidates to come out "somewhere else other than games soon."

The current Persona game has already sold over nine million copies worldwide while the Yakuza game series has reached 21.1 million sold units since its first launch in 2005. Evidently, both games are standing strong on their own and have already an established fandom that will support any form of media.

Both Yakuza and Persona are available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms. In addition, Persona 5 can also be played on Nintendo Switch.

Sega Continues Studio Expansion

The gaming company is actively looking for more acquisitions that will further expand its ownership beyond gaming, as per Utsumi. The CEO also explained that the company is looking for more opportunities to grow.

However, Utsumi acknowledged the struggles of the European studios due to the recovery period brought on by the pandemic. On the contrary, Japanese studios are doing very well at the moment.

Regardless, the CEO remains positive about the future outcome of the venture. "I think it's going to be coming back. As long as you have solid development studios and also solid IPs," he said.

Other gaming companies have also been expanding the success of their gaming titles. This includes Sony, who is popular for the Spider-Man movie franchise, and Nintendo, who recently had a massive hit with "The Super Mario Bros. Movie."