In a recent interview with Nikkei, Sega President and COO Seiji Uchida stated that the company has observed a growing number of "non-gaming fans" in recent years, whose engagement with IPs sometimes even surpasses that of core players.
Seiji Uchida cited the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series as an example, pointing outSales of related merchandise for the series have been extremely strong, with approximately 60% to 70% of buyers being women. He explained that this fan base often learns about the stories and characters of Like a Dragon through official YouTube content or streams by popular streamers, "with many of them having never actually played the games."
Nevertheless, Seiji Uchida explicitly stated that Sega still considers these users "fans" and "players." He believes that attracting users from different channels to game IPs through various media such as film and TV adaptations, merchandise, and offline events is one of the results of Sega's global "cross-media strategy" in recent years. More interestingly, Uchida revealed that in some cases, these non-traditional fans who don't play games show even higher engagement with the IP than actual players—although he did not elaborate on the specific metrics for "engagement," it can be inferred that revenue from merchandise, derivative content, and events has become an important source of income for Sega.
Seiji Uchida emphasized that Sega will continue to strengthen its cross-media strategic layout, stating that 2026 will be a significant year for the Persona and Angry Birds IPs.