With the success of the live-action Sonic movies, SEGA is considering making film adaptations of Persona and Yakuza/Like a Dragon. Read on to learn more.
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SEGA Mentions Possible Movies for Persona and Yakuza
Recent Box Office Success
In a recent interview with CNBC, Sega Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi stated that Sega is thinking of bringing more of their IPs like Persona and Yakuza to other platforms and expanding from just games, as proven by the success of the Sonic movie adaptations.
The first Sonic movie grossed $306.8 million in the box office, even after they had to change the design of the blue hedgehog due to negative fan reception. With Sonic the Hedgehog 2, however, the movie grossed $405.4 million at the box office, overtaking the success of the first film. Due to this success, Sega Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi sees the Sonic franchise as having been totally revitalized in more ways than one.
Utsumi stated, “We just revived Sonic in a big way, not only through games but also movies and TV shows, and actually Sonic is in Roblox too. And we’re working closely now with Lego. So now, Sonic is reviving.”
Big IPs to the Big Screen
With the success of Sonic, Sega is thinking of expanding their current IPs to other platforms. Utsumi specifically mentions two big IPs, namely Persona and Yakuza, as possible targets to have adaptations. “We are thinking of reviving other Sega IPs,” he mentions. “There are two big IPs other than Sonic, one is Persona and also our Yakuza titles.”
Both Persona and Yakuza have seen considerable success with their games, with the former selling over nine million copies worldwide with Persona 5 alone, and the latter having a collective twenty-one million units since its inception in 2005. Both IPs have titles that are launching this year, with Persona 5 Tactica on November 17, and Like a Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name which came out recently last November 9. Both franchises also have big releases early 2024 as well. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will be coming out on January 26, and a remake of the third Persona game, Persona 3 Reload, will be released on February 2.
Finally, Utsumi mentions that Sega is looking to go bigger with their franchises. “As I say, we are trying to be in a lot of different categories, different areas like Roblox and movies,” he says. “All these IPs can be somewhere else other than games soon.”
Going Mainstream
Big fans of both the Persona and Yakuza franchises would probably know that this isn’t actually their first rodeo into other media. Persona has numerous anime, movies, and even stage plays to its name. On the other hand, Yakuza has an old and obscure live-action movie and stage play adaptation. What they have in common is that these relatively-unknown media were exclusive to Japan, save for some exceptions like Persona 4 and 5’s anime adaptations that had English dubs. With their recent mainstream success with Sonic, it may be a perfect time to capitalize on that success and bring these IPs to the forefront, as both Persona and Yakuza have the potential to be giants in different platforms as they are both unique and relatable in their own ways.
Sources:
CNBC - Sega Chief Interview
