Sega revenues rise to $2.7bn

Sega has hired former Disney and Scopely executive Justin Scarpone to lead its transmedia strategy.

Sega has appointed former Disney and Scopely executive Justin Scarpone as executive vice president and head of its newly established Global Transmedia Group.

SEGA has announced the appointment of Justin Scarpone, former executive of The Walt Disney Company and Scopely, as executive vice president and head of Global Transmedia Group, effective April 1. The establishment of a Global Transmedia Group will allow SEGA to advance its transmedia strategy across its portfolio of intellectual property, such as Persona, Like a Dragon, Angry Birds, and more in the coming years.

Sega executives have suggested that competition with Super Mario Bros. Wonder hurt the sales of Sonic Superstars when it was first released. The latest 2D iteration of the classic franchise, featuring a speedy hedgehog, was launched last year to average reviews and notably poor sales. Sonic Superstars managed to replicate much of the old-school gameplay of the series but seemingly failed to wow critics or fans, and this translated to a disappointing launch.

Sonic Superstars released in October last year, delivering the first new sidescrolling game in the series since Sonic Mania, though it hasn’t performed the way Sega would have expected it to. Shotly after the game’s release, the company revealed that the game had seen “a slightly weaker start than anticipated”, attributing that partly to the fact that the game had released in a particularly busy period that also saw the release of the likes of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, and many others.

Sega executives have implied that Super Mario Bros Wonder was responsible for Sonic Superstars selling fewer copies than expected.

A well-known Sega leaker has corroborated a recent report claiming the Switch 2 is targeting a March 2025 release. They also offered some additional insights into how Nintendo handled the widely reported internal delay of the Switch successor.

Unity released its fourth quarter full-year financial earnings for 2023 yesterday, which saw a jump in revenue and decrease in net losses both in its Q4 and FY 2023 results.

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A prominent Sega leaker has revealed more information regarding the upcoming Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio titles, stating that there are two games in development that will be pursuing the live-service route. Sega had announced that these two classic franchises were getting brand-new titles during The Game Awards 2023, along with a brief overview of the two titles' gameplay. The revival of these IPs is a part of a bigger strategy for Sega to re-imagine these older properties for new audiences.

Sega announced at The Game Awards in December that Crazy Taxi was one of five (and perhaps more) classic properties that was getting a grand revival, and though the publisher has doles out nothing but the briefest of details on the game since then, it’s clear that the game is being treated as a significant, flagship project.

SEGA is cooking a new Crazy Taxi game, among several other reboots or revivals. While little information is known about this rebooted arcade driving outing, an interview with its recently established Sapporo studio reveals it’s contributing to the project, which it describes as a AAA title.