Sega to Open Official Store in Summer 2025 in the Same Building as Nintendo Tokyo - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 03 November 2024 / 2,308 Views
Sega transmedia boss Justin Scarpone at Gamescom Asia speaking with VideoGamesChronicle announced the company will be opening an official store in Tokyo, Japan in Shibuya’s Parco department complex.
This is the same building that has Nintendo Tokyo, a Pokémon Center, and the official Capcom store.
Another Sega store will also open in Shanghai, China via partner company, according to Scarpone.
"One of the core things about our transmedia team is we are really focused on elevating and strengthening the Sega brand," said Scarpone. "Our portfolio is very broad, but the common thread is the Sega brand. Sega already has a surprising amount of fandom as a brand, and we need to look after those fans and offer new experiences to them, while putting the stamp of Sega on it more proudly."
He added, "If you go to retail today, you don’t see Sega enough. For example, we’re opening a Sega store next summer in [Tokyo’s] Parco. There will be a Sega store. We’re also going to be doing a similar project in Shanghai, where we’ll have a store there as well via a partner.
"It’s really exciting and we need to do a lot more of that, because Sega is a consumer brand that is surprisingly not in front of consumers enough. Sonic is, but Sega isn’t. That’s one of 35 things I’m working on right now!"
Scarpone's goal is to replicate the success Sega has seen with the Sonic the Hedgehog brand for its other franchises, like Persona and Like A Dragon.
"My sights are set on trying to compete with the best the Hollywood studios when it comes to managing IP, because I think if we strive to reach that level of excellence, we should do pretty well," he said. "When I worked for Disney, Sega were my licensees, so I’d had a long relationship with the executive team. But what shouted out to me after I joined as a reason why it’s grown so much [outside of video games] over the last few years were good decisions around partnerships.
He added, "[That includes] Paramount and Netflix, which has really allowed us to reach a broader audience. But also other things like Roblox, which has blown out our reach with younger demographics in most key territories.
"It’s a combination of these multiplatform approaches to getting the IP out there in the case of Sonic, which then feeds the consumer products business.
"I think our core team, particularly in Burbank who were leading that over the past five years with the film and streaming deals, and driving the consumer product business for Sonic, are a key reason why we are where we are. Now I’m coming in and trying to replicate that in other territories, but also blow it out across our library of IP, which is the logical next phase."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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