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Something Big Is Coming For Sega, But No One Knows What
Something big is on the horizon for Sega according to an insider, but, despite the impending move's rumored enormity, no one can quite figure out quite what it might be. The video game publisher, developer, and former console manufacturer could have virtually anything up its sleeves, and it seems happy to letting curious fans continue speculating.
Most widely known for the iconic video game character Sonic and classic consoles like the Sega Genesis and the ill-fated Dreamcast, the company saw declining sales and popularity during the early 2000s. This caused Sega to drop out of the console wars that were being dominated by PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo and focus instead on producing video games for its former competitors. In recent years, however, Sega has seen an increase in popularity, exemplified best by the mainstream success of the 2020 movie adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog.
In a stream partially translated by Gematsu, Japanese game journalist Zenji Nishikawa shared, "My column in next week's issue of Famistu is crazy. I got a huge scoop," likening likened the size of his insider knowledge to rival that of last year's initial PS5 scoop. Nishikawa accidentally let Sega's name slip when referring to the company's public relations later in the stream, and, when replying to a comment about his slip-up, he coyly confirmed that Sega was indeed involved. Naturally, his mention of a console in relation to Sega prompted many fans to hope for a Dreamcast successor, but Nishikawa said that was not what his article will be about.
Meanwhile, Sega has published two in what seems to be an ongoing series of comical shorts leading up to their announcement on June 4 (which is worth noting to come one day after the company's 60th anniversary). The skits follow a young man named Sega Shiro, played by Maito Fujioka, the eldest son of Hiroshi Fujioka, the actor that played the similar character of Sega Sanshiro to advertise the Sega Saturn in the late 90s. Sega Shiro seems to be obsessed with Sega products, giving fans further hope that the coming reveal will mark the company's return to the console business in some meaningful form.
With more details being released in the coming weeks about the PS5 and Xbox Series X, all signs seem to point towards Sega possibly re-entering the console race just in time for the next generation. Alternatively, with many of these shorts featuring past Sega products, maybe Sega is teaming up with Microsoft or another would-be competitor for something a little more tame but still unprecedented.
