SEGA has been rolling out a new ad campaign in Japan for the company’s 60th anniversary, cleverly depicted as “GO SEGA” since “60” and “GO” look so similar in the SEGA logo font. The star of the campaign is Maito, the real life son of Hiroshi Fujioka, the actor who played Segata Sanshiro during the Saturn era. Maito plays Segashiro, whose catchphrase “It’s a SEGA” sounds a lot like “Segashiro”.
Previous ads just had Segashiro walking around spouting his catchphrase, but this latest ad really goes all out on fan service and Segata Sanshiro lore.
While not officially translated by SEGA, Gematsu has a great article translating the ad. The ad kicks off with Segashiro showcasing SEGA’s many innovations:
Schoolgirl: “Sega Shiro, is that a Switch?”
Sega Shiro: “It’s a Sega!” (Game Gear, released in 1990.)
Schoolgirl: “Sega Shiro, are those sunglasses?”
Sega Shiro: “It’s a Sega!” (3D Glasses, released in 1987.)
Schoolgirl: “Is that a backpack?”
Sega Shiro: “It’s a Sega!” (Sega Saturn, released in 1994.)
But when he is asked about his white gi, he breaks down and reveals his father trained him right up until Segata Sanshiro stopped a missile (Sony’s?) from hitting SEGA’s Japan HQ as they debuted the Dreamcast. Segashiro still wears his father’s gi over his shoulders to remind him of the sacrifice Segata made to protect SEGA’s legacy.
The twist is that a masked man with a black gi named Sega Hatan Shiro has appeared and is threatening SEGA! The name is a play on “Sega Saturn” and “Hatan”, which means “Bankruptsy” in Japan. Fans are speculating that Sega Hatan Shiro is in fact Hiroshi Fujioka, and the campaign could be building up to the return of Segata Sanshiro with his son as his sidekick. Whatever the endgame, we are happy to see the oddball Segata Sanshiro story continue!
Ad:
This is actually… awesome! Good job Sega!
2 commercials and no games to market?
This commercial series is maybe 20 years to late.
There’s rumoured to be at least 3 minimum in the run up to June 3rd which is when the reveal will be made public. And then a following series after that.
As it says on the loading screen of Virtue Fighter remix “patience, grasshopper”.
good news about panzer dragoon remake: https://www.panzerdragoonlegacy.com/news/some-of-the-panzer-dragoon-remake-v1-dot-3-patch-details-have-been-revealed?fbclid=IwAR3bxllUo4kNVvYo2OTNNpKCg74au60YmhDwEt75CqDB_esNkcL-_xb-puQ
Is the Panzer Dragoon Legacy website a revised version of that Art of Panzer Dragoon site that used to be up? I can’t find that anymore, and I’d really like to get my hands on those art resources.
This is simply Brilliant.
SEGA respecting its home hardware heritage again.