Nov 14, 2023 – AKA Virtual’s (CEO Shen Jia, Tokyo, Japan) CEO and Co-founder, Jia Shen, and Co COO, President of Consumer Game and Transmedia of SEGA CORPORATION, Chairman and CEO of SEGA of America, and Chairman of SEGA Europe, Shuji Utsumi, will be speaking at Web Summit 2023 on 15 November 2023 at 11:10am in Lisbon, Portugal (8:10pm in Tokyo, Japan). The topic “How Japan Has Gone Mainstream With Virtual Characters” will explore the phenomenon of Virtual YouTubers (VTubers) that began in recent years and is now thriving globally.
The talk that will last 20 minutes will cover SEGA’s strategy going forward with regard to managing their intellectual property (IPs) outside of their gaming strategy, and AKA Virtual’s involvement in these projects. SEGA is a long-standing IP owner and gaming giant that has many iconic characters well-loved by many.
AKA Virtual, a startup that taps on to motion capture technology to optimize 3D content creation, has helped produce some of SEGA’s recent social media projects. The young startup also recently announced an impressive achievement where one of their male talents, Akemi Nekomachi, has become the most subscribed male VTuber in the world with 1.65 million subscribers on YouTube.
“Virtual Character is another piece with potential to accelerate our Transmedia Strategy at SEGA even further,” said Shuji Utsumi. “Engagement and consumption in the digital world definitely continue to increase, mainly spurred by diversified and ever-growing digital channels. Sonic’s TikTok video series, which is led by SEGA and created by AKA Virtual, recorded 9 million views within 2 months. We continuously explore and harness our untapped potential through collaborations with innovative companies such as AKA Virtual for the next era of entertainment.”
The talk will also welcome a special guest appearance from a virtual character who will be interacting with the Web Summit audience live.
“How Japan Has Gone Mainstream With Virtual Characters”
Time: 11:10am - 11:30am GMT
Date: 15 November 2023 (Wednesday)
Venue: Center Stage, Web Summit 2023
Altice Arena & Fil, Lisbon, Portugal
Speakers: Shuji Utsumi, Co-COO of SEGA CORPORATION, Chairman and CEO of SEGA of America, and Chairman of SEGA Europe
Jia Shen, CEO & Co-Founder of AKA Virtual