Sega opens 60th anniversary website, reveals Sega Shiro mascot character

Go Sega

I said that we shouldn’t have gotten our hopes up. It appears that Sega’s mysterious teaser – that many people thought was suggesting a new Virtua Fighter entry – was just teasing the opening of , celebrating the long-time publisher’s 60th anniversary.

The new site – emblazoned with the mantra “GO SEGA” – looks at the timeline of the legendary company, who have been providing players the world over with great tech and awesome games for decades. A message from Sega chairman Haruki Satomi speaks of the publisher’s determination to continue its legacy into the next generation and beyond.

“This year, sixty years will have passed since Nihon Goraku Bussan Co. Ltd., the predecessor of Sega, was established on June 3, 1960. We are indebted to everyone who has patronized the Sega Group for many years, and would like to express our deep gratitude to all of you,” said Satomi. “We want to astonish the world with breath-taking experiences that no one in the world has ever imagined. We want to be a company that continues to provide inspirational experiences to everyone in the new world of the future… The key message of the 60th anniversary, ‘GO SEGA,’ expresses such aspirations.”

As for the silhouetted figure in the original teaser, it appears that this is “Sega Shiro,” a new mascot character for the company. Essentially a younger version of ’90s marketing star Segata Sanshiro, Sega Shiro is even portrayed by Maito Fujioka – the son of Segata Sanshiro performer Hiroshi Fujioka. Sega Shiro debuts in and video, which you can check out below.

Here’s hoping that the next 60 years brings us even more Sega goodness… and Virtua Fighter 6.

[Gematsu]