Key facts
- Sony Group is actively developing original characters to build new intellectual property franchises.
- The company aims to replicate the success of Sanrio's Hello Kitty.
- A dedicated team has been formed to create characters with universal appeal.
- Nemu the Night Owl Bear is a leading candidate character.
- Sony targets $62.8 million in annual sales from new character IPs by 2030.
Sony Group is significantly expanding its efforts to create original characters and develop intellectual property (IP) franchises across media like anime, films, and merchandise, aiming to establish an IP ecosystem akin to that of Sanrio, the creator of Hello Kitty. The company's division, Sony Creative Products (SCP), has formed a dedicated team to identify and cultivate potential hit characters, with a goal of achieving 10 billion yen (approximately $62.8 million) in annual sales from these new IPs by 2030.
One of the leading contenders is Nemu the Night Owl Bear, a character developed in collaboration with Tsumupapa. Nemu, who is depicted as a bear struggling with sleep due to everyday anxieties, has garnered over 1 million followers in a year and is reportedly resonating with audiences internationally, particularly in South Korea. Plans for merchandise and an anime adaptation featuring Nemu are underway.
Sony's ambitious sales target of 10 billion yen per character by 2030 is considerably higher than the typical benchmark of 2-3 billion yen for a hit character in Japan. However, Sony's broad reach across its existing businesses in anime, music, gaming, and film provides numerous avenues for promoting and monetizing new characters. The company has a history of successfully managing IPs for others and revitalizing existing ones, such as Snoopy in Japan, and has also opened the Yurakucho Museum in Tokyo to offer immersive character-related exhibitions.
Historically, Sony has lacked a universally recognized, fully-owned mascot character, unlike competitors such as Nintendo with Mario or Sega with Sonic. While characters like Crash Bandicoot, Sackboy, and Toro Inoue have been associated with PlayStation, none have achieved the global iconic status of Nintendo's or Sega's mascots. SCP's initiative aims to fill this void by creating original characters with broad, international appeal.