Sega Universe Playground to Spotlight Sakura Wars Creator Oji Hiroi at Tokyo Event on August 8, 2026
Sega is staging a free, one-day event in Tokyo this summer — Sega Universe Playground — that will include a two-part live conversation with Oji Hiroi, creator of the Sakura Wars series.
The event takes place Saturday, August 8, 2026, at Shibuya PARCO 10F PBOX STND and runs from 13:00 to 19:00 JST.
Sega says the project is built around the idea of "breaking the screen," bringing classic Sega franchises to audiences through music, visual art, live talks and food.
Oji Hiroi will appear for two scheduled sessions: 14:00–14:45 JST and 16:45–17:30 JST.
Sega's announcement confirmed freelance broadcaster Atsuko Uchida will host the conversations with Hiroi.
The talks coincide with Sakura Wars' 30th anniversary year; the original Sakura Wars debuted on Sega Saturn in 1996 and blended strategy RPG mechanics with visual-novel storytelling and dating-sim elements.
Sakura Wars history and recent activity
Sakura Wars first launched on the Sega Saturn and was later ported to platforms including Dreamcast, Windows PC and PlayStation 2.
The series inspired multiple sequels, though most entries did not receive official Western releases aside from Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love and the 2020 Sakura Wars reboot.
A fan English translation patch for the Sega Saturn original surfaced in 2019, and a patch for Sakura Wars 2 was released in 2025.
Event programming and pop-up store
Beyond Hiroi's talks, Sega Universe Playground will project Treasure's Guardian Heroes on the event space screen and present a student art exhibit by artist SORA inspired by the Sega Saturn era and NiGHTS into dreams....
Food and drink offerings will be themed to Rent A Hero, Streets of Rage, Fantasy Zone and Segagaga in collaboration with On The Corner Shibuya.
Live music programming runs from 18:00–20:40 JST and includes DJ sets and performances influenced by Sega's music.
Confirmed performers listed in Sega's announcement include Knxwledge, DJ Mitsu the Beats, SEQYAMA, KASHI, MPC Girl USAGI and longtime Sega composers Hiroshi "HIRO" Kawaguchi and Takeshi Mitsuyoshi.
A Sega Universe Pop-Up store will operate on Shibuya PARCO's 6th floor from Friday, August 7 through Sunday, August 30, 2026, open daily from 10:00 AM–9:00 PM JST.
The pop-up and the one-day event together underline Sega's push to celebrate legacy IP through live experiences, merchandising and music tied to its classic hardware eras such as the Sega Saturn.
Sega is staging a free, one-day event in Tokyo this summer — Sega Universe Playground — that will include a two-part live conversation with Oji Hiroi, creator of the Sakura Wars series.
The event takes place Saturday, August 8, 2026, at Shibuya PARCO 10F PBOX STND and runs from 13:00 to 19:00 JST.
Sega says the project is built around the idea of "breaking the screen," bringing classic Sega franchises to audiences through music, visual art, live talks and food.
Oji Hiroi will appear for two scheduled sessions: 14:00–14:45 JST and 16:45–17:30 JST.
Sega's announcement confirmed freelance broadcaster Atsuko Uchida will host the conversations with Hiroi.
The talks coincide with Sakura Wars' 30th anniversary year; the original Sakura Wars debuted on Sega Saturn in 1996 and blended strategy RPG mechanics with visual-novel storytelling and dating-sim elements.
Sakura Wars history and recent activity
Sakura Wars first launched on the Sega Saturn and was later ported to platforms including Dreamcast, Windows PC and PlayStation 2.
The series inspired multiple sequels, though most entries did not receive official Western releases aside from Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love and the 2020 Sakura Wars reboot.
A fan English translation patch for the Sega Saturn original surfaced in 2019, and a patch for Sakura Wars 2 was released in 2025.
Event programming and pop-up store
Beyond Hiroi's talks, Sega Universe Playground will project Treasure's Guardian Heroes on the event space screen and present a student art exhibit by artist SORA inspired by the Sega Saturn era and NiGHTS into dreams....
Food and drink offerings will be themed to Rent A Hero, Streets of Rage, Fantasy Zone and Segagaga in collaboration with On The Corner Shibuya.
Live music programming runs from 18:00–20:40 JST and includes DJ sets and performances influenced by Sega's music.
Confirmed performers listed in Sega's announcement include Knxwledge, DJ Mitsu the Beats, SEQYAMA, KASHI, MPC Girl USAGI and longtime Sega composers Hiroshi "HIRO" Kawaguchi and Takeshi Mitsuyoshi.
A Sega Universe Pop-Up store will operate on Shibuya PARCO's 6th floor from Friday, August 7 through Sunday, August 30, 2026, open daily from 10:00 AM–9:00 PM JST.
The pop-up and the one-day event together underline Sega's push to celebrate legacy IP through live experiences, merchandising and music tied to its classic hardware eras such as the Sega Saturn.
