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Consumer Cosmopolitanism through Japanese products: The case of the Yakuza-series

Kilåker, Hampus (2021) COSM40 20211
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
Mukokuseki or borderless marketing has long been a topic within the marketing of Japanese cultural products. On the opposite end, there is the concept of ultra-cultural products and the Yakuza-series by Sega is one of the examples that takes advantage of both. The overarching question posed throughout this paper is: “How has SEGA employed a particular vision of Japan to successfully promote its Yakuza-series in the Western gaming-hubs?”. In order to answer this question, a constructivist and a Consumer Cosmopolitan point of reference is apt. The games themselves were analyzed as part of the Consumer Cosmopolitan trend within gaming, as a medium for virtual tourism. This series is mainly aimed towards an adult male domestic audience and it... (More)
Mukokuseki or borderless marketing has long been a topic within the marketing of Japanese cultural products. On the opposite end, there is the concept of ultra-cultural products and the Yakuza-series by Sega is one of the examples that takes advantage of both. The overarching question posed throughout this paper is: “How has SEGA employed a particular vision of Japan to successfully promote its Yakuza-series in the Western gaming-hubs?”. In order to answer this question, a constructivist and a Consumer Cosmopolitan point of reference is apt. The games themselves were analyzed as part of the Consumer Cosmopolitan trend within gaming, as a medium for virtual tourism. This series is mainly aimed towards an adult male domestic audience and it taps into many borderless concepts, but it places them in a domestic setting. Not many other products have managed this combination and it is interesting how the series illustrates how the promotion of highly cultural products has been changed from low-availability to high-availability products. While many other products possess the same traits, not many have moved away from a relatively niche audience in the Western gaming-hubs makes for an interesting case-study regarding how Consumer Cosmopolitanism has changed within Japanese gaming-products. (Less)
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author
Kilåker, Hampus
supervisor
organization
course
COSM40 20211
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Borderless marketing, Yakuza, Japan, Culture, Cosmopolitanism, Representation
language
English
id
9064966
date added to LUP
2021-09-07 12:04:59
date last changed
2021-09-07 12:04:59
@misc{9064966,
  abstract     = {{Mukokuseki or borderless marketing has long been a topic within the marketing of Japanese cultural products. On the opposite end, there is the concept of ultra-cultural products and the Yakuza-series by Sega is one of the examples that takes advantage of both. The overarching question posed throughout this paper is: “How has SEGA employed a particular vision of Japan to successfully promote its Yakuza-series in the Western gaming-hubs?”. In order to answer this question, a constructivist and a Consumer Cosmopolitan point of reference is apt. The games themselves were analyzed as part of the Consumer Cosmopolitan trend within gaming, as a medium for virtual tourism. This series is mainly aimed towards an adult male domestic audience and it taps into many borderless concepts, but it places them in a domestic setting. Not many other products have managed this combination and it is interesting how the series illustrates how the promotion of highly cultural products has been changed from low-availability to high-availability products. While many other products possess the same traits, not many have moved away from a relatively niche audience in the Western gaming-hubs makes for an interesting case-study regarding how Consumer Cosmopolitanism has changed within Japanese gaming-products.}},
  author       = {{Kilåker, Hampus}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Consumer Cosmopolitanism through Japanese products: The case of the Yakuza-series}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}