Sega’s new colognes make you smell like a Yakuza or, uh, Sonic

Sega is known for publishing several iconic video game series, but the brand is branching out to a new and unexpected product: cologne. I have to admit, I never thought I needed gamer cologne, but on the other hand — wouldn’t it be nice to smell like Kiryu from the Yakuza franchise, or uh... Sonic the Hedgehog?

There are currently three colognes, each created by Numskull Designs. The “Bourbon and Smoke” cologne, inspired by Yakuza, has fragrance notes of ancient oak, cedarwood, beeswax imbued with smoky bourbon, leathery rose, and pimiento. It’s described as a “deep and mysterious smell,” and it sounds pretty appealing.

Fans of the Shenmue games might prefer the “Tobacco and Gold” cologne, which has notes of cardamom, bergamot, golden tobacco, orris, sage, patchouli and is designed to smell “rebellious and addictive.”

Last, but definitely not least, is the Sonic fragrance. This is meant to be less what Sonic smells like, I assume, because the product description just says that Sonic gave this his “seal of approval.” The cologne has notes of fresh citrus, grapefruit zest, lemon and lime, melon fade, leather, suede, cedar, and “an ocean breeze.”

It’s always interesting to see the twists and turns of official video game merchandise. Sometimes it’s some nice apparel, or a statue, and sometimes it’s something a little more out-of-the-box, like a cologne. With the holidays coming up, you might be looking for a gift, and if you know someone who wants a Sonic-approved smell, this is probably the best place to start.

Anyway, the colognes are not the strangest cross-over that Sega has done; recently, Kiryu showed up as a playable character in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania.