SHENMUE 3!!!!????

Holy crap I just peed my pants a little bit.

Speaking at a talk during the Game Developer Conference today, designer Yu Suzuki said that he thinks Sega is going to let him make Shenmue III. The audience broke into shouts and applause, and then Suzuki abruptly changed topics.

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https://kotaku.com/#!5774625/shenemue-iii-coming

I say they rerelease the first two on LIVE and PSN so that they can finance the third game thus allowing me to finish the trilogy.

wow bring it on love the first two

No way!

I can definitely see them releasing the first two on love or PSN.

If this is true then this is the best gaming news ever for me. Been waiting to get my revenge on Lan Di for years.

This is the full quote from Suzuki today:

"I think Sega will let me make it, but there are budget problems."

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I'm not holding my breath. Yet.

I guess the nearest thing to shenmue are the yakuza games. Would Shenmue sell well in today's industry?

would love this SO MUCH...

but i don't believe it. then again Duke Nukem...

I though budget problems was the issue the whole time. What was the reason they were keeping it back before??

about time!!!

dominishin said:

I though budget problems was the issue the whole time. What was the reason they were keeping it back before??

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Because the first two games bombed liked Crystal Pepsi? Sega, like any profit-conscious publishers, had no interest in further supporting a series that was a major factor in almost bankrupting them.

After the Dreamcast era Sega has never been the same, and for good and bad Shenmue played a huge part in that.

Shenmue is just one of those product that's way ahead of its time. Shenmue basically paved the way for the giant sandbox genre but I guess people back then are just too simple to appreciate it.

It's really sad to see games like GTA taking all the glory and having multiple sequels when it should have been Shenmue.

However, I am glad for this news. I have been waiting ten years for this and I still have my dreamcast with the special edition version of the game.

plasmid303 said:

Because the first two games bombed liked Crystal Pepsi? Sega, like any profit-conscious publishers, had no interest in further supporting a series that was a major factor in almost bankrupting them.

After the Dreamcast era Sega has never been the same, and for good and bad Shenmue played a huge part in that.

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To be fair, Shenmue sold relatively well for a Dreamcast game. Sadly, Shenmue 2 was released on the last days of Dreamcast life and you can't blame it for not doing well. Sega basically left DC for death at that point.

When I heard the news it was the worse day of my life that time. First they killed the Sega Saturn and then the Dreamcast, all in less than three years of their life. Such short but really fun and memorable existance.

I have to admit, even with the technological marvel of PS3 and Xbox360, the games just do not have the same addictive quality that would hook me to the TV screen for 10 hours straight. These days, I can only play a couple of hours before getting bored.

Funny is how Wii is basically the Dreamcast of today. Lots of fun innovative games using peripherals (Samba De Amigo anyone? HOTD...) and it's the least powerful yet the best selling console of this gen.

Shenmue was ahead of it's time but it was also boring as hell. Don't get me wrong, I loved them both. They are more virtual movies then video games and that doesn't sit well with this CoD gamer market we have now.

noisetrigger said:

To be fair, Shenmue sold relatively well for a Dreamcast game. Sadly, Shenmue 2 was released on the last days of Dreamcast life and you can't blame it for not doing well. Sega basically left DC for death at that point.

When I heard the news it was the worse day of my life that time. First they killed the Sega Saturn and then the Dreamcast, all in less than three years of their life. Such short but really fun and memorable existance.

I have to admit, even with the technological marvel of PS3 and Xbox360, the games just do not have the same addictive quality that would hook me to the TV screen for 10 hours straight. These days, I can only play a couple of hours before getting bored.

Funny is how Wii is basically the Dreamcast of today. Lots of fun innovative games using peripherals (Samba De Amigo anyone? HOTD...) and it's the least powerful yet the best selling console of this gen.

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Fair enough, but games routinely sold million copies back then. Even with the reasonable amount the first Shenmue sold across all territories, it was nowhere near enough to recoup the massive development costs. It was part of the reason for Sega's bitter platform-agnostic transformation.

The existence of Shenmue is an anomaly. It's certain that Sega wasn't in the position at the time to invest $50 million into one game, but they did it anyway. I wonder if they hoped Shenmue would take off and sales of Dreamcast would skyrocket. In retrospect it was extremely foolhardy to believe one game could turn their fortunes around.

I agree with everything else you said though. I really do believe a part of my gamer identity died with the Dreamcast. That may sound effusively sentimental and overblown, but there was a certain quality and type of creativity that flourished on the Dreamcast that Sega has progressively forgotten over the years. I really miss those days.

Shropt said:

They are more virtual movies then video games and that doesn't sit well with this CoD gamer market we have now.

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I think the third game could be successful if Sega played their cards right. They should re-release the first two games as an HD collection or on PSN and XBL. Heavy Rain was a success and it was practically an interactive movie. If Sega could market Shenmue 3 as a similar game then I think it could catch on. While I agree that most gamers no longer have as broad tastes in gaming as 10 years ago, I think with the success of DLC adventure titles and games with heavy story elements nowadays, Shenmue could thrive.

plasmid303 said:

I agree with everything else you said though. I really do believe a part of my gamer identity died with the Dreamcast. That may sound effusively sentimental and overblown, but there was a certain quality and type of creativity that flourished on the Dreamcast that Sega has progressively forgotten over the years. I really miss those days.

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Same with me. I grew up on Sega almost more than I did NES. My brother had the Nintendo machines, and I had just about every Sega machine growing up. Best of both worlds, but yes I was indeed very sad when Sega for all intents and purposes died with the Dreamcast. I still have my Saturn and Dreamcast on my shelf, and I'm currently looking for a good Sega Genesis/CD combo so I can play my games again. It's just hard to justify the $$ for a running machine when I can just use an emulator for free.

I think the third game could be successful if Sega played their cards right. They should re-release the first two games as an HD collection or on PSN and XBL. Heavy Rain was a success and it was practically an interactive movie. If Sega could market Shenmue 3 as a similar game then I think it could catch on. While I agree that most gamers no longer have as broad tastes in gaming as 10 years ago, I think with the success of DLC adventure titles and games with heavy story elements nowadays, Shenmue could thrive.

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I agree with all of this.

~~Off topic, but I hate reading rumors that Sega is going to make a comeback with a Dreamcast 2....we all know that this will never happen.

I still own my Dreamcast and Shenmue is one of my favorite game on that platform.

I have played several Yakuza series on PS3. While they are fun and entertaining, they are not a replacement for Shenmue.

Will definitely get it if it is ever released.

Best bet IMO is sell the first 2 on Xbox live and PSN, this way Sega can see just how much this sells or doesn't sell. If it does well enough they can greenlight #3...a Win win for them...Worst case is it flops on live and PSN and they sell a few million, make some $$ off it and never make #3. If They sell like crazy and see there is a good market for it, they make even more by Adding #3 to the series.

Shropt said:

Shenmue was ahead of it's time but it was also boring as hell. Don't get me wrong, I loved them both. They are more virtual movies then video games and that doesn't sit well with this CoD gamer market we have now.

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Saying Shenmue is boring is basically saying games like RDR and GTA are boring. You dictate your own pace and you yourself can choose to progress through the game quickly or take your own sweet time and enjoy the view.

COD games are like Michael Bay movies. Lots of flash and pretty visuals but kinda a hollow experience. Shenmue is like a freaking epic where getting yourself into the Ryo's shoes is the key to the whole experience of the game.

plasmid303 said:

Fair enough, but games routinely sold million copies back then. Even with the reasonable amount the first Shenmue sold across all territories, it was nowhere near enough to recoup the massive development costs. It was part of the reason for Sega's bitter platform-agnostic transformation.

The existence of Shenmue is an anomaly. It's certain that Sega wasn't in the position at the time to invest $50 million into one game, but they did it anyway. I wonder if they hoped Shenmue would take off and sales of Dreamcast would skyrocket. In retrospect it was extremely foolhardy to believe one game could turn their fortunes around.

I agree with everything else you said though. I really do believe a part of my gamer identity died with the Dreamcast. That may sound effusively sentimental and overblown, but there was a certain quality and type of creativity that flourished on the Dreamcast that Sega has progressively forgotten over the years. I really miss those days.

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Sega sadly is one of those companies that have trouble selling million copies games since their Saturn days, I think Virtua Fighter 2 is the only one that did that.

True, Shenmue is one of those crazy projects that thinking back, how the hell did Yu Suzuki even convinced them to approve the project? After Saturn, Sega was in horrible financial shape and yes, the dreamcast project and Shenmue really did killed sega as a console maker.

I guess, after the failure with Saturn, Sega really need a killer app. I mean, one game did turn around a console's fortune a few times before. Segasaturn was outselling PS1 until FF7. Xbox would have been long dead if it wasn't for Halo. Sega would have long lost the 16 bit wars if it wasn't for Sonic.

The lost of Sega in the console wars is the worst thing to happen to the industry. Games are losing their freshness and addictive quality. And I see more cookie cutter games every year using the same old formula. Granted, we see some amazing games from time to time but no one these days churn them out in the same consistency that Sega did back then.

Sega has a rich library of amazing games, Phantasy Star, Panzer Dragoon, Daytona, Space Harriers, Grandia, and countless others but Sega just isn't capitalizing on any of them.

noisetrigger said:

Saying Shenmue is boring is basically saying games like RDR and GTA are boring. You dictate your own pace and you yourself can choose to progress through the game quickly or take your own sweet time and enjoy the view.

COD games are like Michael Bay movies. Lots of flash and pretty visuals but kinda a hollow experience. Shenmue is like a freaking epic where getting yourself into the Ryo's shoes is the key to the whole experience of the game.

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Indeed.