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[yurinka]

The pics of Broshida and Suzuki were because they were getting 'honor' and 'legend' special awards for their carrers in the Spanish Interactive Sciences and Arts Academy.

The guy in the middle that appears with them is the president of the Academ and Gamelab, where both made an speech. Florentino Fernandez (Spanish comedian) was the host of the awards ceremony.

Regarding Shenmue III, Suzuki said in his talk that he would love to do it if he finds the right context and environment. Some fan asked him about funding it using Kickstarter, and he replied that he's investigating the options. Didn't sound really convincing..

Regarding a slide with a "III' using the Shenmue font on it, it was 'a small joke he made the night before', So just trolling.

Yoshida seems like was sleepy again during a speech

It was Tim Schaffer conference, which wasn't really good. Had a party the night before. Instead he didn't sleep during Inafune's speech. He has a good taste I didn't spot Yoshida during Suzuki's speech.

Both Yoshida and Suzuki were often walking together with Novarama's (Spanish SCE dev) CEO around Gamelab. The strange thing is that Inafune weren't with them.

 

[KageMaru]

While I would love for this to be a sign of good news coming, I know better by now =(

Still want it to happen, but I can't get my hopes up just from this.

 

[Hag]

Keep joking with my heart yu ):

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

I'm pretty surprised this interview with Suzuki hasn't been posted yet...it's really worth a read:

Suzuki: "If circumstances and opportunities are right, I'm ready to create Shenmue 3."

We talked with Yu Suzuki at Gamelab today, and of course the subject came up regarding Shenmue 3, the long-talked about sequel to the Dreamcast adventure-RPG series that has been left unfinished since the last release, Shenmue II, in 2001.

"I'd rather say everybody which I have met, everybody has asked me about Shenmue 3," he told us when we asked how often does he get asked about returning to the Sega RPG. So we asked him what would need to happen for the game to become a reality.

"I made Shenmue - the first chapter - fourteen years ago, so it has been a long time. But still people remember that and they ask for Shenmue 3 too, so it's a very, very nice thing for me. So if the circumstances and opportunity are all right, I'm sure I'm ready to create that."

We wondered what he might be able to do with new tech and the opportunities that'd offer.

"Well, graphics and sound have progressed very much," he responded. "But especially the capacity of the CPU treatment has made very much progress, so I think it's the main point now in advance; how can we introduce AI so that the playability of the game can get better."

We also asked what new things he'd like to do with storytelling.

"So, I have made until Shenmue 1 and Shenmue 2, but I have prepared until [Shenmue] 11, chapter 11. So if I want to continue the game, it will take a long time - because I have 9 chapters left. So I think I will have to change that construction composing the chapters, by dividing [spreading] many in two or three parts," later stating the series would end with Shenmue 4.

It may be a continuing pipe dream for fans that the Shenmue series would continue, let alone be given the chance to be finished properly, but Suzuki remains thankful by the continued support the franchise receives.

"I would say like this: Thank you very much for the great support for Shenmue! Reaction from Japan and Europe is a little different. Here I can feel that they appreciate it, and I would like to repeat: Thank you very much!"

We then asked whether Inafune-san had give him any advice on the potential of a Kickstarter success? "It's possible that we go for the crowd funding," he replied. "But now we're in a phase of research. I had the occasion to share dinner with Inafune-san and we were talking about it."

 

[Elija2]

Shenmue confirmed

I kinda like Shenmue but I gotta admit this is hilarious.

 

[AmyS]

I'm pretty surprised this interview with Suzuki hasn't been posted yet...it's really worth a read:

Suzuki: "If circumstances and opportunities are right, I'm ready to create Shenmue 3."

Interesting.

I think if Shenmue 3 happens, it'll happen on PS4 and possibly also PC, platforms with the largest user bases. For console, it'll be PS4-exclusive.

I'll take a wild guess and go out on a limb here. If it happens, it would start as a Kickstarter funded game. To gauge reaction & demand. Assuming the funding goals are met & surpassed, then watch Sony come in with greater resources, with that having been "the plan" all along.

I don't know.

 

[openrob]

You know what, if it was a kickstarter project, that would be great as I could pledge extra and get some sweeeeeet perks.

Would happily do so, and they would easily get more money from me than if I just bought the game.

 

[Amagon]

I'm pretty surprised this interview with Suzuki hasn't been posted yet...it's really worth a read:

Suzuki: "If circumstances and opportunities are right, I'm ready to create Shenmue 3."

 

[KojiKnight]

So... does anyone have solid sales figures for Shenmue 2 (either version, any region)? I tried all of the usual places and came up with nothing

 

[jett]

Best thing they could do is re-imagine the whole series as a graphic novel adventure game.

But Sega doesn't really care about that tho

 

[Spaghetti]

Best thing they could do is re-imagine the whole series as a graphic novel adventure game.

nah. a big part of shenmue's appeal was the freedom and the gameplay variety. i really don't think that should be thrown to the side.

 

[nssdigitalchumps]

there's no real point making a distinction between sega west and sega east at this point, seeing how sega west didn't really make any meaningful actions towards righting the ship.

Are you serious? Kalinske tried to tell Sega of Japan that releasing the Saturn was a mistake. He washed his hands of it by resigning before the launch, though they kept him on briefly through the beginning of its life.

Every decision from the Saturn until the death of the Dreamcast was made by Sega of Japan. They held the purse strings, therefore they could dictate how things went. They rushed the Saturn. They killed relationships by making its launch exclusive to only four retailers without telling other retailers. They made a lot of bad decisions quickly and without consulting Sega of America on it.

The entire spiral of Sega of America in the 90s was a result of Sega of Japan's decision-making.

 

[bryanee]

Christ just give me HD versions of Shenmue 1 and 2 on the PS4.

 

[SpecialAgentZ]

The best thing they could do is release Shenmue 1+2 HD on Steam right now.

 

[border]

nah. a big part of shenmue's appeal was the freedom and the gameplay variety. i really don't think that should be thrown to the side.

Then Shenmue 3 will never happen.

I don't see how they could continue as anything other then a story and diaglogue driven adventure game, like the kind TellTale Games makes.

Anything else would simply be too expensive.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

bwahaha, nicely done

I didn't even think anything of that post until this one. Damn

 

[Synth]

If they successfully make a third shenmue and it still sells terribly can Shenmue fans finally admit the series isn't that good and their excuses for the first 2 games selling so bad no longer hold water?

Hey guys, now that Wipeout and F-Zero no longer sell, are you all ready to admit they were always shit?...

Jesus...

I don't want to deny you guys the game you love

Actually you do. Saying that it seeing any funding at the expense of all the other shit that doesn't yet exist would "suck balls", is basically saying that you'd rather deny us the game we love.

I don't get why every Shenmue thread has so many posts the likes of yours and KojiKnight's. You know how many The Last Guardian threads I've entered to tell those that are enthusiastic for the game, and liked Ico/SoTC how much I don't give two shits about it? None.. because what's the fucking point, really?

 

[HueyFreeman]

Best thing they could do is re-imagine the whole series as a graphic novel adventure game.

But Sega doesn't really care about that tho

What?

This is a terrible idea, it's completely contrary to what makes Shenmue special, which is exploring a detailed world.

 

[Past]

Does anyone know what the Shenmue team is doing these days? Do they still even work for Sega?

 

[Stimpack]

Don't stop believin'!

 

[fvng]

pin that blame on the sega cd, 32x, and saturn. not shenmue.

shenmue was a front-heavy investment that would have paid for itself by the first or second sequel, if the plug had not been pulled on the dreamcast by sega

Uh no you can still blame Shenmue, it was the most expensive video game ever made at its time and it flopped hard. Saturn was a success just not in the west.

 

[IrishNinja]

Best thing they could do is re-imagine the whole series as a graphic novel adventure game.

But Sega doesn't really care about that tho

What?

This is a terrible idea, it's completely contrary to what makes Shenmue special, which is exploring a detailed world.

yeah, i know some just want the ending but really, i don't want disc 2 of xenogears.

Uh no you can still blame Shenmue, it was the most expensive video game ever made at its time and it flopped hard. Saturn was a success just not in the west.

uh no you can still blame Sega hemorrhaging for many years before that, seriously

 

[Synth]

Uh no you can still blame Shenmue, it was the most expensive video game ever made at its time and it flopped hard. Saturn was a success just not in the west.

Sure you can still blame Shenmue. It's a bit like performing an autospy and blaming a broken finger rather than the gunshot wound through the brain though. Shenmue was something Sega was depending on to reverse their fortunes. It may not have done it, but it wasn't what wrote their fortunes in the first place.

 

[openrob]

Does anyone know what the Shenmue team is doing these days? Do they still even work for Sega?

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_AM2

 

[tass0]

What a troll

 

[sandkiller]

Possible Shenmue III confirmation?!

Where's that gif from??

 

[fvng]

Sure you can still blame Shenmue. It's a bit like performing an autospy and blaming a broken finger rather than the gunshot wound through the brain though. Shenmue was something Sega was depending on to reverse their fortunes. It may not have done it, but it wasn't what wrote their fortunes in the first place.

Shenmue's $70 million budget is not tantamount to a broken finger. That was a huge blow to Sega whether you want to acknowledge that or not.

uh no you can still blame Sega hemorrhaging for many years before that, seriously

Yes I know, it was a multi pronged issue, though it would still be foolish to ignore Shenmue's role in their enormous financial losses in the early 00s

 

[Synth]

Shenmue's $70 million budget is not tantamount to a broken finger. That was a huge blow to Sega whether you want to acknowledge that or not.

a) Apparently it wasn't $70m (Yu Suzuki says $47m).
b) That money wouldn't have killed a 'healthy' Sega. Losing far more money than that for years on end killed Sega, and the consoles/add-ons prior to the Dreamcast, along with the arcade industry dying did far more to place Sega at deaths door than Shenmue ever did.

Sega was already dying pre-Shenmue, and would have been in a comparable position even if they hadn't created it. They would not have been in a comparable position had they handled to transition from the 16bit era in a way that didn't entail making the dumbest possible choice at every turn.

 

[Jinko]

Kick starter Shunmue 3 :O:O:O:O

Train tickets on sale again !!

 

[Synth]

Kick starter Shunmue 3 :O:O:O:O

Train tickets on sale again !!

They should just put the tickets for the official Shenmue Hype Train as the $1000 tier. That train would be so full of hype that we'd probably end up derailing it.

 

[Hours Left]

O_O

*shakes violently*

 

[_woLf]

I really don't know why Suzuki does this. Cruel and unusual punishment

Just fucking announce it already...

 

[Niwa]

Could a mod please edit the thread title if this was just a joke? ;(

 

[Magwik]

Where's that gif from??

Kill La KIll

 

[ArchersOfAgincourt]

Holy shi... I'm hyperventilating. Gotta work on some deep breathing exercises.

 

[sandkiller]

Kill La KIll

Thanks.

 

[elektrixx]

I can see it now next E3. They give us this again, put Shenmue in front of it, then split up the III to become I & II.

"These games have a cult following just like Vib Ribbon... anyway, here's Killzone."

 

[Spaghetti]

Are you serious? Kalinske tried to tell Sega of Japan that releasing the Saturn was a mistake. He washed his hands of it by resigning before the launch, though they kept him on briefly through the beginning of its life.

Every decision from the Saturn until the death of the Dreamcast was made by Sega of Japan. They held the purse strings, therefore they could dictate how things went. They rushed the Saturn. They killed relationships by making its launch exclusive to only four retailers without telling other retailers. They made a lot of bad decisions quickly and without consulting Sega of America on it.

The entire spiral of Sega of America in the 90s was a result of Sega of Japan's decision-making.

maybe i should rephrase what i was saying

sega west failed to avert the death spiral. they failed in their own way and ultimately now, over a decade later, there's not really much point of making a distinction between the two different failures. sega east were pigheaded, sega west failed to show them the error of their ways.

Then Shenmue 3 will never happen.

I don't see how they could continue as anything other then a story and diaglogue driven adventure game, like the kind TellTale Games makes.

Anything else would simply be too expensive.

uh, no? a lot of what made shenmue expensive at the time were new technologies that are entirely commonplace and easily done today. there's really no excuse to remove that and supplant the story onto the telltale type of gameplay that just wouldn't work with the mostly linear narrative of shenmue.

Uh no you can still blame Shenmue, it was the most expensive video game ever made at its time and it flopped hard. Saturn was a success just not in the west.

"saturn was a success just not in the combined huge territories of north america and europe"

this is exactly what you're saying. saturn failed in a huge way. shenmue was one of the best selling titles on the dreamcast, the initial investment in shenmue was to develop the tools to create multiple games and make a profit after the first/second sequel, etc, etc. people have already beaten me to the punch on this one. shenmue is a scapegoat for sega's monumental failings with the megadrive/genesis add-ons and the saturn.

 

[eso76]

So, do we know what was said during the panel or is this slide all there is ?

 

[Famassu]

Then Shenmue 3 will never happen.

I don't see how they could continue as anything other then a story and diaglogue driven adventure game, like the kind TellTale Games makes.

Anything else would simply be too expensive.

Yakuza survives as a Japan exclusive series. They could just make a Shenmue with the same formula. Shenmue 3 might be a bit bigger, but I don't think the budget would be anything too crazy.

 

[Kimppis]

We don't know if that is true or not, no one can know for sure if it was true or not. Shenmue 1 and 2 didn't sell great on Dreamcast, and it didn't sell great on X-box either. You can say it was because of X and Y, but those are just excuses... No one knows exactly how it would have sold under ideal circumstances.

Shenmue actually sold over 1 million copies and it was one of the best selling games on the system. It looks to me that most people think it sold like 10k copies or something. The budget was the issue, so I'm not saying it didn't flop at all.

Today they should just set their budget accordingly. I'm sure Shenmue 3 would sell atleast 100k+ units. Shenmue is a cult classic and its status as a extremely expensive and groundbreaking title is more or less well known among enthusiasts. Shenmue 2 still sold like 200-300k (if I remember correctly), when DC was already dead (and no NA release even though it was DC's most important region) and MS just sent it to die.

 

[SenjutsuSage]

Possible Shenmue III confirmation?!

LOL!

 

[BouncyFrag]

So if this happens does it mean I have to play shenmue 2?

 

[Kimppis]

So if this happens does it mean I have to play shenmue 2?

Play it anyway. Now. It's a great (no, amazing) sequel, a lot better than the first game, imo. The cliffhanger ending is... painful, though. Without Shenmue 3, that is.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

Thanks for the update. So it was just trolling


-_-

Interesting.

I think if Shenmue 3 happens, it'll happen on PS4 and possibly also PC, platforms with the largest user bases. For console, it'll be PS4-exclusive.

I'll take a wild guess and go out on a limb here. If it happens, it would start as a Kickstarter funded game. To gauge reaction & demand. Assuming the funding goals are met & surpassed, then watch Sony come in with greater resources, with that having been "the plan" all along.

I don't know.

I wouldn't count on that. I can see MS paying for this too after Shenmue won that most wanted by gamers poll.

It's kinda cool seeing all this buzz about it again in the media, but realistically I wonder how the game would fare in this modern landscape. I get a feeling this will eventually be a megaton drop and then a megabomba in the end. They should probably test the waters with an HD collection.

 

[nssdigitalchumps]

maybe i should rephrase what i was saying

sega west failed to avert the death spiral. they failed in their own way and ultimately now, over a decade later, there's not really much point of making a distinction between the two different failures. sega east were pigheaded, sega west failed to show them the error of their ways.

Sega West had no real power. Sega West was an extension of Sega East, which meant it was an arm attached to a body that controlled it.

I do understand what you're saying, I just don't agree with it.

 

[Nightengale]

I wouldn't count on that. I can see MS paying for this too after Shenmue won that most wanted by gamers poll.

We shouldn't count on anything.

I continue to have hope (but not believe). Realistically, we'll have this same conversation 10 years later.

In fact, if I were put any money on someone funding Shenmue, it won't be MS or Sony... it'll be Nintendo.

 

[Sectorseven]

I'm kind of expecting to see something like Harmonix kickstarter, where Sony will back it only if the fans pony up x amount.

 

[Nightengale]

I'm kind of expecting to see something like Harmonix kickstarter, where Sony will back it only if the fans pony up x amount.

How much will it cost? 20 million?

In all honesty, I'd say Kickstarter is the probably the least of the problem. Convincing SEGA to forfeit the opportunity cost of developing Game X as opposed to Shenmue 3 will probably be the bigger hurdle. ( though contracting out development to an external studio is a viable option, but on that front... how many developers in Japan can do an open-world game justice? )

To me, the logistical nightmare of rebooting this franchise, allocating the development resources, rebuilding everything from scratch, and finding a way to not make it a complete financial disaster is what makes me think that Shenmue 3 will continue to be a fool's dream. A dream is free, and I'm fine as a fool, but I won't shed tears if 10 years pass by and we still don't get Shenmue 3.

 

[border]

uh, no? a lot of what made shenmue expensive at the time were new technologies that are entirely commonplace and easily done today. there's really no excuse to remove that and supplant the story onto the telltale type of gameplay that just wouldn't work with the mostly linear narrative of shenmue.

What current low budget or mid-budget games are there that currently accomplish what Shenmue attempted?

Gone Home jumps to mind, but that's just a single house with no NPCs. Attempting to scale towards a huge interactive city full of unique locales requires tons of voiceovers, animations, unique models, etc, etc.

I'm kind of expecting to see something like Harmonix kickstarter, where Sony will back it only if the fans pony up x amount.

Sony refused to fund Amplitude - hence the Kickstarter. I'm not sure why they would put money behind an IP they don't even own.