Kazza
Member
Ok folks, this is it! Ever since the 2015 E3 reveal, we've only got a smattering of information about this game, from badly translated French/Chinese/Japanese interviews, to work in progress "trailers" with the facial expressions removed. It's been a weird mix of weak kickstarter updates and amateur marketing efforts. Recently though, things have been looking up, with a glossy front page exclusive article in Edge Magazine, which gave plenty of new info about gameplay mechanics and such. Today, the proper marketing campaign is due to begin in earnest, with a gameplay trailer at Magic Monaco.
WTF is Magic Monaco and why is Shenmue 3 being showcased there?
Monaco Anime Game International Conferences (MAGIC) is an annual open event organised by Shibuya Productions in Monte Carlo’s Grimaldi Forum. The one-day event is dedicated to several worlds – manga, comics, animation, video games and pop culture.
Shibuya Productions have been heavily involved in Shenmue 3 from the very beginning (its CEO, Cedric Biscay, is a co-producer of the game), so it's not surprising that it was chosen as the place for the big reveal. Sometimes, it has seemed that Shenmue 3 has been used to promote Magic Monaco rather than the other way round, but given the instrumental role the company has played in Shenmue's revival, they probably deserve to share a little of the limelight.
What can we expect to see?
Here is the schedule:
We have been promised a trailer featuring gameplay, and apparently "selected people" will actually get to see the game in action, so we should get plenty of first hand impressions. I would imagine the conference itself will reveal some new details as well. As you can see, there's also "Shibuya Productions Crazy Time with Cedric Biscay" to, er, look forward to...
When is it happening?
Rather than mess about with time zones etc, someone has gone to the trouble of producing this cool countdown clock. I can't find trace of any livestream, so we'll have to wait until someone posts news to Youtube/Twitter etc.
After all the hype and waiting (almost 20 years in the case of the hardcore Shenmue fans), we should all have a much better idea of what this game will be like by the end of today.