[TheGrandMom]

MySpace



So basically, its a campaign to let Sega know we want another Shenmue. The details are at the MySpace link above. I'll be participating. I absolutely loved Shenmue on the DC and would love to see another made in the series on the next gen consoles.

[Susurrus]

Online petitions always fail.

[Durahansolo]

Originally Posted by Susurrus

Online petitions always fail.

IDK Man, Taco Bell brought back Club Chalupas which haven't been around since 2003-04 lol. Seriously though, it was probably way cheaper to bring back Club Chalupas than to get a dev team together to make a new game.

[Feba]

considering that Shenmue was the most expensive game ever made at the time of it's production, and even compared to modern titles it was still hugely expensive, yes. Even hoping for Shenmue III to be produced on the same engine that the original Shenmue used would likely take a significant budget.

anyway, it's not like SEGA doesn't know that there are lots of people out there that love Shenmue. They just realize that giving Sonic so many 'friends' that they take the joke about it becoming an RPG literally gets them more money. Which is really sad, considering the potential of a Shenmue game on Wii (1+2 remade and 3) could have the potential to be hugely potential with casuals, if it's marketed correctly (first interactive movie, virtual novel, living world, etc. Plenty of hooks there that could make a series of 30 second TV spots).

Personally, after the whole Shenmue Online fiasco, I've just told myself that Lan Di was standing behind them in that @$*&ing cave and right after the end of Shenmue II it collapses and they all die, the end.

[TheGrandMom]

I sent peanuts in for Jericho too and we got more episodes that finally wrapped the show up for us. Granted we wanted the show to STAY ON THE instead of having a conclusion but at least we got that.

[ruffrydasean]

TGM, I'm fairly certain Sega doesn't care what their core customers want :/

Hell I still havent played Shenmue II because I couldnt find a Dreamcast Euro Import copy for a decent price. (I felt Microsoft and its "EcksBawks" was blasphemy at the time) Although I'd download it, if it were to become an "Xbox Original"

I miss the Dreamcast, RIP Sega.

[TheGrandMom]

Well I look at it like this, there is no harm in trying. I'd rather have tried and failed than to wonder 'what if'.

[Nazo]

I'd bet the Yakuza engine wouldn't require too much tweaking to get the game up and running, and Yakuza 3 looks great. They should test the waters with a Shenmue I + II port to PS3, see if they can drum up some interest. Won't happen though

[Feba]

just remaking it isn't good enough.

If you're not familiar with Shenmue, they ended the second game on a MASSIVE AND PAINFUL cliffhanger. The end screen practically had "Buy Shenmue 3, please!" written on it.

That was back at least 8 years ago, when the dreamcast was still surviving. It was only published on xbox in North America.

Right now, the pain felt by shenmue fans is comparable to if George Lucas had made Star Wars Eps. 4 and 5, and then right after "Luke... I am your father!" said "meh, I'm not going to finish off that series".

[ruffrydasean]

Good way to put it... They had originally planned 12 Chapters IIRC. I remember reading in previews about this huge castle and this and that. Damn you SEGA, damn you.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

If you're not familiar with Shenmue, they ended the second game on a MASSIVE AND PAINFUL cliffhanger. The end screen practically had "Buy Shenmue 3, please!" written on it.

The ending just felt like you were about to move on to something bigger and more mystical than what you had seen in the first two games.

Then they made a Asia-only MMO of Shenmue. I don't even know what happened with that, but I've heard little about it since then.

Sega is owned by Sammy now, Sammy only cares about what sells. Sega ceased being what it was the day those two merged.

[Susurrus]

If they ported Shenmue I as well, I'd pick up both. I didn't finish Shenmue I, and I no longer have my Dreamcast. Don't want to start II till I finish I, and no that video isn't gonna get it for me.

[Feba]

Originally Posted by Omgwtfbbqkitten

. I don't even know what happened with that,

Luckily, I'm pretty sure that never happened either.

So while we might never have Shenmue 3, at least we don't have to suffer with Shenmue Online.

[Nazo]

Originally Posted by Feba

just remaking it isn't good enough.

No it isn't, but let's face it, neither Shenmue nor its sequel exactly set the world on fire in terms of sales, and the fiasco of not releasing Shenmue II on DC in the states won't have helped matters either. Releasing Shenmue III now would most likely be a commercial disaster because outside of a committed but small group no-one really cares.
Porting the first 2 games to current gen would presumably be comparitively cheap though and could help introduce a whole new audience to the magnificence of Shenmue and hopelly build an audience for part 3.

[Feba]

Here's the problem with your idea. There are two ways to remake it:


1- Simply port the Shenmue 1/2 engine to a modern console, and repackage.

2- Remake Shenmue 1/2 in a modern engine from the ground up, and sell.

The problem with the first one is that people who already have Shenmue are very unlikely to buy it again for basically zero gain, and the graphics for Shenmue have aged. Pretty well, generally speaking, but generally speaking it would not have anywhere near the same impact now; which would mean fewer new buyers as well.

The problem with the second is that it's still not going to do much for old fans, and new fans are very unlikely to make up the HUGE amount of capital that would need to be sunk into a game with the amount of detail and polish that Shenmue has.

Frankly, I think you have a good point about Shenmue 3 having a limited audience without having 1/2 out (although Shenmue 2 on Xbox in North America got around this by including a DVD which summed up the events of the previous game), but a relaunch of Shenmue would almost certainly fail if it didn't include 3.

Personally, I think that the most sensible idea would be to port Shenmue to Wii, where the graphical improvements needed to compete won't be nearly as demanding or costly, there's a larger casual audience for it to appeal to with good marketing. This also has the huge benefit of the pointer, which would be a great fit for the FREE system. The port would need to include the third part, or at least include a chapter past the cave. Chapter two (the boat ride from Japan to China) would also be a nice addition.

It would be a great opportunity to go back and focus on tweaking game problems (DO YOU KNOW WHERE SAILORS HANG OUT? HOW ABOUT A GAME OF LUCKY HIT!) instead of having to spend so much money on the graphics that the game becomes practically a tech demo. It would also be a good idea to remake minor parts of the gameplay, not only to make money on new strategy guides (kekekeke) but to allow old fans to see the series through new glasses-- somewhat like Master Quest for OOT fans. The fighting aspect of the game, although I understand is very good for fighting game fans, could be made more casual friendly, ala Super Smash Bros., to make it more appealing.


Whatever they do, they really ought to do the rest of the story with Shenmue III. The risk is simply too high of it flopping, still leaving fans angry and frustrated by SEGA; not to mention fans that simply might not want to play it at all for fear of getting their hopes up, only to be left out in the cold for another decade. If the game does well, they can always do more games in the style of Shenmue.