1 - My first and foremost desire for any Shenmue game - that wonderful sense of granular, intimate detail and verisimilitude.

2 - Slow paced, thoughtful gameplay and world discovery.

3 - Irrespective of how brief the actual narrative is, enough enjoyable and engrossing diversions, time sinks, and activities to make my time in this world feel worth it.

4 - Jobs

5 - Day night cycles and opening/closing businesses.

If they can nail all of that, everything else will just be gravy for me. Also I hate to say it and hope I don't offend, but as someone who's actually on the autistic spectrum, since this is something I keep seeing A LOT online these days, can we maybe try to refrain from using "autistic" as a general descriptor for anything we consider "derpy?" As a personal favor if nothing else? Much thanks.

Just saw that flyby footage. You know, this one. https://youtu.be/mY3goVYBrOA

Annnnd... I'm dead. The progress made in such a short period is unreal, and the feels are already there. It's really happening. It's really, actually happening.

I hope when the time comes, the media doesn't go into a total blitz about the trial's quality/polish as indication for the final product to bad mouth it like with mighty no. 9, but knowing the media... :-(

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

They will. We all know they will. We should all be prepared to defend the game - yet again - when that happens. Because the gaming press is subservient to its readers/viewers, and the loudest among them don't seem able to do this:

http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww74/Vamphaery2/ezgif-4270045474_zpsodimmuin.gif

I wouldn't support it. Yu - or a Yu protege with profound passion for Yu's vision - are prerequisites for my support.

Ask Huber: how long did it take you to recover from your initial (and very public) response to the reveal of Shenmue 3. Because I knew it took me several weeks, meditation, mediCAtion, and the passing of a few kidney stones, before I calmed down again. (Not exaggerating.)

Yeah definitely look up all the reactions to the announcement. Sincerely, legitimately moving and reassuring on a profound level they were lol.

While perhaps not the overwhelming success we all hoped it would be, let's put things into perspective. We've raised an additional 271,687 so far via PayPal, which has added rag doll reactions to the game's combat system, and has no doubt helped pay for a lot of coffee, dinners, and just plain work hours.

I feel compelled to say a hearty THANK-YOU to my fellow Shenmue fans who have made that happen, and who continue to support the game going forward. When this thing finally exists and is in our hands... it will be because we gave a damn.

Thank-you so much for your efforts at translating these. Awesome interviews.

Nah, there's no conspiracy. Just alot of bias that doesn't get applied to other games (even other crowdsourced games.) It doesn't bother me too much, but it's definitely an ongoing thing, especially the misrepresentation of facts. But that's okay.

As for the game itself... I couldn't be more positive lol. We're getting Shenmue III! What's more positive than that?

Honestly, I don't care if all it does it buy the devs some lunches and coffees. If that's what it takes to get them through development, so be it.

As for promoting it... I feel like I did everything I could and spent every ounce of energy I had on it. Real life problems intervened and I had to spend less time on it than I would have liked. (Hence my being scarce.) But I still take the time to tell people about it on a personal basis, and continue to donate when able.

Every little bit helps. That philosophy is how we got it Kickstarted after all.

Thank-you as always Sononshee & Snoop for all your updates, passion, and observations.

^ I somehow thought you were an oldschool member from the good old Dojo days :lol:

I wish! Lol. I was always obsessively passionate about Shenmue, but somehow... I never discovered these communities for it existed until the KS happened! I guess it's because I was only introduced to the internet for the first time via the Dreamcast (my first two years online were spent typing with a controller lmao) and after the system died and Shenmue 2 went to xbox and then nothing happened... I just assumed, heartbreakingly, that it was dead. And at that time, the idea of internet fan communities were just a total non-sequitur to me. Never occurred to me. The internet was such a new experience for me.

And then once I became more net and tech savvy, it just never occurred to me to look. I figured Shenmue was just this niche thing that I and some of my real life friends adored but that most had forgotten. So I just went about replaying it every few years, along with Skies of Arcadia, and went about my life lol.

Then the KS happened and I discovered Twitter (not being on social media prior to that is likely another reason for my ignorance lol - I'm just not a willfully social individual) and through it, both this site and Team Yu. And joined up immediately. Feel like I really missed out. But at least I have the satisfaction of knowing I did literally everything I could to promote and support the campaign.

Do any of the proceeds go to S3 development?

Good interview. I think the pragmatism of all involved actually makes success more likely rather than less. And we know Yu is legendarily good at managing budgets and making the best possible use of them. The question for me is not whether a good Shenmue game will come out of development with the budget they have, but rather how it will be received in the gaming media. Like it or not, the gaming media dictates whether a game just does "okay," or breaks through and becomes a huge hit.

Fortunately, a game like Shenmue 3 doesn't need to sell millions upon millions of copies in order to be profitable, because of the structure of their budget and how funds were obtained. And because of Sony's willingness to essentially take the physical distribution hit entirely on PS4. All of that cannot be understated in terms of how important they are for what kinds of numbers the game likely has to do to be profitable.

And with digital distribution, we've seen games sell a few hundred thousand copies and go on to become very profitable, and even launch franchises. I have great optimism Shenmue 3 will do exactly that. Especially since I'm sure the game will be much more accessible to newcomers than Shenmue 1 & 2 (whether we want that ourselves, or not, it's essential for the future of the franchise that S3 not be a niche game with only niche appeal. They can pack it with verisimilitude and dense, rich detail and interactivity like we all demand from Shenmue, while still having more approachable controls for instance.)

I think the game will absolutely be a success. The only question will be, how large a success? I always remain optimistic though, while also being realistic about the challenges. Especially from the gaming media.

I never expected anything, to be frank, so I wasn't disappointed. I was more worried about people's reactions here and elsewhere, than about what we'd see.

As I've said before, as much as we all want to believe otherwise, I seriously doubt we will see anything before E3 2017, and maybe not even until TGS 2017. I also will not be at all surprised to see the game delayed, possibly by as much as a year or more. This is just something fairly common with Kickstarted games (and games in general these days, the more ambitious, the more likely the delay... and this is SHENMUE 3.)

And yes, I agree with others that the gaming press will eventually rip the campaign to shreds (again) because of this if it happens.

But I also fully expect that once the game is out, we will all end up with a fun game that is spiritually aligned with the Shenmue we remember, with a detailed, rich world, but with some contemporary (read: more accessible) gameplay mechanics. I expect many here and in the rest of the Shenmue community to be angry about some of that... the lack of footage before E3 or TGS, the possible delay, the press reaction to it, and even the contemporary gameplay elements added, because people want a true hardcore Shenmue experience... but, while I could always be wrong, I really do strongly suspect this is the future of Shenmue 3.

And I'm not one bit upset about any of that.

While frustration is only natural, I think we need to just remain steadfast, as we always have, and wait. It's not like Yu Suzuki of all people is going to deliver a terrible game, or cancel the game. It's going to come out. It's going to at least be fun (though I think, given my experience with other Kickstarted games, we should prepare for it to be merely "good" rather than "amazing" just given budget constraints... and we should also prepare for the gaming press to review it very poorly, or at best, as sort of average to good, high 7s basically) and we're all probably going to enjoy it.

I see no reason to doubt that. At all. As I've stated since the start of the KS campaign and its conclusion... yes, communication has been horrible. From the livestream quality during the KS, to things like saying we should tune into events and then nothing happening (likely internal conflicting information, or Sony not feeling the game was ready to show either, imho - remember, Sony is handling distribution for PS4 and like it or not, their brand is linked with Shenmue 3 and its image.) But it's not like people are going out of their way to deceive us. And it's not like the game isn't going to get made. They're not stringing us along because they want to frustrate us. It just is what it is.

I think the worst thing they could do for the game right now, is show us alpha footage or some such, or another insubstantial "test" that will only provide ammunition to the game's critics. They made a huge splash with the KS. It died down (along with all the negative press!) The worst thing they could do right now is revive all that hate, by showing something so easy to criticize. I firmly believe they will show us the game when it is finally in a state that is much harder to assail, and one that actually excites and intrigues, rather than confuses or worries.

I hate to always be the weird juxtaposition between realism and unbridled optimism but... somebody has to be. :P So that's my two cents. Come on guys, it's not the end of the world. Happy Holidays!

My concern is the absolute lack of communication on the games progress PERIOD. A delay is natural. But ZERO communication about how the game is doing in nearly two years

... we're definitely had updates on how the game is doing more recently than nearly two years ago. The last update I would consider to be pertaining to how the game is going was definitely too long ago, though. (And one of them wasn't even shown to backers, but at a different event we had to learn about here or on other dedicated sites until later.)

... besides a few measly screenshots ... there has been footage, but I don't think we're likely to see more than that until there's something substantial to show. Many games go for more than two years with zero footage and only screenshots. It's not at all uncommon. And that's with massive AAA budgets. Lets try to maintain some perspective here.

the media and people who are non-fans who backed it will have all the reason in the world to absolutely destroy this game for the inept job.

... and what are we supposed to do about that? It's not as if we can force them to change their approach, overcome language or cultural (by that I mean development culture, mind you) barriers, magically produce footage that doesn't exist yet, or stop other people from perceiving this the way they perceive it. All of those things are beyond our control. Only Ys and company can change those things, and it's quite possible they're either unable to, or unwilling to until they feel they have something strong to show. As I said, I get the frustration. I even share it to some degree... but this is unproductive IMO.

You haven't properly thought about this.

How would you prefer me to think? Panic? Start loudly making demands? Threaten to pull my money (not possible at this juncture anyway)? Demand refunds? (Also probably not possible at this juncture.)

That's neither my nature nor my choice.I have to accept the things I cannot change, and deal with what is, not what I wish was so. What everyone else does is their prerogative, but that's where I stand. That, and I truly do believe it's better to show something strong than to show something that is guaranteed to provoke scorn. Granted, as you say, silence could do the same... but so far, S3 has slipped off the gaming press's radar. Perhaps best to keep it that way until there's something to show. Again, feel free to disagree, but that's my position and it isn't changing until I see concrete reasons for greater concern.

1 year and 6 months ago, we all still thought there might never be a Shenmue 3. Some may have forgotten the (to me, literal) miracle that this game being developed at all, haphazard PR and all, is. I haven't, though. I'm not at all faded or jaded about it. Not one bit. I'm still the excited, hopeful, amazed fan that still can scarcely believe this is happening, and who doesn't let bumps in the road deter him. People can call that naive or blind optimism if they like. Or get angry or demand refunds or... whatever they want to do, frankly. It's everyone's individual call. But since I can't change it... I choose to remain hopeful and patient. There's literally nothing else I can do... besides get upset, producing nothing other than my own upset-ness.

But to each their own. Carry on.

It would be a pleasant surprise. But until we see otherwise, I'm sticking with my cautious optimism that we'll see something spectacular but not until E3 or even TGS.

I figured since things have been just a touch tense lately, it might do all our hearts a bit of good to see this. Care of Team Yu: https://teamyu.net/Shenmue.III?action=timeline

The history of the game and the struggle to bring it back to life has been a long and winding one I hope everyone can take some inspiration and encouragement from.

https://twitter.com/NovinWorksPlus/status/807767200727633920

Just so we don't get ahead of ourselves, nothing we've seen even in the tease Tweet is 100% what we're going to see in the update.

Yep. This should be a mantra on this forum, a lens through which to view ALL expectations imo: "Plans can evolve @ any second. Nothing is official ahead it's time." As the tweet above says.

I've been regularly donating $30 every month I'm able to (which isn't as often as I'd like due to medical bills and increased living expenses in the last year) for what it's worth, on top of my KS backing. I'm sure many here do similarly, or even more. Sadly, it's the huge mass of the rest of the backers that would have to participate to make this happen.

Still, I firmly believe the game can and will be awesome - if not EVERYTHING we hoped for SIII to be - without reaching that sum. If anyone knows how to frugally micromanage a budget, it's Yu.

Like many other things on the internet, this isn't worth getting all angry about.

We're not going to get every backer to back more than they already have. And the game won't be terrible if we don't reach 10 million. It's a Shenmue game. There will be a lot to do, and a lot of immersion that takes a long time to work through, even if it's in a small area (and we already know it's probably larger than Shenmue 1.) We will live. It's not the end of the world.

We should be united rather than at each other's throats. Everyone seems so angry lately, and it's unfortunate and not cool. However passionate we may be... this is a video game. A great game we've waited forever for and which touched and changed many of our lives... but a video game, nonetheless. Let's not lose perspective.

OP you had a laudable idea on the face of it, but it's not going to happen in all likelihood, and it's not worth raging at people who disagree with your vision for the direction we should take. Just be thankful the game exists at all I say. But to each their own feelings/thoughts.

Some screenshots would definitely be welcome. I'm still actively going to keep my expectations limited, however. That's how I've remained undisappointed all this time. We know Awesome Japan can get things wrong, and we also know those not directly involved can as well. (As happened with the PSX hype.)

Still, this is a promising development (that tweet combined with those responses.)

(Also, in before once the update is shown, everyone complains that it's only one or two screenshots and no trailer, and nitpick every polygon. :p)

Maybe I'm blind and seeing through rose colored glasses but... Can anyone else see the "smell" of the color contrast Yu talked about before, if you catch my drift, beginning to take shape more fully? The sunset hues, the INCREDIBLY lush grass, the feeling of night time and evening in the "air" ? Yes, some of these shots are heavily edited to be sure. But if that's what they're AIMING for, I'm very happy with what I'm seeing personally.

I still don't think we'll see anything major until the footage is shown sometime next year personally (though I could be wrong, as always I try to keep my hopes minimal and to not get hyped.)

But you know... we clamor for an update, and then in the space of a few days we find out new footage may be shown early next year and then get an update saying they're moving forward with more practical tests and preparing for actual content development, and ... everyone's like, "Meh this isn't what we wanted." That's everyone's prerogative, but this made me really happy after a really crappy day yesterday, so I'm choosing to be joyful rather than pessimistic personally. :) To each their own reaction.

To me, the photoshopped face is definitely an indication of proof of concept and intended direction. They're clearly focusing on graphical touches last. Including the character models. I know that's what we all want to see because the characters are so beloved and them feeling right is so very important to us as fans. But in practical reality, imho at least, that's the last thing they should be focusing on if they're only now exiting R&D and testing as they said in this update.

I followed Dreamfall Chapters' development as well, and Zoe's character model and face and hair were super controversial and took forever to be finalized. Everyone nitpicked just like they have been here (which is everyone's prerogative and totally understandable - I'm not telling anyone not to) but... it really does take a lower priority at this stage than getting systems and mechanics and the design doc right. That's what will ensure they are on track to hitting their milestones and getting the product they envision out the door eventually.

Graphics are important to us because they are the only thing we can see that isn't just an abstraction - they are in many respects, for us, what the game IS. But to Ys, there are more important things to tackle right now. I really don't think they're going to photoshop a face on there... and then release something that doesn't measure up to that vision. They're not stupid, or intentionally disingenuous imo.

But again, to each their own reaction.

Let's be honest here. There *will* be disappointment at some juncture. We'll wish it looked better, we'll wish it had more substance from goals we didn't/don't reach.

If it gets delayed, it gets delayed. No high-profile Kickstarter game has ever made date with their preliminary release window. MN9, Yooka Laylee, Amplitude, Bloodstained; they all got pushed, so we should expect SIII also..kind of an unspoken conclusion now.

At the end of the day, here's what matters--you *will* get it, with all of its celebrations and shortcomings, which is more than we could say for the past 15 years.

This

I used to rail against publishers who called customers self-entitled (I refuse to call it entitled, which is this weird shortened version of self-entitled everyone has adopted lately :P) but I am starting to change my mind lately based on some of the post-release and pre-release backlash many games get these days. People are so used to their demands being met - which from a consumer rights standpoint is great, but - they seem to consider anything less than their precise idealized version of what a product should be so woefully insufficient as to render it "a dumpster fire," as the now popular term seems to be.

Thankfully no one has yet referred to Shenmue III by that nomenclature... but seriously... the game has just now exited pre-production, and I don't personally factor in comparisons to other dev cycles for other games with fewer people involved, because this is Shenmue, and it's Yu Suzuki, and while people may not LIKE this... the dev plan chart lays out pretty explicitly where they are and what they've focused on so far and haven't. That's just the way it is. This is the way they are proceeding. Expecting better visual design at this stage is in direct logical conflict with what they've publicly told us their plan is, and when the different stages of development are going to happen.

People have the right to feel that way and to demand whatever they want... but it's just not what they're doing. If he's not ready to pull the trigger on better art assets yet... it's not happening, whether we're impatient for it to or not. Even if they exist, we're not going to see them until they feel it's worth showing. The new screenshots are meant to show a combination of what they have, and what they're aiming for. That's why they're explicitly called WIP. WIP means what it means... work in progress.

And as Valascaziel said, a potentially less than perfect Shenmue III that nonetheless does all it can to feel like Shenmue, with less than ideal marketing and less than immediate response to exactly what we want when we want it... is at least infinitely preferable to the 15 year period during which we all thought we might NEVER see a third Shenmue installment. How quickly we forget the excitement and miracle that was the announcement of this game, and its successful funding. How quickly we start to nitpick every little thing and forget how Yu works and what they've already told us about the development stages and their clearly laid out plans.

Or maybe people just don't like said plan. I get that. That's the thing though... we don't get to affect or dictate that plan. We paid for Yu and company to implement their vision, in the way they best think will accomplish a game that feels like Shenmue. Not to take the reigns and directly influence said plan and how and when things happen. We get to give them feedback... not demand things. Just my opinion. I respect everybody's opinion and I'm not telling people what to think or feel. But this is the reality, and I for one remain very excited and hopeful.

https://scontent.fgig4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15338883_10154907756512682_244348003811205156_n.jpg?oh=36811be6e9bf02185a4c6156cd1adf0e&oe=58E6C6BD
( source )

I really, really want to play this game !
Oh wow, this collage highlights how the game has actually improved, visually. It's definitely several magnitudes more vibrant.

Right? They seem to be really honing in on the palette and contrast. It's never going to be as vibrant as a Dreamcast (much less one through SCART or something lol - I know RGB might be less overly contrasty and therefore more 'accurate' to many, but SCART was insanely colorful at least.) But they're going to get as close as they can I think to DC's colors.

I think games have been washed out so long many devs don't even remember how colorful things used to be. Some of it was because of lesser color depth. As we've pursued greater and great color depth we've tried to emulate reality, which is never as strikingly colorful as lower depth, higher contrast color modes used to be in games imo. So it's almost like they have to unlearn the status quo and go backwards to get it right lol.

I loved Sonic Generations and continue to love many Nintendo games for that reason.

It's still cool to me that a dude at a forklift dealership loves Shenmue and decided to do this lol. That made me smile.

We Shenmue fans are everywhere.

Whatever you may celebrate (or nothing at all) I hope you're warm, healthy, safe, happy, and - unless you want to be - not alone. Take care!

I bought very few games in 2016.

For me, those I loved were (and I know one on this list will provoke enormous criticism but... I can't change what I like no matter how weird it makes me lol):

5. Dreamfall Chapters. I refused to play it until all chapters were complete. It had its issues, but as the likely final entry in a series I have always loved, it was worth the wait for me.

4. Stardew Valley. Best Harvest Moon game that isn't a Harvest Moon game since the original Harvest Moon game imo. :P

3. Earth Defense Force 4.1 on PC. I am hopelessly addicted to the EDF series, and while nothing will ever match the first time I 100%ed EDF 2017, this game is just oodles of endless EDF content and I adore it.

2. Doom 2016. Most fun I've had in a single player first person shooter since Serious Sam. Absolutely loved it, played just the campaign alone for 80+ hours.

1. No Man's Sky. (Yeah, I know.) I won't expound on this other than to say I'm 115 hours into it and still loving it so... just chalk it up to me being bizarre lol.

Honorable mention: Trillion: God of Destruction.

*Eats but a single square of Christmas peppermint bark, so as not to create more kidney stones, but appreciates it deeply... almost as deeply as this community which helped resurrect a dream I feared was dead.* ^_^

This is so cool!

I wonder if any of the areas in Shenmue III will allow for colder weather like snow, man.

Between Christmas sales and Steam's Winter sale... all told in the last three days lol:

http://media.ign.com/games/image/object/142/142946/Monster-Hunter-3-Ultimate_US_ESRB_WiiU.jpg

http://www.xboxachievements.com/images/news/ori-de.jpg

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/251150/header.jpg

http://www.owlboygame.com/images/Art/Full/Owlboy%20Wallpaper%20Large.png

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/246110/header.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/04/TheWindWakerHD.jpg/250px-TheWindWakerHD.jpg

And since I'm a big Transformers fan...

http://pm1.narvii.com/6249/7b815f24519d8cf6615cdbe09a9d7a04a97d588e_hq.jpg

Awesome. I look forward to a good translation by some gracious person, as I'm sure Google translate is less than in context lol. Though, it's amusing to read its attempts:



Suzuki said:
　"Shenmue" together with a primary architect of acquaintance, because I make a really habitable room.

Harada said:
　goody.

:lol:

I didn't expect to be this upset about Carrie Fisher's death. It's not like I knew her. It's not like I'm mourning anyone that was present in my own, real life. And it's not like she was a saint or superhuman in her role-model-worthiness. I tell myself I'm mourning a character more than a person... but that's not quite entirely true.

What I'm mourning, are the bricks and mortar that built my childhood. People who epitomized youthfulness and vitality to me - in various fields, but especially the myriad creative arts - are checking out right and left. It is both a reminder of mortality (my own bearing down on me faster than any of us like to think about or concede,) and a sad further erosion of the symbols and landmarks of my "wonder years."

Yet another emphatic notice that some things and people are gone forever, and will never be coming back. It's easy to just say, "Well that's life." Or, "So what? People die every day. You don't cry about those poor unfortunates." Well, duh. (Though I do try to spare a thought for them whenever possible.) But there are billions of people on Earth, all of whom will live and die in their course, and it's not practical or possible to be aware of all of their births and passings.

Those we do become privy to though, naturally affect us more than those we're unaware of. And even if we don't know them, those who play important roles in our formative years... those into whom we invest empathetic and cathartic emotional weight whether it be a musician whose song we wore out a tape or record listening to repeatedly for years, or an actor who portrayed a beloved character that meant the world to us... when they go, we feel it.

We shouldn't, probably. It's not rational. But we feel it. And I feel this one particularly acutely for whatever reason.

If Yu Suzuki passed away tomorrow, I imagine many here would feel similarly. Or maybe not. Maybe some here are such realists or objectivists that nothing phases them. I don't know. But this one hit me hard.

Anyway... just rambling.

Well, I guess I'll be plunking down the $3.99 to rent The Grandmaster & $4.99 to rent Reign of Assassins on Amazon Prime.

Also... is he just a fan in general of billiards and table tennis? Or can we expect those to show up in the game?

Thanks for the excellent translations, both of you.

Spaghetti wrote: http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2016/12/yu-suzuki-interview-part-1.html

Bump. Part 1 translation published!

Ah! So much better than Google telling me Harada's response was "Goody!" lol.

This is amazing! Thank-you for doing this. Unfortunately mine keeps giving failed to load script errors. If I click ignore repeatedly it returns to the game but I've missed dialogue. Any suggestions? If it makes any difference I don't have SSE 4.1 support, or SSSE3 if that's relevant.

Yes, it says a font could not be found. I can't screenshot the error itself... kb died, waiting for a new one lol.

No problem. I updated the opening post with the font and installation instructions. That should hopefully address all issues. If you run into any other problems, let me know.

Happy new year Anonymous81
That fixed it! Thanks! This is awesome and, without spoiling it, hilarious! Amazing work! My face hurts from smiling lol.

Happy New Year to you too!

Shenmue 3 controls (adventure mode FREE ):

L stick - 360 3d movement walk/jog
R stick - 360 camera
L2 -trigger - camera zoom/lock on, first person if depressed fully
R2- trigger - hold to sprint while pushing forward on L stick, also allows you to push through crowds
L1 - view wrist watch, then press square to activate the back-light, or press x to initiate time-skip feature.
R1- press to look in direction of NPC partner, double tap to call NPC partner, keep button held when next to Shenhua to hold her hand and lead her
X - speak, confirm, read signs - hold to bring up dialogue tree
O- assign inventory object to this button to show to npcs, to get more information about it, or give as gift or other.
Square - general context based interaction, e.g. open doors, interact with vendors, insert sword of seven stars into plinth etc.
Triangle - inventory, hold to view move list
Options - pause
Touch pad button - open notebook, turn pages by swiping left/right
hold touch pad button to open map
D-pad - classic dreamcast movement

I vote for this. Compromise both newcomers and vets can enjoy imo.

didn't see this posted on the forum, only on the twitter so:

Sega Europe has evidently registered domain names for ShenmueHD.com and ShenmueRemastered.com

Don't get excited or assume this means anything but... it's something!

https://twitter.com/Shenmue_Dojo/status ... 8005332993

Wait... there was also a rumored Skies of Arcadia HD!?

Don't do that to me! You don't understand! Lol. I want that ALMOST as much as Shenmue 3!

So I've got some funds after my mother passed away so I transfered alot of it on my savings account.
Then I thought "you know, after a really shitty christmas i'm gonna treat myself." So I bought a new phone (because my current has deteriated performance) and well I still had 400 bucks leftover.
Then I thought:" mm might as well support shenmue 3 again and get me that trial version." so I ordered it.
So with 300 to spare I trained my eye on the Nintendo switch when it comes out next year, welp never mind that because I got the signed edition of shenmue 3 too. You know what? I feel alot better now!
Ps:
I didn't forget the dojo and what you guy's have given me so expect some periodic donations aswell.

That's extremely generous, especially at this time. Very sorry for your loss and really respect your ability to do something good with that sorrow. Can't imagine.

Thank-you.

WOW! They visited the Musée Mécanique! That's so awesome and fitting.

It used to be located at the cliff house overlooking the ocean but was moved to its present location for renovation. I used to go there sometimes. A teacher and friend introduced it to me.

I think this launch is very flawed and worrying.

Fewer launch window games than Wii U had.
Lots of multiplats I can already play on PC.
Way too much emphasis on motion controlled party games.
Nowhere near enough first party IPs announced.
Price point is decent... but their competitors at MS have them beat at $249
Battery life is worrying.
For all the third party support they've talked up... I don't really see much of it.
They don't indicate they've learned much about the need to continually let customers feel like they have a massive buffet of games on the calendar to look forward to.
They still feel as anachronistic and idiosyncratic as they always seem to the last several gens now.

All of that having been said... did I preorder one? You bet your hiney I did. :p It has the most ambitious Zelda AND Mario games possibly ever made, coming out in the first 9 months of its life. Nintendo has never made a platform I didn't enjoy - the only one I never owned personally was Wii - and while never ideal, they are a great second platform to my PC, which I have for all the multiplatform games.

I'll get a PS4 used eventually, like I did PS3. But other than Shenmue (which I can just play on PC,) there just aren't enough exclusives on it that I actually want. Never cared about Uncharted. Burnt out on open world adventure and action games. I don't do first person shooters anymore (again, very burnt out.) So that leaves JRPGs... and there are only one or two of those I really want on it, too. And with those quirky Japanese titles like Earth Defense Force and others increasingly, if belatedly, making their way to PC... there's just less and less reason for me to buy one until it's cheaper and I can grab ten games with it.

And I haven't forgotten Microsoft's attempt at killing the used games market. So while 360 was my chief platform last gen... they get no money from me. :p

PC and Nintendo for me this gen. And I say that as someone who has owned and enjoyed virtually every console ever, with the exception of Wii.

Yeah the event was terrible, the launch lineup is threadbare, and Nintendo remains the out of touch, idiosyncratic weirdo company on the block. That said... I still like a video game industry with a flawed, lost, at times maddeningly frustrating Nintendo making consoles in it, more than I do one where they've gone under like Sega.

To me, Nintendo is the last of the old guard. And as long as they're still at least making games I want to play... I'll be there. Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey are arguably their most ambitious games ever. That's saying a lot considering what they've done in the past imo.

It won't be enough to win back core gamers outside their established fan base, and this joycon gimmick certainly won't be enough to win over casual gamers. (I really, really wish Nintendo would recognize what everyone else does... that Wii was an anomaly, and they are NOT getting that "blue ocean" they garnered on it back. Those casual gamers have MOVED ON. They're never capturing lightning in the bottle twice.)

But, I'm a gamer, not a shareholder. All I care about are games, and they've already shown me three exclusives I consider must-have, and one non-exclusive that their platform will let me play on the go. (Which is great for me, because let me tell you... having a new Zelda game during one of my many hospital and/or dentist appointments? Will make life bearable, because I have anxiety attacks constantly at the doctor lol.)

So, I'm buying the thing.

But... do I think this might be the last console Nintendo ever makes? If they don't bring some MAJOR heat at E3... which I'm hoping they're holding back some games for ... and by MAJOR heat I mean more first party IPs people have wanted for ages, and MUCH broader third party support (right now the launch year lineup is LESS THAN WII U Had, that cannot bear repeating enough!) ... then... yes. Yes, I think it just might. Which, for all Nintendo's stumbles and flaws and failures, would be heartbreaking to me.

Every bit as heartbreaking as when the Dreamcast's failure sunk Sega. I hate those moments in gaming history. For all that we decry "gimmicks," time was, every console had a gimmick. Every console had its own spirit, feel, look, controller, and peripherals. Every console was its own animal. That's what a video game console WAS. It wasn't just another black box, PC-lite with powerful hardware that played mostly the same games, with just a smattering of exclusives here and there.

I feel that era has been on life support since the DC died... and while Nintendo's last few platforms have been abysmally painful at times, and shockingly out of touch... they've also felt like consoles used to feel to me. Quirky, fun, unique (even frustratingly different,) and while I know many won't agree, chocked full of exclusive first party IP I really enjoyed.

If we are witnessing the last desperate gasps of Nintendo as a platform maker, I won't applaud when they're gone. And I'll be very worried because while everyone assumes it would be a wonderful thing for them to go multiplatform... we all see how great that's worked out for Sega and its IPs.

ETA: The requirement to use a separate smart device for online functionality like voice chat and friends lists is just foolish on their part beyond words imo. I don't play online much with people so it doesn't affect me personally, but still. Wtf? It's meant to be a competitor to mobile devices... so naturally, they require a mobile device lmao. >_<