http://www.pcgamer.com/why-im-excited-about-shenmue-3/

What a great article. It's simple, but raises a lot of reasons why Shenmue was so special and could be again if we help it reach its potential. I still listen to "Battle 1" every day on the way to work.

I regularly text my roommate from college now since the announcement of Shenmue III. He was the only fan I ever met locally, we became fast friends in the dorm, sharing many of the same gaming preferences(even a preference for game soundtracks)

We lost touch for over a decade almost after college, as most friends do as they go onward in their lives. We still had fleeting messages about our hope every year for the announcement at the various E3s, but it was not to be for us each year...until 2015.

We regained touch and earnestly followed and continued to follow all the news after the announcement to this day. In Shenmues announcement, I regained touch with one of my closest friends. We plan to meet up, despite being over 3 hours apart to play through it together.

I, for one, am seriously upset. I waited many years and invested, as many others, a fair amount of money to see this game become reality.

We deserve better. Looking at this debacle, I am reminded of the Kickstarters who failed, such as Mighty No. 9.

This was a game that was much maligned, but at least was shown off to the public to generate interest. This is now the two biggest stages in gaming that Shenmue III has been a no-show.

10 months? We've barely seen *anything*. Passive can footage and environments with placeholder models still present. The 10k backers saw something that was, while good, still months old.

This is a game that has generated nearly $7,000,000 so far. Something *must* be shown. You mean to tell me they'll wait until E3 2017, 6 months before release to show *anything* on this game and a delay is not gonna happen? I have my doubts.

I hope Awesome Japan and Cedric are getting roasted right now and we, as financially involved consumers in this project, *deserve* to be shown something in the Christmas update. And it better not be something like "Yu's Favorite Wine and Cheese with Shenmue", which is about as frilly as the current updates we've gotten these past months.

*climbs on box*

I gotta talk more. This is an unacceptable event for all of us as fans. We were *led* to believe something would be shown and nothing happened and NOT by Peter, by the very people HE placed HIS trust and money in.

THREE events(TGS I forgot) have now gone by and nothing has been shown. "Oh, it maybe couldn't stand up to the big guns on the main stage."

Horseshit; It did it already and has a Kickstarter record to prove it can. It debuted behind FFVIIR for God's sake, don't give me that.

People lamented that Mighty No. 9 didn't look as good on reveal. At least they saw it, saw how it was most likely going to play. We have *nothing*. No battle system footage, no dialogue footage, no new models, no story, nothing at all.

The negativity is justified. The concern is justified. It is our money and a legacy on the line. The silence on their front, both in regards to less than tangible updates and this lack of show, will only make it worse.

It's like when Tiger Woods got caught with his pants down. He hid, stayed silent, it blew up into a huge mess in the end. David Letterman, same situation--came out, said "Yeah, I did it. I regret it. It is what it is, let's move on." and nothing much happened.

Why do I make that analogy? If there's an issue, development isn't going well, need more time, more money..come out and speak. Talk to your fans. Don't stay silent.

It'll get you one of those tarnished reputations of Kickstarters who left fans hanging for years with nothing to show but "don't worry were still working on it." It'll get you the negative press we all fought like Hell to counter *during* this Kickstarter..except this time, we will not have any leg to stand on to counter.

"We trust in Yu. Everyone calm down."

Me too, I'm still hopeful, but people trusted Keiji Inafune too and look at that train wreck.

Not to mention that Bloodstained was shown at only 10 percent completion and said so and people loved it.

I think that this thread shows passion on both sides, those who are angry, those who are optimistic but the thing is--every point has been valid to a degree.

Very little of it has been directed attacks at anyone, more logical debates with string points to counter each person's argument. It's almost like a good political debate would be.

I don't think this thread warrants locking at all, nobody is attacking anyone. I've enjoyed the reading of folks' stances, some synonymous with my own, some not as much but valid all the same.

I've been talking with my college buddy, the one whom I met because of this series and plan to meet up with again when it releases.

I expressed my frustrations to him on the lack of information and he was poignant in his response:

"Have faith. We spent years pining, wishing for something that we'd resigned ourselves until 2015, would never come. You may have nothing to see eight now, but you have *something*. The game exists, it is still making money and will one day make it out."

We saw nothing at PSX and E3. Our updates have been less than fruitful. It was frustrating. It hurt a lot. but in hindsight that is much less a worry than years past, where nothing meant just that--Nothing.

Back to dreams and what ifs, browsing a then-quiet Dojo and listening to FREE music as our Dreamcast was the only gateway to Ryos adventure.

We will get the game. Will it meet our expectations? I have no idea, but I have faith. I picked up and held a copy of The Last Guardian today, 9 years later. And the reviews say it was worth it. This will be too.

I'm sure they've received their fair share or criticism these last few days via PM and Twitter, so they have to be aware of the concern mounting amongst backers.

It would make sense to assume they'll do a more substantial December update to assuage the concerns, as another "The nothing of Shenmue" update will not be tolerated much longer. They may not, though and while some may be patient, others may not be.

Not everyone reads these boards, but eventually the frustrations will get out there, by someone whistle-blowing their concerns or by passer-by journalists perusing here or NeoGAF, etc.

Point being it'll end up as negative articles questioning the development/status of Shenmue 3 and that will not be good for them or for future financial backers.

It's like I said--it's all been more of debate than mudslinging.

I'm excited to see what is planned for years end, plus in the months to come. If it does indeed get publicly shown at E3 2017, it could really be a treat.

E3 2015 from Sony is considered to be the E3 of Dreams. I'd imagine 2017 would be better, as imagine this--

FInal Fantasy VII, Shenmue III, Last of Us 2 and God of War. All four will have had substantial development time to blow us away by June 2017. Nothing MS or Nintendo could show could top in-depth trailers of those four, not including whatever else Sony resurrects to coincide alongside these.

Legend of Dragoon, please...please.

Regardless of interpretation, we can take positivity in that it seems mere reaffirmation of the existence of the game has spurred Backer interest.

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.

I, along with very many others, are hopeful for Shenmue HD to see the light of day..

On a scale of 1-10, how likely do you think it will be it gets revealed in 2017?

I'd personally love(far fetched) for an Anniversary style remake like Halo, where you could toggle between the graphic styles.

What would you like it to be named? Simply Shenmue HD or say, Shenmue: Ryos Legacy(dunno).

What bonus features would you like to see? A remastered soundtrack like Final Fantasy X? Cut scenes added back in? Redone voice lines? Making-of bonus content?

I'm not one who is apt to add fuel to this smoldering fire, but more here(taken from GAF thread and subsequent website):

"Update: According to various individuals who work in retail abroad—whose employment we verified—the game should come out in April. The remasters are titled Shenmue 1 & 2 Pack right now in their systems but that might change as we get closer to an announcement. Keep in mind that these individuals might have forged their information so take this with a grain of salt until Sega offers an official press release or statement."


I used to work at GameStop, who is notorious for putting unannounced SKUs up for reserve early. I'll reach out to a couple of my former bosses and find out if they are the retailer mentioned.

Sorry for the double post--

I got in contact with my old boss. There is no SKU for a Shenmue HD, 1 and 2 Pack, etc. at GameStop, so they are not the retailer.

This thread has blown up a lot more than I had anticipated, so let's redirect and start up speculation again--I've really enjoyed reading the thoughts here.


Have the recent revelations of registered domains swayed your mind on the odds of this happening for us fans? Why or why not?

If you believe it is coming, do you expect a reveal prior to E3 or at the event itself? Do you expect it to be physically released or only digitally?

I am all right with a little wait. I would say to expect fewer updates this year, as anything they show will be expected to be tangible after a year of mostly fluff.

This is the year they need to make an impact, if there are more "Suzukis Favorite Socks" updates, people will start to get even more irritated.

Been a while.

I can attest to Peter's fears, now more than ever due to a personal event.

My father has been a small town doctor for 48 years, running his own practice. At age 84, time caught up to him and he knew he'd have to call it quits as his health declined.

He took time off to see if he'd improve. When that didn't happen, he started to plan out how he wanted to go about everything.

A reporter got wind of him being away and rumors, contacted Dad and my father told him "I will be retiring. I will announce my plans soon myself."

Suddenly, a hastily written article showed up in the paper by said reporter, disclosing things my father explicitly said he wanted to do on his own and closing with a statement that unhappy patients could complain to the medical board if Dad didn't announce soon.

After 48 years and a town that loved him, my father was forced to go into defensive mode and hastily announce his retirement to avoid possible tarnishing to his career..it's been a mess all because of penhappy journalists.


I tell this story because it's been Hell for me, devastating for my old man who had his own ending written.

I can imagine, literally, what it'd feel like for YsNet for assumptions to be made and actions forced just because you take a little quiet time to get your stuff togethee.

I don't think we have a right to see anything. I think this is just impatience on the part of some fans. I have confidence that when it is shown, we will feel a lot better about the state of the project.

I think some screens would suffice; hell, just a picture of Ryo's final model would be fine for me.

Some games have gone dark for a long time'--FFVII was shown way too early, the Resident Evil 2 Remake was announced two years ago and nothing yet. I do not see backlash towards those titles for lack of substance.

Yu will not show it until he feels it is in ideal position for himself and the people who backed it. I really, really do not think anything will be truly shown in motion until E3 to be honest.

I have caused a bit of a rift with the "right" comment from earlier.

I think of it like this. If folks say I've got a right to see this in action, but it isn't in the state Yu wants it to be, you end up with a MN9 debacle where people are furious that it looks nothing like what was promised or envisioned.

Granted, we haven't seen a "target video" but still I feel that is how people would react.

Basically done? Gonna be either announced in a few days or an "Available Now" alongside S3s E3 full reveal, I think.

No way it doesn't come to PS4. Maybe he couldn't say because Sony has a hand in it for exclusivity?

Very happy to see it still pulling in funds at a reasonable clip. Most slacker backers have slowed considerably by this time, I think.

The article about Shenmue HD helped, a March update will also help. Fingers crossed still for that $7 million.

Spags, I think I didn't phrase it properly.

I don't mean it to say it excludes console(obviously not), it just lends a little more credence to the existence of the game in my opinion.

This goes in line with the Atlus story about SHD being confirmed for PC only thus far..

I've got a feeling it's gonna go dark til e3

Another thread up on GAF with Sega commenting on their plan of revitalizing old IPs this year.

Assuming they aren't bullshitting, it lends credence to Shenmue HD being a real thing once more.

A remake would be near impossible to keep under wraps for this long, as it would have had to be in development for a while I'd think.

Quality remasters is what I think it will be. If it has transfer save capability that's huge.

In my old home, I collected gaming mags for most of my young life. They are all in a trunk at my parents home...visiting today i found this:


Wonder what value it has, haha

Some insider source about things are trickling into the Sony E3 GAF threads, specifically regarding unannounced IPs.

Anyone a GAF member that wants to speak in that thread to see if the source knows anything related to Shenmue HD?

Here is the key question:

Bigger and more beautiful than Yu anticipated, it seems he said.

From that, can we extrapolate that maybe features or areas that weren't initially reached are now going to be in the game? Will they move goals down that weren't achieved and cross off those that may have become possible with current funds? Exciting thoughts.

Huge news this morning. Happy to wake up to this before work.

What announcements will we get? Fully funded by an unknown party? Teaser reveal hinting at a full reveal at PSX?

I'd keep an eye on Sega as well. If their presence is confirmed in a bigger way
, maybe the 1-2 punch with the HDs will happen at Gamescom.

Honestly, that could be one of the announcements if you ask me, Kiske.

It is a stretch, but its possible it was as you speculate, thus one of the reasons for the delay so they could add it into S3.

Biggest thing folks need to remember regarding the nitpicking of these models is this:

There is still well over a year in development left and a lot can change in that time period. What we see now versus, say, PSX could be worlds apart.

"Raaagh this is bad. I want my money bacl!!!11 Mighty No 3 inc.."

Are people fucking serious?? This looked fantastic for a build that may not be as recent as you think. There is still well over a year in development left, maybe even longer than that if it gets pushed one more time.

I've waited almost half my life to see this game become real. The environments looked spectacular, the music was spot-on.

Ryo looked like Ryo, for the most part. Shenhua needs work, but they havent even done facial capture or any of that yet. Animations, voice work--its clear its early, but that gives me faith it'll be there after the environments and atmosphere are solidified.

Characters will be rock solid by the time this game comes out, I guarantee that.


NeoGAF and YouTube are cesspools of negativity. Yu has nailed a lot in this teaser, bur they are content to shit on it anyway.

It's like if my son(granted, hes only 4 but for example) were practicing martial arts and initially had good form, just wasn't there yet to break the board or brick. Doesn't mean he can't, doesn't mean he won't in time, but people were to pick on him anyway. Makes my blood boil. I know Yu will dive headlong and smash the naysayers in time.

Why release a trailer?

I think backers forced them to. We did. So many months in darkness, etc. caused people to light them up over paltry updates, skippage of large events(E3), etc. I think that pressure culminated in a need to show something, however unready it may be to show the project is progressing and money didnt dissipate to nothingness(like several Kickstarters)

I think they felt obligated to show something based on that. Damned either way.

I'm sorry--I think the game looks fine in recent screens, more is needed but it's 12-16 months AWAY from release..a lot can change.

Mass Effect: Andromeda made a lot of strides in the patches they did. Apples to oranges, but goes to show you much can change in a few months time.

Deep Silver publishing Mighty No. 9 has very little to do, it seems, with their involvement in Shenmue III outside od enabling Suzuki to realize his vision. I don't believe they have a whole lot of creative input.

What I mean by that is that Mighty No. 9 was already showing false promises, etc. because Keiji Inafune was riding the wave of support because people believed he was someone he wasn't. He wasn't the true father of Mega Man.

Suzuki is Shenmue. It was conceived by him and made reality by him. He is far more open and honest on Shenmue III and it's WIP than any project backed by Kickstarter yet, matched only by Koji Igarashi and Bloodstained.

Also, Deep Silver didn't get involved until very late in development of MN9, if I recall. Many lessons in life come in the toughest way. I think they had a hard lesson learned with the infamous MN9 ad.


Again--comments by the Executive Producer confirm what I've said before. Pressure by the backers(and some media) to show SOMETHING is what caused an early teaser to be shown, perhaps too soon.

Suzuki has been humble and understanding of the criticism. He hasn't backed down on the models and confirmed its temporary. Shenmue was a marvel of technology with character models. To think he'd accept what was shown as final with over a year remaining is absolutely foolish thinking.

This is very exciting news. It sounds like Deep Silver has granted him the budget to make the truly open world he originally envisioned at $10 million.

I can't think of any other explanation for the change from 50-60 NPCs to 200 than the Chobu goals are met.

My favorite part of this entire interview is how, when asked about the models and subsequent criticism, Yu simply opens his laptop and shows that what we saw was absolutely NO WHERE NEAR what is to come, and more improvement to come.

He basically silenced all naysayers with that one action, showing that he truly cares very much about this chance no one thought would ever come.

I am as excited as ever to see what is coming our way by the year's end.

It has been admitted the trailer was a hodgepodge of content far too early to be shown, but they were excited to just try and show something and jumped the gun.

I'm not worried--Deep Silver had a hard lesson learned for MN9, but let's be real--MN9 had already shown itself to be nothing like what was promised long before that. No self-admitted WIP, etc. It was a disaster far different than Shenmue III, which isn't even on the same course, honestly.

Shenmue III's environments and even preliminary character models show they are on track to make good, whereas MN9 looked absolutely nothing like the target renders. At all.

MN9 was announcing Kickstarters for games and animes before the actual game even came out that people had backed.


As far as polish, Yu has shown in at least one interview a character model far improved than the ones in the teaser were. We are still at least 12-16 months from release of this game, possibly more.

It *could* get delayed into 2019, but that depends on the extent of DS' pockets and if YsNet doesn't expand upon their dev team(which they may).

All eyes should be on PSX now. I have a feeling it will show up looking far better there, the start of all the magic to come.

So much negativity abounds, even with the most recent screens. Gotta tweak this, gotta adjust that. There is a lot, a LOT of development time left on the game. We *may* get the game by December 2018, but again we may not depending on how large the scope has increased.

"It's what they chose to show us..." No, it's what they felt they HAD to show us, no matter how early it was, or short notice in concordance with Deep Silver coming on board, because everyone was jumping on the Doomed boat because it had been so quiet.

"Another month of nothing..vaporware/jank confirmed"..this place was turning into GAF, where people just want to compete and see how big of a dump they can take on Yu Suzuki's passion.

I think Ryo looks well on his way to a successful render, especially considering time left. The style of Shenmue isn't the same as Yakuza, so that's a different comparison. We also do not know how old those "new" screens are. They might be recent, might be a month or two behind.

The signs point to us seeing what a true, more current build of the game looks like by year's end(PSX). I will reserve judgement until then.

You cannot judge too much on these models without motion. Lighting, facial expressions, animation..we need that kind of picture before we can accurately say it needs this or that.

Once a true trailer, replete with updated models and a glimpse of gameplay appears, we can commence on the speculation as to the status of the project.

Also, look at things from a personal perspective--an empathetic one.

Yu Suzuki was really trying to make this game something special, but realized he couldn't do it without outside help from someone like Deep Silver.

He cares so much about this series that he tried his hardest to make someone believe what he was doing was worthy of additional investment. To find someone out there.

Imagine the weight on your shoulders, having the expectations of the fans on you to deliver, but to know you cannot do it with the current funds, no matter how hard you try or want to. Rather than sit and say "Well, it's better than nothing(MN9), he went further.

How trying it must've been for him to ask for more help in this project. It takes a MASSIVE amount of strength to ask for help, especially on passion projects. I'm grateful that Deep Silver honored his request.

Another day, another rumor.

That being said--if it has been in development since 2016, then I don't think it's a straightforward port..looks like it'll get a nice coat of paint.

This isn't one SEGA probably wants to just shovel out, with all the expectations.

We have two possible scenarios of a reveal--Paris Games Week, or PSX. PSX would be the likely reveal, but would probably make it a digital only release, as an Available Now wouldn't bode for a simultaneous physical release, which I'd like to have.

Paris Games Week isn't as full of big guns, so it could have some spotlight there and gives time if it's both physical and digital. We shall see.

I embolden my conjecture based on Yu's statements in various interviews that he hopes to start the marketing push for Shenmue III by years end.

To me, that pegs PSX as the ripe time for both a true, up-to-date look at Shenmue III in action, plus a simultaneous teveal of the HD Collection. It just seems a bit more plausible this year because we've already seen Shenmue III(granted, early footage) as opposed to nothing being shown prior to PSX last year.

I appreciate them showing something. We are still a LONG way off from final release, folks. I don't know why people perpetually have their pitchforks out. Clickbaity articles from Pushsquare do not help. They don't look at the bigger time frame, just immediately nitpick.

It didn't matter to them that the models were still motionless, unanimated. It didn't matter that this video was simply proof they have it and will be beginning soon(we still have 12-18 months, guys). It was "Welp, garbage. 5 out of 10s confirmed, jank confirmed."

In regards to Technophilz, I respect his opinion, the worry is understandable, but I must disagree with the comparison.

The comparison CAN be made, but it doesn't hold potency. You cannot compare an indie developer to someone like Naughty Dog.

Naughty Dog is a veteran company for a singular platform with technology and budget far, FAR in excess of what Shenmue III has, regardless of Deep Silver's involvement. They have their own revenue stream, plus being owned by Sony themselves.

This holds true for many, MANY developers. Quantic Dream and Naughty Dog are pioneers in that field of facial animation and motion capture, unmatched by probably any other developer in the world. It is unrealistic to expect ANYTHING of that calibur, I'm afraid.

Slacker Backer is ongoing. Deep Silver, I believe, has injected the funds he needed as he now states he can make the game we imagined.

The only other injection of funds would be if the publisher they are seeking for Japan puts anything into the pot as well, but that's up in the air.

I must admit, I concur with Ryo.

The current state of this project is beginning to be a cause of concern for me. We already knew who Deep Silver was and what their purpose is.

We are now a year or less away from the release of this game, but we have seen absolutely nothing except for a trailer that was obviously very early(at least, it was said to be) at Gamescom.

We know nothing about the gameplay in action, what a theoretical graphical goal is, what stretch goals are now included with Deep Silver's funding(aside from commentary in interviews, nothing concrete), we just sit in the dark.


Bloodstained has been one of the most transparent Kickstarter projects out there, despite having a similar development timeline as Shenmue III. They have consistently communicated with fans, presented their work, addressed concerns, etc. It may make it's March window, it may not but you don't see the silence and fluff you see coming from YsNet.

Christ, they had the balls to allow people to play a demo when the game was at 10 or 15% completion. That shows true dedication from the BEGINNING.

We also, as of this point, do not know if they've even secured a publisher for the Japanese copies of the game upon release. This is with a YEAR or less to go.

The forum mainstays(Spags, Peter, etc.) have gone dark, discussion is at a minimum, where once it was bustling..I can only extrapolate that, though external reasons are always a factor, this worry isn't plaguing just me these days.