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Yu Suzuki Gameinformer Interview

The gripping tale of Ryo Hazuki’s quest for vengeance captivated Dreamcast audiences when it released to widespread critical acclaim in 2000. Though Yu Suzuki’s masterpiece was beloved by fans, the astounding cost of its first two entries and poor sales of Shenmue II drove Sega to cancel the third game, leaving Suzuki’s saga without resolution.

Though the series was abandoned by Sega and written off as an impossibility for over a decade, the fan base has been unrelenting in its requests for the series to continue. Both Suzuki and Sega have been inundated by fan requests for Shenmue III, with online campaigns comprised of the most die-hard fans continuing to push forward through petitions and social media accounts.

Those fans were vindicated this week, when Shenmue III’s Kickstarter campaign not only grabbed valuable stage time on Sony’s E3 press conference for its reveal, but also went on to attract so much traffic that Kickstarter’s site crashed. With the Kickstarter campaign reaching its goal of $2 million in record time and Sony providing further funding, Shenmue III is finally a reality.

The reserved nature of Yu Suzuki did little to hide his passion and excitement for this project. With each question I asked, the legendary developer spoke quickly, smiled often, and held the composure of a man whose dream was finally coming true. During our conversation, we covered a variety of topics ranging from Sega’s role in Shenmue III to how the franchise remains relevant so long after it was thought lost forever.

Game Informer: It’s been 14 years since the last game. Why is now the right time for Shenmue to return?

Yu Suzuki: To make a game like Shenmue, obviously the question is how to get the funding to make a game like that and you know, it’s been really hard – I just couldn’t find a way to get it together. But three years ago, I learned of Kickstarter and I met some people who have done Kickstarter before and with all their help, we decided to put this Kickstarter together. With what we managed to fund on that site, as well as with the other funding sources my company, Ys Net, has procured, I believe now is the time that we can make Shenmue III.

Is it frustrating to have to wait so long to finally realize this project?

Pretty much everywhere I go, it’s always “Make Shenmue III! Make Shenmue III!” The reaction is so strong from the fans that I’ve always been looking at how I can make Shenmue III. These past years, it was very stressful, because I couldn’t make it. More than that, I couldn’t give the fans what they wanted. That was probably the worst part: I couldn’t answer their calls that they were sending out for me. Now that the project has started – lots of relief there.

Now that the announcement of the game is out there, was there one moment that was the biggest relief of all?

It was probably at the Sony press conference when I was waiting in line for Shenmue III to be announced. Adam [Boyes, VP of publisher and developer relations at PlayStation] was up on stage talking about something, then I saw that the Shenmue III promotion video was on and then all of a sudden there was this big well from the audience and this big noise that came from them. That was the time that I felt most relieved. Before that, it was really big titles like Destiny – everything before that was a big title – and I was kind of worried about how Shenmue III would shape up to these guys, but once the song came on, the rouse came from the audience. I knew it was then.

Were you surprised by how fast the Kickstarter goal was reached?

The thing that really surprised me first about the Kickstarter was the crash that happened. Kickstarter broke – that was a big surprise. I couldn’t believe that! The second one was how fast it went to $1 million. Apparently, it is the fastest game or entertainment project on Kickstarter to reach that number.

The first two Shenmue games were published by Sega. Does Sega have any involvement with Shenmue III?

So, YS Net received the licensing rights from Sega. Of course, the original properties are still licensed with Sega. This time, they’re allowing us to use it and allowing us to use the licensing rights. They also gave us a lot of resources from [Shenmue] I and II to help us with this project. They’ve been very happy to see Shenmue III being made and we have a very good relationship.

A big part of the original Shenmue games were the Sega Easter eggs, such as the capsule toys and playing Sega games in the arcades. Is there any possibility that those will appear in this game even though those licenses belong to Sega?

There are some things I can use and there are some things I can’t use. It’s kind of depending on further talks with Sega. I think there’s going to be a lot of small details that we’re going to have to speak with them on as we go along.

The challenging part, at least in the United States, is that Shenmue came out on Sega Dreamcast, Shenmue II came out on Xbox, and Shenmue III is coming to PlayStation 4 and PC, making it difficult for many fans to experience the first two games since they’re on separate platforms. Are there any plans to bring Shenmue I and Shenmue II to modern platforms?

If you have that question, it’s better that you ask Sega because they hold the rights to those. Those are their properties and I'm not in a position to talk about that, but I’m thinking about asking them!

Shenmue was a very revolutionary and influential game when it was released on Dreamcast. A lot has changed in the games industry since then. How does the team work to make a game just as revolutionary so long after the original?

It’s all about the new challenges with me, and I definitely want to try these new things. Of course, it’s going to come down to the funding and how much we’re going to be able to spend on Shenmue III, but if we get to that point, I believe it will be just as revolutionary as the ones before.

As we emerged from the small room where our conversation took place, a handful of Shenmue fans eagerly greeted Suzuki. Despite spending the majority of his day in that room, fielding questions from members of the media, Suzuki stopped to greet those fans, take pictures, and sign autographs. As we left, I heard the unmistakable sound of pure joy that follows a monumental moment such as what that encounter meant to those fans. It may have been 14 years since Shenmue II launched on the Dreamcast in Japan, and 13 since its release on the Xbox in the U.S., but through the hurdles, struggles, and disappointments taking place over the past decade and a half, the enduring passion of the Shenmue fan base has kept Suzuki’s dream alive.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/06/19/yu-suzuki-shenmue-iii-interview-e3-2015.aspx?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
by Riku Rose
Fri Jun 19, 2015 1:05 pm
 
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"$30 on the 3rd" - ROAD TO $10 MILLION

--- UPDATE 6/27/15 ---
Guys, I've been working feverishly today to get this site up. It's collaboration between me and my wife. She does the design, I do the coding. I think we make a good team. So, as you tweet and share about $30 on the 3rd please direct people to this website that will explain the campaign to people who may not understand:

http://www.30onthe3rd.com/


--- UPDATE 6/25/15 ---
I'm beyond excited about the response this campaign is getting! Thank you everyone!

As we're quickly approaching the 3rd of July we need to all step up our efforts to promote "$30 on the 3rd."

We need to focus on a different social media every day. Let's say days with an odd number focus on Facebook and even days focus on Twitter. If you see a $30 on the 3rd post share it. And every time you check the Kickstarter page for whatever reason leave a comment with $30 on the 3rd. I'm sure they get buried pretty quickly so the more often the more chance new people have to see it.

We REALLY need to get in touch with Yu and Awesome Japan and get them to promote the push. No one is going to have the audience they do. Can someone see if Aizen can tell Yu about the campaign and see if he can tweet it?

Also, don't dwell on the chance that this may not move the needle much. If you aim at nothing you'll hit it every time! Focus on $10 million! I know Yu is.



--- UPDATE 6/20/15 ---
So Yu Suzuki needs $10 million. This is NOT unreachable. It's actually VERY reachable. If they open donations to PayPal as they've suggested it will become the avenue to Yu's goal. If we continue with the monthly thunderbolt and focus our efforts on donating $30 on the 3rd of each month we WILL hit that number. I anticipate the Kickstarter will end up earning between $6 millon and $8 million because at the end everyone who hasn't donated will scramble to get their rewards and those who have extra cash to throw at it will do that. Even if it only makes $5 million that's fine.

PayPal is the ticket after July 17! If they keep PayPal open indefinitely we can continue to give month after month. And that's where the "$30 on the 3rd" makes BIG strides for the campaign.

$30 is nothing to most people. If you are struggling to make ends meet, please take care of yourself and your family first. But for those of us who are stable enough financially we can make a HUGE impact for Shenmue. $30 each month adds up, fast!

Mods, please sticky this. I really feel like this is the best route to take. We also need to get the Shenmue Kickstarter/advertising team, Twitter, Facebook groups, the Dojo homepage and any other non-English speaking Shenmue fansites involved to promote this idea.

Stay sweaty!

-- END UPDATE --

We need to form our own campaign booster to get people who have donated to add $25-$50 to their donation. No shaming for people who may not have donated very much, we're just trying to ice the cake. Instead of the monthly tweetathon on July 3rd let's do a "$30 on the 3rd" and everyone donate an extra $30(or more).

At the current count if everyone who've already donated added $30 it would add $1.24 million to the pot!

I'll donate another $30. That's three trips to the fast food restaurant or four trips to Starbucks. Who will join me?

My twitter is pathetic, so whoever organized the tweetathon feel free to take over in boosting this effort on Twitter and Facebook. And mods, move this post around if you want to use it in the News section.

http://i.imgur.com/ecLqB1X.png

http://i.imgur.com/KlfJwR6.png

http://i57.tinypic.com/2442qdf.jpg
by elfshadowreaper
Thu Jun 18, 2015 10:03 pm
 
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Re: Shenmue III Kickstarter marketing is fucking terrible.

Copied from E3 announcement thread.


Please don t get so worked up people. Calm down.

We have to think of where we re coming from. 2 weeks ago there was no Shenmue III.

I agree the campaign could be better with its communication and other things.

BUT:

- It is the beginning and we don t know what they planned for the future of the kickstarter.

- Please send in private message (or not but it is better) your worries, ideas, etc...

- We need to be together in this and HELP in any way we can. To be constructive.

- Yu Suzuki and his team should have had a pretty busy timetable for the last 3 days. After they come back, be sure they won t be spoiled withbullshits and 100% focused on Shenmue III with videos, informations, interviews etc...



Don t get me wrong, I m not a blindy optimistic person but shit happens they are aware of what could have been better and that better than us and will think of it and improve if they need to.

With YOUR HELP it will be 110% better.
by Shenmuehua
Fri Jun 19, 2015 2:57 pm
 
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Inside-Games.jp - Yu Suzuki interview (June 17)

Here's a translation for a Yu Suzuki interview published by Inside-Games on June 17.
http://www.inside-games.jp/article/2015/06/17/88607.html

Capsule Toys Maniac working on the translation for the second interview with Yu Suzuki they published on June 20.

[E3 2015] Interview with Yu Suzuki following his Kickstarter achievement
June 17, 2015

The Shenmue 3 Kickstarter: the campaign got underway on stage at the SCE press conference held on June 15 (local time), and achieved its minimum goal in the short space of just 8 hours. It is now aiming to achieve stretch goals, and the amount of backing is continuing to increase as it heads towards the deadline of July 17. At the E3 venue we asked the creator of Shenmue, Yu Suzuki of Ys Net, about his most recent thoughts and about the enthusiasm for Shenmue 3.

-- Congratulations on the Kickstarter achievement.

YS: Thank you. At any rate, it’s the first time I’ve done this, so I don’t have much experience with it. When I heard that the sheer number of accesses to the Shenmue 3 project page on Kickstarter caused it to crash multiple times, I knew we would be successful. This may sound bad, but I was happy. I heard that the times it took to reach the $1 million and $2 million levels are a new record within the games category, and second-fastest across all projects. Since it’s my first experience [with Kickstarter], it’s only through those kinds of statistics that I get a sense of the reality.

-- How do you feel at the moment? Pleased? Relieved? A deserved result?

YS: Well, things are really just getting started. I’m always looking to try new challenges, and so in order to take on as many of these as possible, the more budget we can collect the better. We’ve got stretch goals as well, and I’d like to see how far we can go.

-- Is it accurate to say that all of the development funding will be raised through Kickstarter?

---Show to continue reading ---
YS: No, development will be carried out with Ys Net own funding together with Kickstarter. I won’t know the scale of the budget until the Kickstarter campaign has finished, so I can’t comment on it right now.

-- What were the events that led to you being on stage at SCE’s press conference?

YS: It started by my sounding them out to see if they had any interest in the Shenmue 3 project. Actually, it turns out that Shenmue was at the top of their list of software that people wanted to see revived. And so, with that being the case, I had the chance to speak with SCE and (without sounding like I’m blowing my own trumpet!) they told me “It’s a game of great historical importance; and everyone wants it, so if you were to go ahead and develop part 3, as an exceptional case, we will give you our co-operation”. I had already let them know that I wanted to do this through Kickstarter, and so that’s how it came about.

-- Are there plans for a release on Xbox One?

YS: We don’t have plans for a release on Xbox One. The platforms that are confirmed are PS4 and PC.

-- Was the reason you started development on part 3 due to the voice of support from the fans?

YS: That’s right. For more than 10 years I had been hearing those kinds of requests, and trying to find a way to make it happen. I did things like searching for a partner (company) but did not find one that fit the criteria and so I wasn’t able to make a start. Then came the possibility of realizing it through a combination of self-funding and Kickstarter.

-- I see.

YS: Also there was the aspect of Kickstarter of “creating something together with everyone”. As I stated in my promotion video, it’s the spirit of “within your hands”. Some say that the Shenmue series is the originator of the open-world genre. In reality, with the present amount of $2 million, making a Shenmue that will meet everyone’s expections, even without implementing an open world, is unlikely to be achievable. However, the demand I hear most from the fans is to know how the rest of the story plays out.

-- Yes, that’s something we’d like to know.

YS: In addition, the Shenmue series has a rich portrayal of Eastern and Japanese culture, and so it has quite a different feel to it compared to any other open world games. Because of this, trying to accomplish both the “story” aspect and the “open world” aspects simultaneously is likely to lead to the budget rising higher and higher, and no matter how much time passes it is impossible to get development underway. After thinking long and hard, I have decided to do as much as possible with a minimum level of funding, even if it means creating something story-oriented. Then, if additional development funding is collected, I will add on various elements. And so I decided that development will be based on this kind of scalable approach.

-- This way of thinking is uniquely suited to Kickstarter, isn’t it.

YS: Further, with [development of] any game, there is a piece of it which can easily cost a lot of money to implement; while at the same time it has another piece that doesn’t need to cost a lot of money, namely making it interesting through its ideas and plot. I also think that Shenmue does not consist of merely its story and its open world; it is also fun to play, and I think the way we capture this is vital. Above all, I decided to maintain both the fun and the story aspects, even at the minimum budget level.

-- How much money will be raised is becoming increasingly of interest.

YS: Yes. It’s not that we will not be implementing an open world, but doing so lavishly will cause the budget to shoot up. On the other hand, since I am a creator, I’d like to try new mechanisms. I have set stretch goals with that balance in mind.

-- Compared to 15 years ago, the possibilities for game implementation have greatly widened. Are there any games that have influenced the creation of part 3?

YS: That would be Shenmue 1 and 2.

-- What aspects do you place most importance on, and wish to continue in the new game?

YS: Firstly, the most important is that I want to show how the story continues. As well as that, “nostalgia” is a keyword here: the nostalgic feeling of when we created part 1 and 2, 15 years ago. But even at that time, the setting for part 1 and 2 was the world of 1986. In principle, I believe that going back to an earlier age really brings out the flavor of a region’s culture. That’s the case with the era of the 1980s (and earlier), compared to the current day. Even looking at other countries around the world, as the eras pass by, the scenery of cities all starts to look the same.

-- Yes, that’s true.

YS: This kind of Eastern and Japanese culture, and the spiritual aspect, is what makes Shenmue special. Although though this has given it popularity in the West, what it expresses is certainly not Western. Through thorough creation of so-called Eastern spiritual aspects, culture and customs, I want to bring out people’s interest towards a different culture. There are a lot of things I would like to carry through from parts 1 and 2 to part 3, but through the scalable plan that I mentioned earlier, I want to pay special attention to these kinds of things.

-- Are there any aspects you want to try, given the increase in hardware specs nowdays?

YS: This may not directly answer the question, but actually when we made part 1 and 2, we also completed the plan for part 3. I want to go forward with that exactly as we had planned.

-- Could you explain more?

YS: In part 1, we implemented an open world that we called FREE, and the concept of time passing within the game. In part 2, we greatly expanded that world. In part 3, and this may be giving too much away, but we planned to keep these aspects intact, while making it much deeper. And in parts 1 & 2, while there were elements centered around money e.g. you could “do a part-time job, gamble to increase your money, purchase items at a shop...”, they did not really have any connection with the fighting and skill improvement parts. So when we make part 3, I have in mind to build up those elements; that’s something I would like to try doing.

-- What would be a concrete example?

YS: I’m thinking of a “Technique Scroll” system. Through actions in the game, you can gain new technique scrolls which let you perform special moves. Whether these moves are something you can control directly, or whether they are implemented in a QTE, is something we will be considering and deciding in the future.

-- Please tell us about the release schedule.

YS: Release is planned by the end of 2017.

-- Could you give a message to our readers.

YS: It is thanks to the continous voice of the fans who have waited for the next part of Shenmue across these many years, that we have been able to get started. This is only possible thanks to all the people who give their support. I will continue to put in my best effort, so please give your support and encouragement.

-- Thank you very much.
by Switch
Sun Jun 21, 2015 5:00 am
 
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Re: 31.000 in 3 days....

There's no easily accessible way to play Shenmue 1&2, that's this Kickstarter's biggest problem imo....
by Shenhua-Nani?
Wed Jun 24, 2015 9:05 am
 
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Re: $10,000,000

Sadly this campaign has experienced a lot of hurdles since it launched which cumulatively have probably resulted in at least a 25% decrease in potential backers. These include very poor management of the KS page, tons of misinformation about funding, and the fact that still a lot of people aren't aware Shenmue 3 was even announced. Ys Net is really going to have to step up their game if we are to reach 10-million by the end of the Kickstarter, which is still possible depending on what they decide to do from here on out.

One thing that a lot of people seem to be forgetting is that KS campaigns like this generate a huge portion of their overall funding in the last 48-hours of the campaign, sometimes as much as 30%. If we can get up to 5-million by the second to last day, I can see us ending the KS around 7-million, which presumably will be enough to get a lot of extra features crammed into the game.

I sincerely hope that Yu sets up paypal for donations after the campaign as well because I definitely would contribute monthly to it.
by bikingjehuty
Wed Jun 24, 2015 11:44 am
 
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Re: There Is No Reason For Negativity

Perfect is the enemy of good.
by Himuro
Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:06 pm
 
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Re: There Is No Reason For Panic (Yet)

ritsuka666 wrote: I am affraid we will only reach 4M in t he final stage of Kickstart :(


Nah, we'll hit between 5-6 million.
by Sonoshee
Thu Jun 25, 2015 10:05 am
 
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Re: "$30 on the 3rd" - ROAD TO $10 MILLION

I just registered 30onthe3rd.com. I'll create the site when I get home from work tonight. I'll let everyone know when I get it live and we'll start pushing traffic to it.
by elfshadowreaper
Fri Jun 26, 2015 8:36 am
 
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Re: Unrealistic costs has me worried

I'd say everyone shares the same concerns and also other concerns they have also, but we just have to keep believing that as much can be squeezed out of whatever money is made from the campaign.
by Peter
Fri Jun 26, 2015 10:56 am
 
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Re: Kickstarter Update #15 - The Plan & Stretch Goals reveal

mjq jazz bar wrote: It hurt worse thinking I'd never see Shenmue 3.


True that.
by elmatto
Fri Jun 26, 2015 11:34 am
 
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Re: Kickstarter Update #14 - Yu Suzuki on Twitch this Friday

Image
Pretty much my reaction right now.
by elmatto
Fri Jun 26, 2015 10:54 pm
 
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Re: Kickstarter Update #14 - Yu Suzuki on Twitch this Friday

That was such a bizarre experience. It was telling from the start with the audio issues that it wasn't going to go well. Though the pledges are at least going up, so something minutely good must have come from their stream!
by Yaohua
Fri Jun 26, 2015 11:12 pm
 
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Joel "red shirt" Tess Discussion Topic (Twitch)

http://i.imgur.com/7CUYMHS.gif

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http://awesomejapan02.sakura.ne.jp/kyujin3.jpg
by Ziming
Sat Jun 27, 2015 10:55 am
 
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Re: Kickstarter Update #14 - Yu Suzuki on Twitch this Friday

It was bad. And yes, unfortunately, I think to strangers to Shenmue it probably makes the project look like a joke. At the very least it makes it look unprofessional and like those involved don't know what they are doing. And while maybe that's true about Awesome Japan (I don't know them personally) it certainly isn't true of Yu Suzuki or the original development team.

That is what bothers me most. This guy is representing SHENMUE - this amazing game series that Yu created. This game that Yu never gave up on. This game which after all this time he is working hard to make happen properly. And this game series which represents a large portion of his life's work - has this guy looking very inebriated whilst representing it. It's a shame. And I don't like calling people out, because usually people are trying, and just may not be succeeding. He doesn't seem to be trying. But honestly, Awesome Japan is probably just out of their depth.

I had to stop watching it. And then I see it looks like they only did like 5 questions. Sigh. Questions which have mostly been answered 20 times.
by squall
Sat Jun 27, 2015 10:19 am
 
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Re: Joel "red shirt" Tess Discussion Topic (Twitch)

The way the Q&A was handled yesterday was a debacle, that's for certain. However we need to come together as a community and bury it. Let's push forward for the sake of the Kickstarter, Shenmue III and Suzuki-san. At this point we can offer constructive criticism (there is another thread for the Twitch stream) and continue on with our own separate efforts.

I should not need to say this, but I will. We do not support or condone any form of personal attacks within this community. Let's carry on as we always have, positively and respectfully. That is the voice other parties will pay attention to, respect and trust. Thank you.
by Yama
Sat Jun 27, 2015 9:34 pm
 
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Re: What in the world happened with the KS today?

I hate negativity etc etc etc


But I'm finding this whole kickstarter thing quite depressing and I know I shouldn't.

I'm really grateful and beyond happy we're getting a sequel but this whole thing has been handled so poorly and it just now feels like we're begging people to pledge and be interested when this whole campaign should be attracting people to have a look and donate.

As said I'm happy it's happening, just depressing how much better they could of done things.

5 million would be great so hopefully we'll pass that amount.
by spinksy
Sun Jun 28, 2015 1:20 pm
 
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Re: GameTrailers trying to organise Suzuki interview

Big enough. This would definitely be good promotion for Shenmue 3. I just hope they can contain their excitement. Still, at least they should do better than a person getting high off Fanta.
by Henry Spencer
Mon Jun 29, 2015 2:26 pm
 
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Re: Should we be expecting AAA standards or indie standards?

I think it will be right down the middle. It probably won't feel like a true AAA title, like Shenmue did in 2000.
But I'm sure it definately won't feel like a little indie game.
by BlueMue
Tue Jun 30, 2015 11:28 am
 
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Re: Would be great if the franchise ended on a bookends endi

I think (and hope) the scope of the story will go much beyond the initial motivation of Ryo for instant revenge.

There have been some hints that it actually may be about overcoming those feelings, and I don't discard at all that Lan Di might be not so bad after all, but a victim of a greater evil. Maybe Ryo's final victory over him will be his ability to forgive him (which Lan Di clearly did not achieve).
by jcjimher
Tue Jun 30, 2015 1:02 pm
 
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Re: Should we be expecting AAA standards or indie standards?

Yes YS Net, Nelio, Shibuya Productions.. we dont know what they are capable of yet.
I don't think we'll have a AAA game by current standards.
I do think we'll have a good game though.
The only thing I have to go on is my faith in Suzuki and the key Shenmue vets in the dev team.
by Axm
Tue Jun 30, 2015 3:21 pm
 
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Re: Should we be expecting AAA standards or indie standards?

It's a little early to tell, but yeah, I'm not sure if we should expect it to be quite on the same level/budget as the first two games...as long as it has everything that makes Shenmue Shenmue , however, then that's good enough for me. Just annoying that some of these stretch goals are so vague, as we don't have an idea of what the game will be like if they aren't met =/ I'm really really hoping it's not too linear, and that there is enough sidequests and extra things to do...I feel bad having these concerns, as a few short weeks ago we thought Shenmue III was never going to happen at all, but it'd be crushing to wait so long and for it to be a disappointment...
by Miles Prower
Tue Jun 30, 2015 5:27 pm
 
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Re: KS. Update #20: Corey Marshall returns & new reward adde

I've heard a lot of people complaining about marketing the Shenmue Kickstarter to a larger audience, and without naming names, I've seen some of those same people complaining about there being an English dub. If you want Shenmue to be appealing to a larger group of people, you're going to need English voice acting. A game with a foreign language and English subtitles isn't the most accessible way to go about things. I respect everyone who does believe that the Japanese VOs are superior to the English dub but I believe that YSnet is making the right move.

I'll admit I'm very excited for this news though. Corey is Ryo to me, I really wanted him to come back.
by Ceej
Wed Jul 01, 2015 2:13 pm
 
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Re: Will there be micro transactions in Shenmue III?

I think it's the best idea for the franchise and makes sense for this game than others. Especially ince people are asking for payal. Why not give the team work with more missions to buy, more things to buy for the game to support it and keep it going into the development of sh4?

Since I love Shenmue, I have no problem buying a season pass for this game if hey are adding features such as

1. Extra missions that are not affecting the main story - battles and expanded areas
2. Sega arcade games played in the game world and in the ps4 menu

sonic, sega genesis, panzer dragoon, burning rangers, nights, Daytona 2, scud racer and 100's of more

3. Hundreds of casule toys from sega,soni, sony and popular third party characters to be bought

4. A virtua like fighter set in the Shenmue world with arenas brought from all 3 SH games

example

1. Outside Ryo' home

5.Forklift race creator

These are just a small example of the posibilites of Shenmue world. I'd pay atleast 20 or more each for the fighting version. Racing and I'd probably buy everything they made. I'd rather have a 100 dollar by all content option though

Besides arcade, Saturn game, wish they could make it a hub for all of sega and make it huge.

I'd do a 60 dollar subscription to play 100's of sea arcade and console games. Gimmie!


I don't want 2.99 skin packs and whatever. But, buying fighters with detailed move sets for the 2 player versus fghter would be so welcome.

For the record I only buy tracks and things for games I really enjoy such as Motorsotrm pacific Rift.
by Jackie Fhan
Sat Jul 04, 2015 10:14 am
 
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The Shenmue Saga - Huber Hype! (Game Trailers)

phpBB [video]
by Ziming
Tue Jul 07, 2015 2:06 pm
 
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Re: Cedric bomb updates ???

Shenmue HD collection ??

Maybe he can't say because it's SEGA bussiness.
by shredingskin
Sat Jul 11, 2015 5:51 pm
 
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Re: Cedric bomb updates ???

I'm really hoping for Shenmue HD right now. It's the biggest thing to be expected and it seems it is going to be big.
A strech goal for an Xbox One release would be big news too and I wouldn't mind that escpecially since it could give the Kickstarter a big push.

In any way, Cedric sure knows how to get us hyped.
by BlueMue
Sat Jul 11, 2015 5:54 pm
 
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Re: Cedric bomb updates ???

I don't think it will be I and II HD.
Actually, I think that making HD remakes would be more expensive than making Shenmue III. With a remake, they'd have to do loads of extra checks to ensure that everything is the same (even the smallest little events) and with games as large and expansive as Shenmue I and II it will be a very tricky task. I'd also imagine that they'd want to re-dub things as I doubt it would even pass for 'so-bad-it's-good' by today's standards.
With Shenmue III, there is a clean slate to work with.

HD ports on the other hand are viable, but we need to ask ourselves if we really want that and if it will make a good impression of the franchise.

I think remake is just a misuse. We all think about a HD port indeed.
by Yokosuka
Sat Jul 11, 2015 6:15 pm
 
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Re: Outside Xbox: Let's Play Shenmue II (Xbox version obviou

phpBB [video]
by Yokosuka
Mon Aug 31, 2015 7:54 am
 
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Re: Outside Xbox: Let's Play Shenmue II (Xbox version obviou

phpBB [video]
by Dragon St.
Sat Aug 15, 2015 5:12 am
 
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Re: "Making Sense of Shenmue 3"

I worked on this video with Super BunnyHop by the way (as a proofreader, reviewer, etc), you will see me credited in the final title.

He did a TON of research on this video. I am very happy with the way it turned out.
by shengoro86
Thu Jul 30, 2015 2:01 pm
 
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Re: "Making Sense of Shenmue 3"

ok, so from what i can understand the actual 'controversy' was that certain 'idealists' dislike any project being on kickstarter that has an outside funding link with a big publisher - this goes against their 'ideals' of what kickstarter SHOULD be.

these idealist have a resentment against 'evil big publishers'. They want kickstarter to prove that games can be completely developed without any help from the big publishers - they have a kind of 'stick it to the man' philosophy.

What a stupid reason to try and sabotage the success of a much loved and desired project.

kickstarter is meant to 'kickstart' a project (not necessarily to completely fund it) and shenmue 3 was a very unlikely project that was a made a reality ONLY because of kickstarter.

shenmue 3 SHOULD be the finest jewel in the kickstarter crown but these weird idealists let their resentments of big publishers get in the way of their reasonable thought processes.

this is the biggest NON-controversy of all time.

it finally took this video to explain it , because all the previous articles by people promulgating the whole 'controversy' and 'scam' meme could not even coherently explain what it was that they found objectionable. turns out it was a bad and stupid reason.
by johnvivant
Thu Jul 30, 2015 1:56 pm
 
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Re: Game Informer Shenmue Chronicles Playthrough

sand4fish wrote: Episode 5 is online in their webpage for whoever is still following up their playthrough. The Youtube version should come up soon.


Love this playthrough! Seriously, indeed of jumping on clickbait trolls, we should get behind good playthroughs like this :)
by NeoShredder
Thu Jul 30, 2015 12:53 am
 
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Re: Game Informer Shenmue Chronicles Playthrough

Possibly the best playthrough with commentary out there for Shenmue 1. Keep watching this!
by Dragon St.
Wed Aug 12, 2015 3:19 pm
 
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Re: OVA or Manga/a better option and less controversial? [ra

Don't have much time so I'm going to boil this down.

Shenmue is a great game. Even after all this time it's still one of the most engrossing games I've ever played. A new Shenmue is exactly what this stagnant industry needs. No idea if it'll be great again, but if there's anyone who can pull it off it's Yu Suzuki. Peace.
by LucBu
Mon Aug 17, 2015 4:49 pm
 
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Re: Game Informer Shenmue Chronicles Playthrough

I watched the playthroughs since the episode 1 and have no complains for the moment as they still enjoy the game and fill the blanks when needed.

Hopefully they will make a Shenmue II playthrough.
by Yokosuka
Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:23 pm
 
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Game Informer: Why Do People Love Shenmue?

A 2 page article published in the latest issue of Game Informer

http://imgur.com/sBtWLk1,cICdUWi
by Technophilz
Thu Sep 10, 2015 5:28 pm
 
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Re: New Famitsu Interview with Yu (Sept 8th)

Ok, here is a translation for Part 1 of the Famitsu article. I hope this will minimize the pain of having to read the auto-translation from Google.

The second part will follow as soon as it is completed, although I know it's probably where the most interesting snippets of information may lie!

What will Shenmue III be like? A post-Kickstarter interview with Yu Suzuki (Part 1/2)

Shenmue 3 has drawn a lot of attention, after breaking several records on the crowd-funding site Kickstarter. We asked Yu Suzuki for his thoughts following the completion of Kickstarter, including the additional features that were reached through stretch goals.

How does Yu envision Shenmue 3?

The development of Shenmue 3 via crowd funding was announced at the Sony Computer Entertainment press conference, held the day before the opening of E3 2015. Through the crowd-funding campaign that was launched immediately on Kickstarter following the announcement, the funding milestone of $1,000,000 was achieved in record time; also a new record was set for the highest-funding for a Video Game on the platform, and total of approximately 780m yen of funding was gathered, making it the 6th most-funded project in Kickstarter history.

Famitsu.com carried out an interview with Yu Suzuki, director of the game that has been receiving all the attention: Shenmue 3. As this is the first interview after the end of the crowd funding, we also wanted to ask him about additional features achieved by the stretch goals. Check it out!

Looking back on a tumultuous month after the end of the Kickstarter project

Q: The Kickstarter campaign for Shenmue 3 recently finished as the most-funded Video Game on the platform. Please tell us honestly how you are feeling now.

Yu Suzuki (YS): Honestly speaking, it's "Here we go!"

Q: So you're feeling keen to get underway, rather than sitting back after a successful campaign?

YS: Yes, what I'd really like would be to make the development period longer. So it's like, "Hurry up, let's get started!"

Q: Will you move forward with development without any change to the planned release target date of the end of 2017?

YS: Yes. The budget from Kickstarter has now been confirmed, so I'm at the stage of seeing how far I can stretch the width and scale of the project within that budget.

Q: Looking back on the period from the Shenmue 3 announcement at E3 until now, what has been the most memorable thing for you?

YS: Most memorable for me while I was away at the E3 conference has to be the moment of the announcement. Right before it, while I was waiting backstage, the remake of Final Fantasy VII was announced, and I could hear the tremendous commotion. I was worrying and thinking "I hope Shenemue's going to be ok, 14 years on (from the previous game)" but when the video was shown I heard a huge cheer...

http://www.famitsu.com/images/000/087/158/l_55e03d3fd1969.jpg

Q: The cheering was really loud, wasn't it. People were getting to their feet in joy.

YS: Of the whole conference, that was the moment when the audience's reaction most sounded like screaming.

Q: Is it one you will always remember?

YS: A lot has happened since then, but that was the moment that touched me the most. Later on I watched videos of people's reactions to the Shenmue 3 announcement. There were people whose voices cracked with excitement, and others who didn't stop crying. I was really moved when I saw everyone's reactions.

Q: You have mentioned in previously that you had been considering Kickstarter for a long time. What things did you find most difficult or surprising when you actually ran the campaign?

YS: There was a lot to learn. I had heard that with Kickstarter, starting at a fast pace is important, so although I really wanted to announce something beforehand, I wasn't able to because it was to be announced at the Sony conference. So I thought about whether there was anything at all I could do, and on the morning of the conference I put up a photo of a forklift on Twitter… which got me scolded by someone from Sony (laughs).

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CHeMgPTUMAADEN1.jpg

Q: Fans will guess what's going on simply from seeing a forklift, you know! (laughs)

YS: But... it's just a forklift!

Q: I think it shows the extent to which forklifts have remained in everyone's hearts.

YS: That's true. In a survey of Shenmue fans, the third most popular thing people wanted to know was whether forklifts would make an appearance in Shenmue 3 (laughs).

Q: (laughs) By the way, approximately 780m yen was raised through the Kickstarter campaign; do you have plans for other ways to accept funding?

YS: I'm planning on accepting funding via PayPal. It is still being coordinated so I can't give details at the moment, but progress is being made on getting it ready.

Q: Depending on the amount of further funding, is there a possibility that stretch goals not reached during the Kickstarter campaign will be included?

YS: I would like to add them if possible. Kickstarter is a non-Japanese site and so I think it may have been hard for Japanese people to use. Even for the mailing address entry, people may have worried that making a slight mistake might result in their rewards not being delivered. So when accepting funding through PayPal, I'd like to ensure it supports Japanese language.

Q: That makes sense. With Japanese support, fans in Japan will feel relieved, won't they. Development work on Shenmue 3 will start in earnest from here, so are there any roles you are particularly looking for to help the development move forward?

YS: I would especially welcome any planners or programmers who would like to work together with us. Development will be carried out with Unreal Engine, so I'd be happy if they have experience in Unreal Engine development as well as in development for the home game market.

Appearance of new characters - and the return of some from the past, such as Nozomi

Q: Next I'd like to ask you in more detail about what kind of game Shenmue 3 will be. Firstly, there wasn't a stretch goal for "Japanese language support" in the stretch goals revealed on the Kickstarter site. But since Masaya Matsukaze has been announced as the voice actor for the lead character of Ryo Hazuki, there will be Japanese-language support, won't there?

YS: That's right. I won't be able to express subtle nuances unless I make it in Japanese first. After the Japanese version we'll make the English version, and then support for other languages will follow.

Q: So although the video for the Kickstarter project had the main character speaking in English, development of the game will be carried out with Japanese voices?

YS: Yes.

Q: I'm sure the fans are wondering who will be cast as voice actors for the Japanese version..?

YS: I haven't decided the cast of voice actors yet. Some of those who were cast for the previous games are no longer active in voice acting, so...

Q: But if you tell them "I'm making Shenmue 3!", maybe they'll come out of retirement for you!

YS: If that happened, I would be really happy. I'd love to have them return.

Q: I hope we can get everyone from the cast to read this interview. So, at the moment are you in the middle of writing the scenarios?

YS: Yes, I'm working on them now, and the main scenario is largely done. I'm discussing with Yoshimoto-san the parts I'd like to expand a bit more [Editor's note: scriptwriter Masahiro Yoshimoto, who is in charge of the scripts for the series].

Q: Have you already started making maps and character models?

YS: No, not yet. They will be done after we've finished adjusting things like the scenario structure and the order in which each of the maps will be traveled to.

Q: Shenmue 3 will feature the three villages of Bailu, Choubu and Baisha, with gameplay differing in each of the villages - could you tell us about the characteristics of each of the villages?

YS: The village of Bailu, which you visit first, is where Ryo ended up at the end of Shenmue 2. You will be exploring the mountain village and the inner depths of the mountains of Guilin. Choubu is more developed than Bailu village, more like a town. The size of the town will be set accordingly for the funding that was achieved through Kickstarter. It looks like I will be able to make its scale slightly larger than I had originally planned. In Choubu you can buy things and carry out quests. You will be able to play minigames, and there will be food stalls, souvenir shops, lodges, temples and other buildings there.

Q: So Bailu village will feature in the story as somewhere to enjoy the scenery, while Choubu will be where you can enjoy open-world gameplay like in the previous game?

YS: Yes, although the word "open-world" may lead to misunderstanding as there are now many great open world games around…. Choubu is a place with "Shenmue-like" gameplay - what I called FREE for the earlier Shenmue games. I consider Bailu village to be a place where you can enjoy spending time with Shenhua. And for Baisha, I'm planning to make it a place where you can play in completely different way from the earlier Shenmue games. It's the place I want to focus on most.

Q: Could you give a little more detail about Baisha?

http://www.famitsu.com/images/000/087/158/l_55e03d474bf9e.jpg

YS: It has several enemy hideouts, and you can enjoy the situation of infiltrating one; protecting your friends from external attack as you battle with enemies to take it over. You will not simply be fighting, but will make full use of war tactics that resemble famous tactics from China's Three Kingdoms period, such as the Water Attack or the Fire Attack, as you fight. This may sound very difficult, but I plan to make it straight-forward when you try playing, so please don't worry about that.

Q: In a previous interview, you mentioned being able to change your player character during these operations, didn't you?

YS: That would be the stretch goal that was successfully reached during the Kickstarter, called the Character Perspective system. I'd like to allow you to be able to play not just as Ryo, but also as others like Shenhua and Ren, and clearly portray the characteristics of each of the characters. For example… Shenhua, a girl, wouldn't do something like suddenly hit someone else.

Q: She doesn't seem like the type to do that, does she.

YS: And so, if you have selected Shenhua, you won't have the option to hit. However, if it is Ren, he may well suddenly strike out (laughs). In this way, depending on the character the things you can do differ, and depending on your choice the outcome will change. I'd also like to portray the differences between men and women.

Q: Between men and women?

YS: In the places where Character Perspective occurs, there are events where you advance as a pair. At that time, if you are controlling Ren then he'll be like "Hey, I'm so cool" and try to put on an act, whereas if you control Shenhua she'll look at his posing and think "What an idiot…" - that kind of thing (laughs).

It's something that happens in real life too, right? It is said that if you talk to two people that have had an argument, they will give you completely different stories about it, although they have experienced the same thing. I'd like to express the difference in values between men and women, as well as the kind of everyday life situations that everyone can relate to. I don't think many games have delved into this kind of thing deeply, so I think it will be an attractive new aspect of Shenmue which sets it apart from other games, as well as from the previous chapters.

Q: It makes me want to try controlling various different characters. On that point, I'd like to ask about the characters. Could you tell us about Ren, once again?

YS: Ren is a character who appeared in Shenmue 2, and is the leader of a Hong Kong street gang. He's cunning, intelligent, and skillful at fighting. At first he travels with Ryo from impure motives - "I smell money involved!", but gradually starts to look up to Ryo. I haven't yet mentioned about how Ren makes this transition, but I hope you will enjoy it. Shenmue 3 contains some fun scenes with Ren.

Q: It sounds like Ren will be quite heavily involved in Shenmue 3's story...?

YS: Who knows? (laughs)

Q: We're looking forward to hearing more about that (laughs). Next, could you tell us about Niao Sun, a woman who will make her appearance in Shenmue 3?

YS: She is one of the four Chiyoumen leaders and rules over the South. Ruling over the East is the Blue Dragon ("Sōryū"), Lan Di. Niao Sun is the Flame Empress ("Entei") who rules over the South, and is a beautiful but cruel character. I'm really excited as I'm able to at last portray Niao Sun, in Shenmue 3. [Editor's note: Niao Sun was presented to the public prior to the release of the first chapter of Shenmue, and was introduced in the character introduction video but she did not appear in Shenmue or Shenmue II.]

Q: And in Shenmue 3, Shenhua will finally become fully involved in the story, won't she.

http://www.famitsu.com/images/000/087/158/l_55e03d45d7658.jpg

YS: I took a vote on the most popular characters from Shenmue up until now and, most likely because she didn't appear much, Shenhua ranked low. Even after the announcement of the Kickstarter campaign, all I heard was "Please include Nozomi" (laughs). So I've made it possible to make a phone call to Nozomi.

Q: In this next game, it has been announced that there will be parameters that represent your relationship with Shenhua. I believe that in Shenmue 2 Fang Mei also had an affinity parameter - will it be something similar but more in-depth than that? [Editor's note: depending on how favorable her impression of Ryo was, Fang Mei would change how she called him, and special events would take place].

YS: Well, I hadn't really been thinking of Fang Mei.

Q: Are you able to give more details about the parameters for Shenhua at this point?

YS: I haven't finalised them yet, but I'm thinking of setting up around 3 parameters like level of trust, level of intimacy, friendliness toward you… something like these would be the top contenders. With a high level of friendliness, cooperation with Shenhua will go smoothly, that sort of thing. With the Character Perspective which will feature in the latter half of the game, if you choose to play as Shenhua, her true feelings will be revealed, and you may be in for a shock - "So that's what she thinks of me…!" That's something I'd like to try to do. (laughs)

Q: You might find she actually doesn't think much of you! (laughs)

YS: I think male players make up the majority, so I think it will be fun to introduce an element where they will think "Ouch!".

Q: Will the parameters be set up only for Shenhua? Do you plan to set up parameters for any other characters, such as Nozomi?

YS: It would be more enjoyable if there were parameters for other characters too, wouldn't it. For example if you get along too well with Shenhua, Nozomi may get jealous and cut your phone call short with a cool "Oh. Really….". I haven't decided the details yet, but I'll consider it.

End of Part 1
by Switch
Fri Sep 11, 2015 8:58 am
 
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Re: Game Informer Shenmue Chronicles Playthrough

Episode 15
phpBB [video]
by Yokosuka
Fri Sep 11, 2015 4:36 pm
 
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Re: New Famitsu Interview with Yu (Sept 8th)

Personally, the Battle System is the least thing I would care about Shenmue 3. The Guilin region in Shenmue II, didn't have fighting at all, and it is a glimpse of where the true spirit of the Shenmue series resides. It's a glimpse of the quintessence of interactive storytelling.

I had rather wish Yu Suzuki to spend more money on the Rapport and Character Perspective System, than that. I want humanness and spiritualness to reach a higher quality this time, and feel more empathy and deeper emotions for the characters and a stronger contextual bonding with the world.

As for the Battle System, I fully support Yu's vision to it depend mostly on decisions/intuition, a thinking-based one, rather than mostly on reflexives.
by Giorgio
Sun Sep 13, 2015 9:23 am
 
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Re: New Famitsu Interview with Yu (Sept 8th)

Personally, the Battle System is the least thing I would care about Shenmue 3. The Guilin region in Shenmue II, didn't have fighting at all, and it is a glimpse of where the true spirit of the Shenmue series resides. It's a glimpse of the quintessence of interactive storytelling.

I had rather wish Yu Suzuki to spend more money on the Rapport and Character Perspective System, than that. I want humanness and spiritualness to reach a higher quality this time, and feel more empathy and deeper emotions for the characters and a stronger contextual bonding with the world.

As for the Battle System, I fully support Yu's vision to it depend mostly on decisions/intuition, a thinking-based one, rather than mostly on reflexives.

Yeah, fully agree. Wouldn't hurt with an amazing battle system though. :) But like you said I wouldn't want it to take up too much of the resources.
by Gen
Sun Sep 13, 2015 9:35 am
 
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Re: Game Informer Shenmue Chronicles Playthrough

phpBB [video]


New video

PS. Isn't this supposed to be in SI forum ?
by shredingskin
Wed Sep 30, 2015 11:19 pm
 
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Re: So is Shenmue NOT mass market?

People tend to classify Shenmue as a niche game because of main two things : the gameplay and the consideration that the franchise was a flop. Without one of these two things, I'm 99% sure no one today would dare this statement.

But we know that Shenmue I sold very well. We know that the Shenmue II success was mission impossible even with Final Fantasy or Counter Strike as a title name.
We know that slow pace/contemplative gameplay can be appreciated by the mass (point & click golden era, FPS/point & click, sandboxes open worlds where you do nothing the most of the time, some stealth games).

However it's true that Shenmue cannot be played by everyone. Shenmue had excellent reviews but half of the reviewers were personally divided and you can find easily similar statements through the net. But which genre is really affordable for everyone ? Racing games, FPS, BTA, action games, GTA, rpg, all these genres can be boring according the player you are.

Then I would add that, unlike more classic games, you don't have to be a gamer to enjoy Shenmue : the mechanics are easily understandable and the themes are all open minded. If you're tired of the typical gunfights fest or brainless button smashing in video games, Shenmue is perfect for you.

It's funny to see Shenmue is somehow the remake of Virtua Fighter. Yu wanted to create a fighting game with a simple and very intuitive gameplay. Ten years later, Virtua Fighter is viewed as the most technical 3D VS fighting franchise and the perfect anti-casual game. Yu felt himself a little ashamed in spite of his franchise being praised by all the critics and the players. Remember the Yu's big smile at this child in the Making of Shenmue. He hates niche gaming, it's like discrimination for him.
by Yokosuka
Wed Sep 30, 2015 3:05 pm
 
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NoconKid (Shenmue HD) working on Shenmue III :)

Tweet from @Shenmue_3:
Yes, it’s official! NoconKid is signed on for #Shenmue3 !!! http://shenmue.link/order/

http://i.imgur.com/ew0tlo8.png
Source: https://twitter.com/Shenmue_3/status/650337291781566464

In the rare case you don't know already, NoconKid is the creator of the Shenmue HD Fanmade Remaster:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7cjDaOQpB0
by Amir
Sat Oct 03, 2015 11:53 am
 
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