Never say never, Shenmue III still a possibility...

[ThyDarkAngel]

The attitude towards the continuation of Shenmue is finally changing, if ever so slowly.
It will pay off in the end, my friends.
Keep at it, with more or less hope or none at all, keep being the patient (patiently impatient?), demanding, never quitting bastards we are know to be.

Like I am know to say, it will come.

[mue 26]

I like his positive attitude and his ability to recognize the obvious.
What kind of decision making power he has is negligible when it comes to Sega of Japan decisions, but he can communicate to his peer's and superior's what he thinks is a good decision for his region(s). He is President of Sega West after all, so he has quite abit of power and sway in his hands.
I like the times we're in right now.
It seems like we have alot of positive movement for the series lately. Theirs alot of activity these days.
Comments like these only give us hope for the future.
They tease. But id rather be teased all my life then be flat out told no.

Yep I completely agree with this, this year has got to be the most hopeful year for us Shenmue fans at least since Shenmue online was cancelled. Dare I say I have a good feeling about all this.

[Schiff]

well, it's a fact that after years of utter silence, now something is in the air. It may fade away or.... not. We'll see.

[Lan Di sama]

Sega is like that girl who likes to tease you but never puts out.

[PirateMuffins]

They tease. But id rather be teased all my life then be flat out told no.

Can't say i agree with that, i'd rather be told no than given hope over and over just for it to lead to nothing.

[Fenix]

Sega is like that girl who likes to tease you but never puts out.

Sega's showing to the others companies his little bitch just trying give sex or game for money.

That's a shame

[Riku Rose]

Sega is like that girl who likes to tease you but never puts out.

But I can't spike SEGA's drink.

Why are you all getting your panties in a twist? SEGA want's to do it but can't simple as they can't give a yes or no. They have said this over and over yet you all still whine saying you want to know if it will ever be made. THEY CAN'T AFFORD IT BUT WOULD DO IT IF THEY COULD AND IT WOULD MAKE THEM MONEY.

Now stop being bitches about it.

[Without Remorse]

This is one of the most positive things we have seen in years. Excellent.

[TwiceFriedRice]

This sounds like the same rehashed crap we've heard for years.

"No plans at the moment, but keep hoping anyway...."

What is everyone getting so excited about?

[Wanderin']

Actually, every Shenmue fan here certainly should be very excited by Mr. Hayes' recent words and awareness of our want for a Shenmue 3.

Even if this is really just the typical 'we want to, but have no current plans' write off statement but dressed in nicer sounding words, this - like so many other forum goers here have mentioned - is the most Shenmue related news and comments we've EVER had in recent years.

Besides, even if what I say next might sound somewhat backwards for all of us, give yourselves a hand: the successes that we achieve as fans by our perpetual and incessant demands and bickering for the series come in the form of temporally innfrequent and small, almost insignificant advances for a third game - we all know this. What Mr. Hayes has said recently has just become one of those small, almost insignificant advances, if nothing else. So let's keep on doing what we do, because it will eventually get us there.

Other than that, this 'never say never' statement is something we can hold Sega to now as money paying customers. This isn't Adam Doree. And this isn't that previous Sega West president (forgot his name...) who outright said 'we have no current plans to continue the series at all,'. This is Mr. Hayes' response to his being aware that there is a very real customer base who have confirmed that they want and would buy a Shenmue 3.

Mr. Hayes' bosses might very well be facepalming themselves right now but what he has said has become somewhat of a liability that squarely centers on Sega's questionable credibility. In effect, Mr. Hayes has in fact become the new Adam Doree - if we do go for decades again without a third and final Shenmue then we have every right to criticize the company for officially admitting that they know that Shenmue 3 is one of the most highly demanded products from their fans but yet they choose to purposefully ignore, alienate, and distance said fans/customers by not making Shenmue 3.

And for all those who cling to the idea that Sega can't afford to make a Shenmue 3, I'd like to propose here (like I have elsewhere on these forums) that profit has never been an issue and is quite frankly an outdated excuse for Sega. If Sega used existing development engines (ie. their very own Yakuza engine, the Unreal engine, etc.), a third game would largely cost the same as any other contemporary game would to make these days. On the other hand, many, if not all of us, have gone on record saying that we wouldn't even mind if Shenmue 3 was made with HD quality Dreamcast software, development with which would most likely accrue only very reasonable costs in this day and age.

After all, the original graphics in Shenmue I and II are still very acceptably serviceable if not still attractive. A 'complete collection' package of an HD Dreamcast developed Shenmue 3 with digital downloads or hard copy inclusions of HD versions of SI and II would solve the problem of how to catch up new players to the series and give Sega the even more affordable route of making it all XBL and/or PSN episodic downloads/downloadable games. Additionally, reviewers would most likely favourably comment on the value of such a complete series collection - not only because it would be able to successfully catch up both old and new players alike at once with one contemporary product but also because the whole saga may very well 'play' better or at least flow better if we experience it all as a complete single package instead of disjointed 'chapters' that were made available between irregular intervals (the release dates between SI, SII, and sigh, SIII).

Consequently, I leave you with this sentiment (I sincerely apologize for the length of this post): if Shenmue 3 would only be as expensive as Sega wanted it to be, then there really is no plausibly acceptable reason as to why Sega 'can't/don't want to' make Shenmue 3. Instead, this is an issue about Sega's credibility and integrity. They know that their fans want it, and we want it because we think Shenmue is representative of Sega's previous creativity and innovation. Giving us an adequately developed Shenmue 3 (remember - even though we'd want it to be, we really don't expect Shenmue 3 to be at the same level [in terms of cost and bells and whistles] as say, Mass Effect 2) that adequately satisfies us would go a long way in winning Sega back the critical and consumer respect that Sega used to enjoy when it did make titles like Shenmue, Jet Set Radio, Panzer Dragoon, etc.

Besides - this has EVERYTHING to do with Mike Hayes! He is the president of Sega West and he is now aware of how many western gamers/fans want Shenmue 3. Many (if not the vast majority of) Shenmue fans are western gamers (ex. Europe, North America). Sega currently is preoccupied with wanting to know what kind of games their western gamers want. In conclusion, I think we need to ramp up our overt and public oratories in favour of Shenmue 3 and I also think Mike Hayes has suddenly got his hands on an important new proposal for Shenmue 3 to propose at whatever next Sega coporate direction meeting they have in his role as representative of Sega's movements in the western gaming market.

[Yama]

This sounds like the same rehashed crap we've heard for years.

"No plans at the moment, but keep hoping anyway...."

What is everyone getting so excited about?

More or less, you are right. Though I will admit the series has been getting much more attention over the past half-year than over previous years. Good or bad, it's attention.

[Henry Spencer]

This sounds like the same rehashed crap we've heard for years.

"No plans at the moment, but keep hoping anyway...."

What is everyone getting so excited about?

Thank you. If anything, people are getting too excited and will only let themselves in for more disappointment. People need to calm down.

[pno]

I've been here for 6 years and it's still the same old regurgitated shit. Tbh, I'm not sure that I would get that excited if Shenmue 3 was now announced anyway, it's been a very long time now and I'm not that into games as much nowadays anyway. Yeah, it would be nice to find out what happens, but fuck, I'm really not that arsed.

[Axm]

Wanderin' makes alot of great opinions. Im thinking exactly like you at the momment. Thanks for a great post.
I think theirs alot of value to be had in the Shenmue franchise. I think people at Sega might be starting to realize that recently and are slowly taking steps towards a more agressive decision soon.

[DoubleO_Ren]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1r1tUahB0s[/youtube]

Someone needs to make a Shenmue spoof of this with this article.