At first I was disappointed with this news as we were getting the game in about six months but you know what, this is much more a good thing then it is bad. I was thinking it would be delayed until Feb/March 2018 so my jaw kind of dropped when Yu Suzuki said 'second half of 2018' but he gives a very good and positive reason.
The game will be bigger, better and more polished, sure it's quite a delay but that time will spend in making the game we all want and what Yu Suzuki wants. We want it more like the first to games and for it to be different as well. It was so satisfying to hear that he's now able to make the game more like his sixteen year long dream vision and his other quote 'In many ways, the game has become bigger and more beautiful than I initially expected' was a beautiful thing to hear. Every Shenmue fan wants to hear that. I'm pleased for Yu Suzuki that he has found out he can do more with the game, with new possibilities and with the technology. Now that the game won't be out for quite awhile and some time next year, this gives more time for Shenmue HD to come out. I personally don't see it happening at E3 but that doesn't mean it won't ever be.
We have a pretty long road ahead of us guys but in the end I think and hope Shenmue III will be worth it. We want the best version of the game for it to be a success, not for it to be a failure and for the series to go into development hell again. We want to see how the story finishes and for that we want to see Yu Suzuki's game and if we can 'beautiful' just like the first two games. I'm liking the nice and positive reactions of the delay by the way. It's goes to show how much people love Shenmue as a community. We did save Shenmue after all.
How good is it gonna be when we finally see a trailer of Shenmue 3 and gameplay? The future is bright I hope.