Shenmue years question

[Jesse]

This has always been one of the most fascinating things to me about the Shenmue franchise oddly enough. How many years do you think the series will stretch into? I've always felt that by winter of 1988 is a nice closing point. What are some of your guesses and why.

[Spaghetti]

Unless there's a time skip, 1988 seems pretty reasonable.

Shenmue III should take us up to the point where the story can probably be concluded in 1-2 more games, and if they give you a maximum amount of time to finish the game at 5 in-game months, it's pretty reasonable to think Winter '88 might be where things wrap up.

[Cyberman]

Late 87 or 88.

[Mr357]

Shenmue I begins on December 3rd, 1986, and must be completed no later than April 14th, 1987. That's 4 months and 12 days, or 133 days, to be exact.

Shenmue II can begin as early as January 6th, 1987 (unless you skip days in Shenmue I with the help of glitches), and has to be completed on or before June 31st, 1987. That's 5 months and 26 days, or 177 days. However, if you don't import a save file, the game will default to a starting date of February 23rd, 1987, meaning the maximum amount of time you have is 4 months and 9 days, or 129 days.

I predict that Shenmue III will start in early May and go no later than the end of September. If a fourth game ends the series, I don't think we'll ever see 1988.