MiTT3NZ wrote: Not necessarily the case with Shenmue Online. It was a pre-existing game that SEGA granted a Shenmue reskin to. They'd invest money, but the return would've been worth it for them as China and South Korea were really getting into their MMOs at the time, and PSO was enjoying success in the East.
It was considered a wise investment, as the company had survived the Dreamcast era and the software-only approach was working. The online market in the East was ripe for the taking. They had sci-fi with PSO, and they wanted the fantasy genre too, with Shenmue being an optimal choice (remember that this deal had been worked out before Shenmue 2X was released)
I'm not sure if it was Japanese stubbornness or a stupid decision to try rebuilding it after the initial developer pulled out, but either way it didn't help Shenmue as a brand in SEGA's eyes. It would've been a noticeable enough loss n'all.
Either way though it was far from wasting money on a Shenmue-related thing and was motivated by identifying an emerging market that had a gap they could fill. That is business.
Okay, well maybe they can set aside business for once and invest money purely for the fans and for Yu Suzuki. I mean years down the road after Shenmue III is released or when the saga is over, they could regret not saving the series and wonder what could have been if they had stepped in. There's only going to be one chance at a Shenmue III and their involvement may very well make the difference between getting future installments or the saga left without a conclusion once again. And for Shenmue IV and beyond, they probably won't even have to spend any money so this is only a one off. In the grand scheme of things, $50M is nothing. I know what I'm saying isn't likely to happen since Sega have proven to be greedy and quite stubborn but it would be nice if they realised this and acted before it's too late.