Has Sega put it's credability on the line ?

[Les]

With the most recent statement of "waiting with expectations" has Sega put it's credability on the line ?

While the fan letter misinterpetation was not Segas fault and they certainly had nothing to do with their "secret" game being speculated on by the wishful thinkers here to be Shenmue 3 instead of Outrun 2, they did make some comments about a year ago that lead us to think Shenmue 3 was on the verge of an announcment and production like "we continue with the series because of strong fan demand" or something like that then they don't say anything for 9 months untill the Edge interview and Yu Suzuki says "no comment" with his head bowed down as if he were embaressed.

This time they say wait with expectation, but wont pull the trigger and say what we are to wait for. It's a Shenmue site so what else could it mean ? Hopefully nothing else, but at this point how many of you even if you love Sega games trust Sega manegment to do what they hint at ???

Les

[- Guizhang Chen -]

uummmm sorry im drunk i have no logical answer or understanding of what you just wrote.

[mikec_ct]

I agree to an extent. Let's wait and see. It starts to feel like a tease if they don't announce anything in 2004

[Brothaman]

I certainly think that Sega has put there reputation on the line. If there is no Shenmue III annoucement in 2004, then F*ck Sega!

[shenmuefan_]

if no info at e3 im giving up

[code l name]

Sega lost their credibility a long, long time ago. As much as I love the games the company has produced over the years, the endless blunders and what can only be described as moronic business decisions has made Sega and the word credibile, something of an oxymoron.

[SxualVnilla]

Oh come on, the Master System was not a blunder. What about the 32x, or maybe Sega CD? Huh, give Sega some credit. Out of any of the game (or game systems)producers that I have seen, next to Commodore for being one of the first, Sega has been the most expiremental in its venttures. Yes, maybe some of them have not been for the best, but when you think about it, would we have Shenmue if Sega didn't decide many moons ago to produce it?

[code l name]

There is a difference between being innovative and creative, and making some plain stupid decisions. As a consumer I've been at the brunt end of this and have been burnt numerous times, with discontinued hardware (Saturn, Sega CD, Gamegear, Saturn, 32X and Dreamcast). This isn't to mentioned the whole host of cancelled software and products. While I can appriciate Sega has endured some bad luck, their failed projects have come from a lack of planning, decisive decisions and a very narrow perspective.

Like I said, I have loved Sega games over the years but it's no secret they have treated their loyal consumers like absolute shit, for lack of better words.

[b_ren]

If there is nothing this year it's over.

[Silas]

Have I missed something? When have SEGA said anything like "Wait for news"?

As far as I know Yu Suzuki said that DR are going to unveil their games at E3. Well, duh! They are a game development studio, in business since October, they'd better have some games to show or at least talk about at E3!!

I've finally come to the conclusion that Shenmue.com is maintained by fans external to SEGA. Certainly no news has appeared anywhere other than the muecas page, which is all fan-derived. So nothing official there.

Interviews muecas have engineered with two guys who worked on Shenmue in the past have resulted in teasing hints. Clearly those guys are working on something otherwise they would have mentioned that they were out of work. The word Shenmue wasn't spoken with regard to what they are working on at the moment.

Those interviews don't constitute any kind of SEGA-authorised statement either.

So exactly when did SEGA drop any hints about Shenmue III?

If Bungie were to talk about something for a lot of fans to look forward to, everybody knows they're talking about Halo. If Rockstar talk about something for a lot of fans to look forward to, everybody knows they're talking about GTA. The same really cannot be said about SEGA and Shenmue. When Digital Rex talk about their upcoming lineup there is considerable evidence to suggest that their main concern is Shenmue, but they're new, they are not the studio which originally made Shenmue. We really don't know what they're going to talk about.

On another part of this subject, SEGA have done their best in the world of hardware and they've always been knocked back. They've just come through a pretty difficult year overall, maybe they lost some of their direction and of course were anxious, maybe over-anxious, to get some money in their coffers after the Dreamcast lost so much. They've reorganised and installed a new President, and now there is much talk about possible takeovers by Sammy amongst others. So in what way are they "treating the fans like shit"? I simply don't understand this.

[Les]

Silas, I thought the muecas interviews were with current Sega people because they made what was said, that we should wait with expectation, sounded really positive that something was really going to be announced this new year sometime. I'm a realist I prefer hard news to fan gossip, if that is all that was with "former" Shenmue people then we are right back where we were after the edge interview, god, I hope thats not true.

Allthough K.O.T.O.R was a direct ripp off of Shenmue in game style it was in my opionion the best game of 2004 and I think it sold pretty well. To me it proved that games like Shenmue can be made and sell well and make money if they are advertised properly, I hope Sega exec's [like the president of the company] are aware of how well K.O.T.O.R did while deciding Shenmue 3's fate.

Les

[Lan Di-sama]

Although I haven't played or seen much, I can tell KOTOR is nothing like shenmue. KOTOR is a little more interactive when it comes to communicating with people-you get choices and your reputation depends on these. The fighting is nothing like shenmue at all.

Anyway, this time, it isn't Sega dropping the hints. Its Digital Rex themselves. What "Taka-san" said, to wait with expectations, is a pretty big hint for shenmue. That's the only thing anyone is expecting from them. But she could also mean, wait with expectations of something good.

And those being interviewed at the Muecas page are members of digital rex, I think. Since Digital Rex has hold of shenmue, and they are the ones who are apparently working on it, they have to be.

And since it's Digital Rex dropping hints and saying to wait for something good, we can only assume and hope for shenmue. Digital Rex to shenmue as Bungie to Halo.

[Silas]

My point is that hints dropped by SEGA employees (extracted by crafty questioning) are not hints being dropped by SEGA, the corporate entity.

Les your question was "Is SEGA destroying their credibility?" I'm just trying to point out that SEGA aren't really doing anything. Your "hint" from a year ago was Yu Suzuki, again asking a specific question in an interview. If Peter Jackson dropped hints a year ago about what was going to be in Return of the King, that has nothing to do with New Line who, for example, could have pulled the plug a month later and decided not to give PJ the money to make the third film. Would you be saying "New Line have destroyed their credibility because 'they' said there'd be oliphaunts in the next movie that would knock your socks off". (This is a totally hypothetical case, by the way, I know that was never going to happen.) I'm trying to show there's a distinct difference between what a creative artist might say about his own work and what the corporate entity (which is, after all, paying for the damn thing) actually say or do.

[- Guizhang Chen -]

Yes, Sega definetly has their credibility on the line. Shenmue III will come out anyway regardless if we continue with this topic, but yes other than continuing the saga of Shenmue, SEGA has decent titles although not as important since Shenmue is a large span of games, which has developed a fanbase over the years. Instead of single titles which just come and go.

[Daemos]

KOTOR sold well due to the Star Wars license/name. If it wasn't SW-related, it wouldn't self half of what it did.