Shenmue-gai Premiere to be held on Nov. 15

[Wanderin']

Well, even though the lady said that only questions about Shenmue Gai in particular could be fielded, yeah, the questions asked basically revolved around whether Suzuki would ever finish presenting the entire story of Shenmue at some point in time, to which Suzuki unfortunately gave us the darn classic "yes, I would like to deliver the remaining story in whatever format possible - but I cannot promise this," response.

So - there you have it folks. Now, I will always remain optimistic about Shenmue being concluded, but we have heard it straight from Yu Suzuki's mouth today: he cannot promise that he will ever be able to deliver the rest of the Shenmue story to his fans. This, my friends, is where we have stood for over a decade, and where we continue to stand with regards to Shenmue's future. And this, is also very dissapointing, as always.

But, like I say - if it came directly from Suzuki's mouth, then I accept it for what it is. He cannot promise a finish to Shenmue any time soon, and that's that at the moment. I guess I just found the whole press release to be a huge, huge farce. I mean you drag out your Sega semi-big wigs, Suzuki himself, and fraggin' Segata Sanshiro himself to make all these comments about how Shenmue is a legendary Sega classic that changed the future of games forever and how Sanshiro is deeply honoured to have participated in such a monolithic series just so they can push a simple, simple social net game? Whatever. You'd think all that fanfare would lead to Shenmue 3 - the crowd knew it, Suzuki knew it, the big wigs knew it - that's why most of the press questions focused on whether or not Suzuki would actually finish the story. But no.

In a nutshell, oh well. Guess I'll be seeing you guys 'round for another decade or two before someone finally says they'll never make Shenmue again. And you know what? I'd actually be satisfied if they came right out and said that. Cheers.

[Panda_rapist]

^ i have to agree on that, but what seemed interesting is that he said that he would release it on any format possible, and he also said that the story of shenmue gai may continue via updates, i guess as a last solution he could always bring it via shenmue town via a update but it would be less interesting playing it as a 3rd party character

[Dorian]

THE SHENMUE CYCLE

Sorry, boys and girls... :<

[Wanderin']

If I may add another observation at this time, it would be this too: despite the fact that Dreamcast titles will start appearing for download on XBL and PSN in the near future, the Shenmue titles will most likely not be included in such plans.

Why? Because if we had it our way, the release of Shenmue 1 and 2 as downloadable XBL and PSN games would have most likely meant that a third and final Shenmue would have been on the way. But, if Suzuki himself has no plans whatsoever to finish the core saga at the moment, then the release of downloadable SI and SII would simply drag Sega again through the game media and fan circus of "why release these games to us if you're never going to you know, actually finish the series?", which would ultimately bring even more shame and criticism upon the company.

So - and now I would have thought that I would be the last one to say this, but - don't think too much into the release of Shenmue Gai (we all know it does not have the capacity to tell the Shenmue saga in any meaningful capacity), and don't wait for re-releases of HD Shenmue 1 and 2 anytime soon until those Sega idiots - Suzuki included (you heard that here first, folks!) - stop dancing around the obvious: which is that everyone expects Shenmue 3 but no one at Sega no longer has the courage to actually step up and deliver to their you know, fans. Keep on wanderin' folks, keep on wanderin'.

[Ziming]

Never say never...however no promises can be made. lol

[Dorian]

OK, people. I will say it officially - I no longer believe that Shenmue III will ever come out. This event has killed my last hope. I also no longer care for the story. I wanted to see it in all its glory. If it's not possible to conclude it that way, then Ryo and Shenhua are as good as dead for me now.

[Panda_rapist]

^ that wasnt a surprise at all

[Ziming]

Whatever format possible.....so the story could end up being finished in Shenmue-gai? If he can't finish the story through games he should at least choose a format that can properly do so. What other formats do you think is feasible? Anime or manga?

[Henry Spencer]

lol

So much for that optimism that everybody was pushing around. It's like watching Shenmue's funeral. Meltdowns begin.

And I'd rather see nothing than no Shenmue 3 and some other format release (manga, anime, short CG movie). I didn't play these games for the story, sorry. Shenmue 3 or bust.

[shenhua legend]

Any chance to watch the event again?, I was working

[Segata Sanshiro]

Any chance to watch the event again?, I was working

I recorded it and plan to upload it to youtube, but my connection is so slow that someone else will probably do it before me. I'll try anyway. Of course, anyone else feel free to upload it if you have it too.

Now, about the game. It'd have to suck a lot for a Shenmue fan not to enjoy it. I see it as a pastime until Shenmue III comes, if that ever happens. In the meantime, I'm not against the idea of going back to Yokosuka and hang around the dojo, or managing my own You Arcade. It sounds like a good Shenmue "fix" for the fans.

Obviously Shenmue III would be better, and if you really wanted to hang around Dobuita, you could always do that on the Dreamcast, but still, this is better than nothing at all. Plus we got to see Suzuki's new haircut.

[zachthezombie]

LOL i was watching the stream this morning but passed out due to bordom i got to just after the Q&A did thay ever get round to showing the game its selfe or were those screen shots the game

[blacktorn]

I hope someone post's the stream up on youtube soon i really want to watch the conference although i am thinking most of it is in Japanese haha.

Anyway the new news coming out about shenmue city has rekindled my dying interest in shenmue,i thought originally that shenmue city was going to be an exclusive mobile game relating to something like Habbo hotel where the main function is to chat with other players but just in shenmue kameo's but i am much more excited for shenmue city seeing as it is actually realted to the main story in some way,if at minimum it turns out to be shenmue 1 but online with other players then im actually pretty excited for that,as long as they keep the original feel to the game and don't make it a spaming f1-f9 mmorpg like all other mmorpgs out there it should be good,oh and it's also free so what's to complain about

It will no doubt be my most played pc game/social thing when it is released

Who's willing to guess the NO.1 thing talked about amoungst players in shenmue city will be Shenmue 3?

[mue 26]

Same ol thing then huh, a bit of shame.

The only thing that annoys me is the way they big up the original Shenmue games and make reference to how great and ground breaking they were, to the point where lierally everyone has gone into a Shenmue 3 dream trance, only to rudely snap us out of it by revealing a pale imitation of what Shenmue was about.

I mean don't get me wrong having Shenmue gai is a great hope for me and I remain optimistic, I also don't have a problem with them making the game, it could be a good idea I guess. But at least don't play with our emotions like this, it's also not smart as coming out of a nostalgia driven Shenmue daze, into reality and seeing Gai's lacklustre presentation... well it makes Gai seem very underwhelming, and slightly depressing.

I'm confused about who will play this too, as veteran Shenmue fans will probably cringe ar the idea of playing this watered down(or should I just say different) version of Shenmue, and I doubt the usual casual or mobile gamers will really have any time of day for Shenmue, so who will? Still I do hope it somehow beats the odds and becomes a success, Yu is more than capable of surprising us I guess.

Although I must say a disagree with Wonderin about Shenmue being eventually released on XBL or PSN. It really is just a matter of time, and very likely to happen sooner or later. At the end of the day Sega don't give a shit about how shameful they look(can they really get any worse?), if they can make money from it you can bet they will do it.

Is it true though that you can't even explore in Gai?

anyway I'm waiting for Alim's inevitable insanely optimistic post, hopefully that will cheer me up, unless....that depressing reveal didn't get you too did it alimn, NOT YOU TOO! The day that man loses hope, there is no more hope in the world.

[Ziming]

Yu Suzuki Discusses Shenmue's Story

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/1 ... i_shenmue/

"Shenmue itself is an incomplete work," said Suzuki. "There is a story post Shenmue II. While I can't make any promises at present, if Shenmue City is loved by users, and if service for the game continues, I believe we'll be able to deliver those through version ups and so forth."

While this response appears to apply to new story elements in Shenmue City itself, Suzuki was later asked by ITmedia's own reporter if he plans on completing the Shenmue series. Replied Suzuki, "The feeling of incompleteness is something that I feel strongest. If I have a chance to do it, I'd like to realize this for fans, regardless of what form it takes." Further projects could be dependent on the success of Shenmue City. Continued Suzuki, "If service continues, I believe we'll be able to share [the rest of the story] at some point in some form."

ITmedia's question made mention of the Shenmue story having "16 scenarios." Suzuki corrected them, saying that it's actually 11 scenarios.