Spaghetti wrote: They've said from the start they wanted to preserve the games as close to the Dreamcast originals as possible.
This is really just a continuation of that, and further confirmation they're trying to undo the legal knot of the tie-in brands. If they don't get the licencing, then they'll do the texture replacements where needed. I'm actually slightly proud of SEGA for not taking the easiest option available.
I would not be surprised if they are working on it silently, but can't announce it until the licence issue is straight up put to bed one way or another.
No real reason to be doom mongering about this. They've stated their intention to make it happen, have given us a clear answer about what the hold up is, and have continually reaffirmed they absolutely want to do it.
This isn't like six-seven years ago when we got excited when SEGA brought up Shenmue unprompted. Their European COO has gone on record saying it's a project with significant support inside of the company "with [their] full attention".
Doom mongering eh? Thats the 2005 forum speak for, "hey if you dont share my positive opinion then you shouldnt speak at all" .
Doom mongering, negativity, scepticism... whatever you want to call it, i dont change any thoughts or opinions i have to make others feel better. I never have. I base those thoughts and opinions on facts. Let try and get to the facts:
- Sega turned their backs on Shenmue a very long time ago, and have avoided it like a cancer ever since. Shenmue Online and Shenmue Gai were no different to what Yu has achieved last year. Just letting out the IP without losing a dime so that someone else can take the risk. They havent had any faith in Shenmue since it essentially bombed them financially until Uncle Sammy swooped in and merge them nicely into their piggy banks. On top of that, they havent been shy on flashing their hand about Shenmue.
Dreamcast remasters have been few and far between, but they have been a priority once upon a time. However we all loved how Ben Harbourne reacted oh so lovingly when prompted about what titles fans most requested for a remaster, barely keeping a straight face when he said Shenmue. We all know the story about Blitworks, and if they really wanted to have shown faith in Shenmue, they would have offered the company a lot more money than what they did, ultimately slapping Shenmue in the face since they had to pull the plug on it. Tell tale signs are already there, and why i have a hard time now listening to how they "want to do it justice". They certainly didnt 5 years ago!
- Ok. Ok. So we have had this rumbling from fans on twitter for a long while now, and Yu has gotten some financial muscle. Lets give him the license and see what he can do with a Shenmue 3, and BOOM Sony announce it! Amazing!!! What did Sega do? Fuck all. Nothing. Zip. Not even a word!! No corporate release. No interviews, statements or articles. Not even a TWEET promoting the Kickstarter, or Yu Suzuki. A man who essentially made them a dominant force in the arcades throughout the 80s, and set gaming trend history in the 90s. A simple post on social media costs nothing, and with their position as a brand name, have so much influence. But still nothing. Sega had a chance to act, and help Yu and Shenmue. They gave him the license yes, but they didnt promote it one bit.
- If they had no faith in Shenmue, i can understand why. It lost a business money, which is a bad investment and discontinued production on any further instalments in the franchise. That i can accept and understand, even if i dont agree with. But Shenmue 3 broke records, and literally proved that there is money in Shenmue. There are people across the globe who hold it that fondly that they gave millions for a game to be created by essentially an unknown and also unproven development team. Their passion was so immense, that it spread to their friends, with so many accounts of people backing this without never have playing the first two games before! There is the stats Sega. So what have they done? They released a T-Shirt and a button badge to be sold at TGS 2015 just to make a few Yen.
They are now almost 15 months into the future, and STILL not a thing done. Its not greenlit for production. If its not greenlit, then there has been no team selected to work on the games period.
Now i am not a businessman, nor am i a games creator, but i do think i am fairly logical, so im gonna give this a shot here, and run with my train of thought:
If Sega wanted to really do a Shenmue and Shenmue 2 HD remaster, then they would have started last year. Logically explain the 15 month delay before a COO saying, "it has their full attention."? It had 6.3 million reasons to have their full attention 15 months ago, and still nothing. If they did want to develop remasters then this process should have started last July. To the licencing issue that they are now rambling on about, i say this. Fuck licencing. Thats almost a non issue. There is absolutely NO reason that a few names hidden within this massive game should be holding it back from the million and one other things that it takes to get this game made. Its no excuse whatsoever that this one reason is keeping the game from not only letting a new modern day audience enjoy it, as well as boost the franchise for future games to come. If they wanted this game to live up to its predecessors then they should have had a team working on this from last year when they had the maximum amount of time from pre-production to release. Build it from the ground up if thats what they want to do. The point is they had the time if they started last year. Artists and programmers dont negotiate licencing contracts and product placement terms, so whilst they are working on a non licenced version of the game, the litigation team go out and set up meetings with TIMEX, Saporro, Case Logic, Hitachi, Coca-Cola, and whoever else they have to. Get on a place and go meet these various company reps. its not rocket science, even if i am simplifying it.
If the agreements get reached, then great! Put all of the items in the game as is, and have it ready to release 2016, or even 2017 if need be. If the licences do not get agreed? Then simply reskin the vending machines. Rebrand the TIMEX. Remove Hitachi from any devices and have them generic, and make any other necessary changes. The games being out in the public sooner give it more time to reach as many people as possibly can. That then increases sales of Shenmue 3. By a little or by a lot, so what. It makes a difference. Instead, 15 months later and 15 months from the Shenmue 3 current release date, we are still getting excuses and empty promises. Sega is WAY past the point of words for me, and any other Shenmue fan worth its salt. The time for putting up has been around for a very long time now, and it is STILL not even "greenlit".
Doom and gloom, negativity, whatever. Thats how i see it based on what i have witnessed over the past 14 years and still, with this article, Sega continue to have us read between their lines for hope. Whats changed? Nothing.