Simple question: At what age did you first play Shenmue? Could be interesting to see if there are patterns or groups.
The age can be a big factor of how much of an impact the game has on someone. Of course also when. During the Dreamcast days the game was obviously even more impressive then it is today.
I was 15 when I first played Shenmue, shortly after it came out in Europe. Luckily I was good enough with English back then so I had no trouble understanding what's going on. It took a while until I was fully emerged into the game but then it got me, and it REALLY got me.