by Technophilz » Wed May 16, 2018 10:49 am
I wanted to say something positive about this expected release delay, but I simply couldn't.
Of course, some will be fine and happy with it, and some will always be fine with anything actually. I'm not one of them though.
Imho, delaying the game again to 2019 is NOT a good thing, yes, the game will have a longer development time to get more polished, but I'm definitely not fine with the “2019” delay for many reasons:
1- 2019 will probably be the final year in the life cycle of current-gen consoles, rumors say that PS5 dev kits are already in the hands of some developers, and next-gen titles could be announced (or even released) as early as holidays 2019. Now, what would be the impact of the delayed Shenmue III if/when that happens?
2- Timing this "update" a month before E3 could mean that they may have nothing to show at E3, another missed mass exposure opportunity maybe? especially that they didn’t show any new material with the delay announcement, not even a single new screenshot! If this turns out to be the case, then it’d clearly highlight a lot of problems this project has been having. Being unable to show a satisfactory trailer or gameplay demo after three years of development is never a good sign.
3- The vague 2019 release date, without an estimated release window is yet another indication that things aren't going smooth, that could also mean they’re not confident/transparent enough to commit to a clear release window, maybe because they know they’d probably miss it again.
4- Deep Silver could be the best thing that ever happened to Shenmue III since the grand announcement back at E3 2015, and I don't think this project could have even been possible without them on board. But, what about the future of Shenmue? We all know any future Shenmue project will certainly depend on how well Shenmue III will perform (financially). This game HAS to sell very well, we all know that it has no other option but to be profitable, but will it sell well enough to guarantee us another Shenmue?
Technophilz has received a thanks from: Reprise