Shenmue 3?

[TwoXist]

So on my random searching for DC (Dreamcast) stuff. You know rare games that are still fun. I stumble across a link in Google talking about Shenmue 3. So i dig a bit find some rumors and old news and press release crap. Only to find out that Shenmue 2 is now BC so the point Im trying to get to here is there anyone else that may have a bit more info then i have? Shenmue was one of the best DC games, and Shenmue 2 was great on the Xbox.

[| V |]

Shenmue 2 was also great on the Dreamcast ;)

[Voyager2k]

Shenmue was originally planned as a trilogy for the Dreamcast. Shenmue 1 was a great game but something of a financial disaster to begin with. Shenmue 2 was already in development and afaik on the edge of getting axed when Microsoft jumped in to save the day and pay for an xbox version of the game. Now, Shenmue 2 was also a great game but a huge financial disaster on both platforms and so Shenmue 3 was axed very early in development and the trilogy never finished.

I am not exactly sure at which point the final word about Shenmue 3 came out but I believe it was around the time the xbox version of Shenmue 2 came out or slightly before that.

The problem with Shenmue was that it didn't sell in western markets AT ALL. It sat on shelves like overpriced sour milk. Reason for that was probably because it was too experimental for western gamers. It wasn't a true RPG in the classic "western" sense and it wasn't an adventure. Gamers didn't know what it was and stood away from it, missing out on an awesome experience.

I have to admit I was totally fascinated by Shenmue back when it came out. It was one of the few games I will always remember because it made me go "WOAH" all the time. It's, for me, in the same league as Xenogears, Parasite Eve, Metal Gear Solid (PS1), Final Fantasy 7+9.

[MIT ACID]

i love shenmue especially no. 1
in dojo with fook-a-sang

but bad news i beleve shenmue 3 is going to ps3

fingers crossed come on microsoft take an other exclusive

[Nekro Neko]

I don't believe Shenmue was planned to be a trilogy at all, also, they skipped a chapter between chapter 1 and 3 (Shenmue 1 and 2) skipping the whole boat trip. I know Shenmue was 1 chapter only and Shenmue does 3 and 4 but I think it is part or a 12 chapter story. The only reason people believe that Shenmue is gonna finish it all off on a 3rd one is because they think SEGA would take the decision to finish it there and then.

I can only hope they do one, some or even all of these. Release the 3rd game this generation (Hey, we can all dream), release an anime based on the story, release a movie on the whole think and finally, have a Hardback book. The fact that no book has been released is what holds my belief that they haven't quite finished with the games yet, I mean, you wouldn't want to reveal the ending to the world just yet if you were gonna release a game.

[Zerodisorder]

I thought it would have been a good idea if they finished it off with a video liek the one they included with Shenmue 2.

[TwoXist]

Shenmue 2 was also great on the Dreamcast ;)

Yes if you had the UK set and the boot disc. I stopped playing it on DC due to the fact i always had to use that damn boot disk.

[Kid Pyrrhic]

The original Shenmue script had 17 chapters penned by Yu Suzuki. The game was Sega's way of thanking him for years of dedication to the company.

Many believe that Suzuki was actually working on a Virtua Fighter RPG starring Akira, though its been stated several times that the two games were not the same product.

Shenmue originally began on the Saturn, but was quickly ported over when the system failing in several markets.

Sega would later release the title in 2000 on the Dreamcast, believing it to be one of the necessary tools to keep the system afloat. It was not.

Despite selling poorly in all markets, Sega gave Suzuki the go ahead to create Chapters 3-6 (As Nekro stated, Chapter 2 was a manga of Ryo's journey on the boat). The game released to little fanfare since Sega had previously announced the console would be finished. In October 2001, then SoA President Peter Moore had announced that SoA would not be releasing Shenmue II in the states, but stated that Microsoft had aquired publishing rights for Shenmue II in North America. Big Ben Software would later publish the game for the Euro markets on the Dreamcast. Microsoft would later publish the title in the US in October 2002.

The game franchise was officially in limbo and little is known about what would become Shenmue III. Suzuki would occasionally leak things like the setting for the remainder of the game was mainland China. Rumors constantly circulated, but nothing set in stone. Mis-translations kept many a fan on their toes.

In 2004, Shenmue Online was announced. It would not be directly handled by Sega, but handed off to a developer in China. It was meant to be an online RPG version of the game. However, it was plagued with problems almost from the start and had disappeared from the radar until Kikzo ran their infamous story.

To sum up the Kikzo fiasco, they claimed to be in possession of some secret knowledge that no one could verify that Sega had originally planned Shenmue III for the Xbox but was held up by Microsoft. And that with the dawning on the new consoles, Sega would release the console on Microsoft's upcoming 360. However, nearly everyone realized it was hoax and an attempt to gain more page views.

Shenmue began to slip into obscurity until Shenmue Online appeared at the China Games Show. The game had a completely new developer who was aiming for a 2007 release date. Whether it arrives, remains to be seen.

As for the belief that Shenmue is a trilogy, that comes from Suzuki himself. He had said previously that he would only require one more title to tell Ryo's story. That he could condense the remaining things into one final bang for the series. He also stated that he would prefer to do it in movie form.

With the game becoming backwards compatible, there's a chance that a renewed interest may spark a fire under Sega's behind. However with Suzuki heading up AM+, I wouldn't count on Ryo's story ever being told.

A real shame too.

[TwoXist]

Very sad. It was in my view one of the best games DC had. If i had the funds i would pay out of my own pocket to finish the story.

[SeansyM]

Very sad. It was in my view one of the best games DC had. If i had the funds i would pay out of my own pocket to finish the story.


out of interest how much did each game cost to make?

if every fan was to put £5 or the US$ equivelant towards the dev's to make it, would it be possible?

yeah yeah far fetched I know... but who knows?

[Voyager2k]

Making something like Shenmue on a current Platform would cost $10000000+ depending on the Studio and how much time you are willing to invest into development. If done right this is one of the games that would probably scale up to like 20 million bucks in development cost. If you think that's a lot, that's what the big jrpg's cost to make since a couple of years.

That's a harsh reality to swallow but over the next couple years videogame production cost is gonna reach the same absurd hights that hollywood blockbusters are known for.

Back in the day of the DC a game of that size did cost probably like 2-3 million bucks tops unless it was a AAA jrpg and most of the titles did cost significantly less.

I am sure somewhere on the net there is accurate data to be found about production costs in the past and present, if you feel like digging.

[Nekro Neko]

Shenmue cost $70m+. It is as far as I know the most expensive game created to date, maybe something has already beaten it out by now though.

[TwoXist]

70 Million! Where did you get these figures?

[Nekro Neko]

Right, according to wiki the figure is a WR in the Guinness Book of World Records at around $20m. I've seen figures at the time and doing a quick search of $60m-$80m at times. The game took 7 years to develop and failed to appear on the Saturn.

So I guess that means I retract that $70m figure for now.

[UKJAY]

yeah I loved that game on Dreamcast - I remember thinking how 'wow' it was that a computer guy could open drawers and stuff and walk through the streets...

[the list]

did anyone here see Videogaiden. The second series ran on Scottish BBC in December and they had a Shenmue III poll to try and save it.

apart from that its worth watching because its hilarious, and based on the consolevania website. There has never been a show on TV that captured gaming so well _o_