And that someone could be Yu Suzuki.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Sega Loses Shenmue Trademark Because they Didnt Bother Using it
- Thread starter Poetic.Injustice
- Start date
And that someone could be Yu Suzuki.
Maybe...maybe not. They could pull a "Sleeping Dogs" and call Shenmue 3 something else entirely.
People bought sonic though huh, people wonder why sega just makes the shit out of sanic now.
They're a different catageory for trademark protection, so they don't help carry the game trademark.
But it's pretty inexcusable for a company of Sega's size that is, in effect, an IP business, to let a trademark of a francise expire through lack of use. It's really not hard to knock out any old crap in order to keep the trademark alive, and the notion that people wouldn't want to go back at some point has been dead since the start of the 90s. If that happened at my company someone would be fired over it. Flat out.
MrCookiepants
Member
Maybe SEGA let it run out and the trademark will be reinstated under Yu Suzuki's name in preparation for the Sony published Shenmue 3.
KojiKnight
Member
Would have to do it without the main character... The name Shenmue expired, but the character has seen much more recent use (Sonic racing transformed had him as DLC recently didn't they?)
ultratruman
Banned
They used sales of NiGHTS into fucking Dreams HD to guage support for Shenmue and Skies of Arcadia?
Just when I thought SEGA couldn't get any dumber.
Just when I thought SEGA couldn't get any dumber.
Good point.
Well...Capcom did exactly the same thing with Darkstalkers.
and everyone is always complimenting capcom and congratulating on their appropriate and regular use of legacy IPs
ahaha..heh
well sega have been trying to get a new streets of rage off the ground a few times now, but they've all ended up cancelled for one reason or another
people are jumping to some very wild conclusions about what this means for both shenmue and sega
yes, someone could in theory grab the trademark, but they'd have the name only and nothing else
if anything i'd advise against some fan trying to buy up the trademark, because at some point in the future sega is going to come calling for it back for one reason or another (slapping the name on a different title, hd remaster, new game, whatever), and they're either going to have to come to an agreement of transferring the trademark freely (or more likely in exchange for some free stuff), or sega is taking them to court
hooijdonk17
Member
Flappyshenmue now please. Please?
AyaisMUsikWhore
Member
Why am I not happy about this? Doesn't this mean that anyone could grab it now?
ultratruman
Banned
We all know SEGA is stupid, but I can't imagine a company that large would let their trademarks just evaporate through inaction, unless they truly have zero interest in the franchise. Then again, one can argue that the tiny effort required to keep the trademark would've made it worth holding onto. Is it possible they just forgot?
it's most likely they knew the trademark was expiring and let it slip because they have no future plans for shenmue right now.
that's not to say shenmue is dead forever either. the trademark will be easily retrievable considering it will either go unused, or bought up by a naive fan who can be strongarmed or gentle coerced into handing it over. nobody else will really buy it and use the shenmue name to advertise their product either, especially since the trademark lapse only applies to the united states anyway.
ComputerMKII
Banned
Yu Suzuki, this is your chance.
VibratingDonkey
Member
It's funny because it's probably true.
BobTheFork
Member
I'm kind of glad this puts in end to it finally. There was no reason to try and revive the series. Of course someone will try to make their own Shenmue...
clem84
Gold Member
That's how I see it. This really doesn't change anything. They still own the IP so if they ever want to do a new game, they can just file for a new trademark then.
Oh... That makes sense.
MightyHedgehog
Member
BRB...making Shenmue III Kickstarter.
matrix-cat
Member
OK guys, nobody remind Sega about Vanquish for a few more years and maybe Platinum can snap it up.
no, if anything it completely takes it out of the running
maybe if it's snapped back up in the coming month it'll mean something but i doubt sega would let the trademark slip for a month if they already had something in the pipeline with sony
7DollarHagane
Banned
I find it really strange that people think modern day Sega would even drop a dime in a fountain to wish for shenmue's return
CadetMahoney
Member
/thread
Nymphae
Banned
I never understood the fascination with this game. I played it when it came out on DC, and thought it sucked pretty hard. It was an interesting idea at the time and fairly forward thinking, but playing it was a massive bore imo, and the story did nothing for me. I've been really surprised since joining Gaf to see so many people clamouring for it's return.
they don't own the ip though, it wouldn't mean anything
even if sega did make shenmue 3 with sony they'd still retain their trademarks instead of handing them over or letting them lapse
Tizoc
Member
FYI XBL had an SF2 game released on it that sold well enough to convince Capcom to make SF4. Likewise the positive sales of MvC2 were a factor in making (U)MvC3.
Non the less, you should've blindly just bought whatever classic game they put up (or gift in the case of PC games) in the tiny hope that they'd put up more.
March of the Crabs
Member
Time for me to make my Shenmue game Flappy Forklift a reality.
TheRealTalker
Banned
GOD DAMMIT SEGA
this but just goes to show that the like of a 3rd iteration is unlikely
Fucking ElTorro, you made me spill my drink!
Adam_Roman
Member
This doesn't really mean anything other than that we may not get Shenmue 3 in the US by that name. They can re-register it, or when/if they make it, just release it under a new name still relevant to the series. It's not like losing the trademark is losing the IP.