[Xater]

Nothing is ever dead when it comes to gaming. Even 20 year old IPs can be resurrected.

Yes I bet alot of people will buy a game where they have no idea what is going on story wise. Sorry this franchise is dead.

[minor effort]

Shenmue is a dead franchise. Why can't people deal with it? I moved on and found my new love Yakuza.

Hey, Francis Ford Coppola came back years later and gave us The Godfather III.

[Suzuki Yu]

Shenmue is a dead franchise. Why can't people deal with it? I moved on and found my new love Yakuza.

OH GOD !

please enough of this Yakuza = Shenmue shit already

and no i am not talking story wise no i am talking about the whole gameplay mechanics & feel . those games are totally different .

if Yakuza was anything like Shenmue , i would go on and forget about Shenmue for good .
i never played Shenmue specifically for the story ...

[Xater]

OH GOD ! please enough of this Yakuza = Shenmue shit already and no i am not talking story wise no i am talking about the whole gameplay mechanics & feel . those games are totally different . if Yakuza was anything like Shenmue , i would go on and forget about Shenmue for good . i never played Shenmue specifically for the story ...

Yeah you are right, it's better than Shenmue. BOOM! I went there! :lol

[Suzuki Yu]

Yeah you are right, it's better than Shenmue. BOOM! I went there! :lol

at the end it's your opinion , i am saying to stop compare the two , they are different games with different gameplay aspect .

i personally think Shenmue is untouchable , Yakuza is just pretty good game ..

[Haunted]

Yeah you are right, it's better than Shenmue. BOOM! I went there! :lol

You went there, but it doesn't make you any less wrong.

[Jocchan]

Would a Shenmue 3 now, after so many years, really make sense? At this point, remaking the first two games into a single (eventually shorter) one and tacking up some ending chapter would probably be the wisest choice.
This way long time fans would still have their ending, and new players could enjoy it without having played the prequels.

[InfiniteNine]

Would a Shenmue 3 now, after so many years, really make sense? At this point, remaking the first two games into a single (eventually shorter) one and tacking up some ending chapter would probably be the wisest choice. This way long time fans would still have their ending, and new players could enjoy it without having played the prequels.

Shenmue Trilogy HD, BELIEVE!

[sonicmj1]

Would a Shenmue 3 now, after so many years, really make sense? At this point, remaking the first two games into a single (eventually shorter) one and tacking up some ending chapter would probably be the wisest choice. This way long time fans would still have their ending, and new players could enjoy it without having played the prequels.

I don't think it would be impossible to do a pretty interesting and relatively short interactive intro bit that introduces the primary plot points of the first two games. A lot of stuff happens, but it's not like Ryo's motivations are that complicated.

A Shenmue 3 is really unlikely, but I'd still welcome it if it ever shows up. I haven't played Shenmue 1, but Shenmue 2 is such a unique experience, and the ending was way too open-ended to cut the story off there.

[eso76]

putting a final chapter at the end of shenmue 2 would ruin the pacing completely..
Ryo's quest was supposed to be a long one, where he travels and learns new techniques from many martial artists around the world, which eventually make him strong enough to confront lan di.

What they should do is remake Yokosuka, update graphics and control system, sell it retail for a reasonable price, have you install main assets and then go crazy with dlc, releasing one new chapter every month.
I'm sure Sega could milk the franchise even further by giving you all sorts of DLC, from outfits to gatchapon series, to tapes you can listen to ingame, to old Sega classics to play in the arcades. Shenmue might not be very popular, but its fans are very loyal and every one of them would buy a new chapter the moment it's released. i can't see this NOT being profitable for Sega.

[schennmu]

Yeah you are right, it's better than Shenmue. BOOM! I went there! :lol

The hate is strong, so Shenmue can't be so dead after all :lol

[luffeN]

Shenmue Triology HD, BELIEVE!

fixed! Paging IGN

[Wazzim]

SEGA also mentioned the chance of one of the three hardware makers financing the game's production in exchange for an exclusivity deal. Let's see if Microsoft, Nintendo or Sony are interested."
Do what you do best MS! :lol

[PumpkinPie]

They should port the first two games to the Wii (or even just the first), see how they do...and then look into the third if it proves profitable. I think the Wii controls would work will with Shenmue, what with the fighting system and all the minigames.






LanDi Sama Bin Laden.

[Earl Cazone]

I would be SO in for a shenmue 3. Actually shenmue is the only game besides space channel 5 that I replayed multiple times (or at all if you will).

im just worried about that extended shenmue online trailer with shenhua transforming sailor moon style and lan di having a real dragon etc. i know theres ineviatbly going to be some mystery and magic elements and im all in for it, but please no anime-style magic battles.

check this scene, and the ending:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBIFZI_9dN0#t=1m57s

ugh!

[Night_Trekker]

I would be SO in for a shenmue 3. Actually shenmue is the only game besides space channel 5 that I replayed multiple times (or at all if you will). im just worried about that extended shenmue online trailer with shenhua transforming sailor moon style and lan di having a real dragon etc. i know theres ineviatbly going to be some mystery and magic elements and im all in for it, but please no anime-style magic battles. check this scene, and the ending: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBIFZI_9dN0#t=1m57s ugh!

Yeah, this is my only real concern about the series continuing. Pretty much every game has that shit in it. Shenmue is great because it's mostly real-world stuff.

[sechsterangriff]

putting a final chapter at the end of shenmue 2 would ruin the pacing completely.. Ryo's quest was supposed to be a long one, where he travels and learns new techniques from many martial artists around the world, which eventually make him strong enough to confront lan di. What they should do is remake Yokosuka, update graphics and control system, sell it retail for a reasonable price, have you install main assets and then go crazy with dlc, releasing one new chapter every month. I'm sure Sega could milk the franchise even further by giving you all sorts of DLC, from outfits to gatchapon series, to tapes you can listen to ingame, to old Sega classics to play in the arcades. Shenmue might not be very popular, but its fans are very loyal and every one of them would buy a new chapter the moment it's released. i can't see this NOT being profitable for Sega.

This just makes too much sense.

[rvy]

I want to kill Lan Di as much as the next guy, but Shenmue III didn't come out when it was supposed to, nor for the platform it should. I doubt a game made by a different team would live up to the Shenmue name. Or even the hype.

Sure, someone's gonna talk about Nagoshi or whatever... RGG is a completely different game than Shenmue. Not to mention that Shenmue was amazing because of the small touches and attention to detail. Stuff like Ryo avoiding people while running, or never re-using the same skin for 2 NPCs. Anyone who's played RGG knows it's far less polished than Shenmue.

Shenmue fans should just let this go. Even if it does come, it will never be as good as it could be. Stick with the memories, at least you won't be disappointed.

[Earl Cazone]

This just makes too much sense.

I would love it, but episodic releases have never been successfull. after 2 chapters the sales will just drop.and there will be peoplewho wont be paying for chapters that dont contain new story

[Segata Sanshiro]

OH GOD ! please enough of this Yakuza = Shenmue shit already and no i am not talking story wise no i am talking about the whole gameplay mechanics & feel . those games are totally different . if Yakuza was anything like Shenmue , i would go on and forget about Shenmue for good . i never played Shenmue specifically for the story ...

He um... didn't do a Yakuza = Shenmue thing there. He just said that he moved on from Shenmue and found something new to love. It's healthy. Y'all should try it.

The series are too different to compare but I will say that they're both incredibly flawed games that are excellent at creating a sense of place and somehow manage to be fun and memorable experiences in spite of their shortcomings. And they both have Japanese people. That's about as far as you can really compare them.

[Jocchan]

I don't think it would be impossible to do a pretty interesting and relatively short interactive intro bit that introduces the primary plot points of the first two games. A lot of stuff happens, but it's not like Ryo's motivations are that complicated. A Shenmue 3 is really unlikely, but I'd still welcome it if it ever shows up. I haven't played Shenmue 1, but Shenmue 2 is such a unique experience, and the ending was way too open-ended to cut the story off there.

A short interactive intro would also be possible, of course, but would screw up too much the pacing and the buildup towards the third part. Still absolutely doable, but not entirely ideal if you ask me.

putting a final chapter at the end of shenmue 2 would ruin the pacing completely.. Ryo's quest was supposed to be a long one, where he travels and learns new techniques from many martial artists around the world, which eventually make him strong enough to confront lan di.

It depends on how long that chapter is. Of course I wasn't talking about a 30 minutes one, it would still need a sizable chunk of gameplay to be interesting for the fans.

What they should do is remake Yokosuka, update graphics and control system, sell it retail for a reasonable price, have you install main assets and then go crazy with dlc, releasing one new chapter every month. I'm sure Sega could milk the franchise even further by giving you all sorts of DLC, from outfits to gatchapon series, to tapes you can listen to ingame, to old Sega classics to play in the arcades. Shenmue might not be very popular, but its fans are very loyal and every one of them would buy a new chapter the moment it's released. i can't see this NOT being profitable for Sega.

I really doubt this would work, sadly. Episodic content rarely works this well, people drop out and new people hardly replace them. And the series wasn't popular enough in the first place.
In an ideal world maybe it would be an interesting solution (but expensive as hell, DLC would cost much more than retail releases), but if we lived in an ideal world Shenmue 3 would have come out years ago.

[Fuzz Rez]

My guess is that there will be Shenmue game in the future but only it is not Shenmue III it's going to be some silly reboot. It's been almost 10 years since Shenmue II was released and lots of gamers don't know jack shit about the story of Shenmue so it would be risky to continue from where they left it. Also writing of Shenmue isn't really where it should be by todays standards so they would probably have to rewrite lots Suzuki's text. It could be good or it could be bad. I hope for the first but most certainly it's going to suck.

[Jocchan]

My guess is that there will be Shenmue game in the future but only it is not Shenmue III it's going to be some silly reboot. It's been almost 10 years since Shenmue II was released and lots of gamers don't know jack shit about the story of Shenmue so it would be risky to continue from where they left it. Also writing of Shenmue isn't really where it should be by todays standards so they would probably have to rewrite lots Suzuki's text. It could be good or it could be bad. I hope for the first but most certainly it's going to suck.

That was my point, and that's why I said that now remaking partially the first two games (even just a smaller part) and including them in the package would be nearly mandatory.
Think of RE Umbrella Chronicles, basically, but with shorter prequels and a much longer new chapter.

[Dennis]

Yakuza is no substitute for Shenmue - they play very differently. The only similarities are brawling and an asian protagonist but apparently thats enough :lol

[2San]

Shenmue Trilogy HD, BELIEVE!

This would be for the best considering I never played either Shenmue. I never had a Dreamcast and didn't bother with 2 since I didn't play the first one. XBLA/PSN release would be fine as well(why don't they just do this, do they hate money?).

[Dennis]

This would be for the best considering I never played either Shenmue. I never had a Dreamcast and didn't bother with 2 since I didn't play the first one. XBLA/PSN release would be fine as well(why don't they just do this, do they hate money?).

I think this could work. Release Shenmue 1+2 HD to pave the way for Shenmue 3.

A lot of people who never got to play games will have heard about them with the rep they have gotten over the years.

A lot of hype, promotion and a fair price for the HD versions and I think it could be a successful endeavour for Sega.

[Segata Sanshiro]

I think this could work. Release Shenmue 1+2 HD to pave the way for Shenmue 3. A lot of people who never got to play games will have heard about them with the rep they have gotten over the years. A lot of hype, promotion and a fair price for the HD versions and I think it could be a successful endeavour for Sega.

They would need to make a lot of changes to Shenmue 1&2 for them to have a hope in hell of doing anything other than failing harder than before. Having Ryo control like a car is one of them. Then there's the voices. Do they keep the old dub for sentimental value? Do they redo it and risk losing some of the charm? Should it be in English? Japanese?

The only thing they've got going for them is that the games still look pretty good. Aside from that, without a major reworking, HD versions wouldn't be raising hopes, only squashing them permanently.

[Vigilant Walrus]

Nothing is ever dead when it comes to gaming. Even 20 year old IPs can be resurrected.

That's what they egyptians said about dead humans, and looked what happened to egypt now!


some things should stay dead!

[Segata Sanshiro]

That's what they egyptians said about dead humans, and looked what happened to egypt now! some things should stay dead!

at least we'd finally get to see what Ryo's mummy looks like

[Conflict NZ]

At this point I think they would have to include an abridged version of the story of 1&2 maybe as the first half of the third game to have any success. It needs to reach people the first two didn't and there is no way a plot heavy game will do that if it starts where the previous game which came out 10 years ago finished.

[Y2Kev]

I just want a port of Shenmue 1.

You know I played this a few summers ago and I thought Shenmue STILL looked fantastic. The framerate in Doubuita is low but an XBLA port could work if it was done straight. I suspect Sega doesn't see value in the franchise (who could blame them) or doesn't have the manpower.

I think you could port it to Wii and have one of the most visually impressive games on the system. Shenmue was that ahead of its time.

[guidop]

Day 1 if it happens. atleast their is some hope now that it could happen

[bon]

i can't see this NOT being profitable for Sega.

may i remind you that we're talking about Shenmue?

[Suzuki Yu]

it's easy guys

all they need to do is re-releasing Shenmue I & II as a digital content wit HD res , specially now with the direction SEGA is taking toward the Digital market .
then they can release Shenmue III , even more they can make special edition with Shenmue I & II included in a physical disk .

[madara]

Shenmue 3 will hit after Phantasy Star 5 and Skies of Arcadia 2!

[LiK]

tease us some more will ya?

[Odrion]

With the popularity of Yakuza, they do have an opportunity to bring back the Shenmue series.

They would probably make it a lot more action oriented, but I'm fine with it.

[Fuzz Rez]

it's easy guys all they need to do is re-releasing Shenmue I & II as a digital content wit HD res , specially now with the direction SEGA is taking toward the Digital market . then they can release Shenmue III , even more they can make special edition with Shenmue I & II included in a physical disk .

Re-releasing Shenmue I & II won't do much without complete overhaul. Game mechanics of the orginal games are over 10 years old, writing is awful by todays standards and even the game world itself is kinda barren when compared todays open world games. Most likely it wouldn't attract enough gamers who didn't play the orginal games back in the day. I have nostalgia for the game and it isn't bad series but it is old.

[Glix]

Do I get beat up for saying it should use the Heavy Rain engine?

[Dark FaZe]

I still don't get the "Shenmue won't make money" arguments when there are 20 Yakuza games out.

Use the Yakuza engine, don't go crazy with the budget and put it out there on all systems. From hype alone it should make its money back.

[Xater]

With the popularity of Yakuza, they do have an opportunity to bring back the Shenmue series. They would probably make it a lot more action oriented, but I'm fine with it.

:lol

If GAF only represented the whole gaming populous.

[Segata Sanshiro]

I still don't get the "Shenmue won't make money" arguments when there are 20 Yakuza games out. Use the Yakuza engine, don't go crazy with the budget and put it out there on all systems. From hype alone it should make its money back.

It would almost certainly come in higher than the budget of a new RGG game, since it would require the creation of almost entirely new graphical assets, and the budget of the RGG games is nothing to sneeze at. Even if it comes out cheap, say $5 million budget, I have serious, serious doubts it would sell enough to make that back. GAF hype =/= real world hype, and interestingly Yakuza/RGG is a fine example of that.

[onken]

It's probably been said to death already but I simply don't trust the Sega of today to make Shenmue 3, the Sonic 4 fiasco being the latest reminder.

[dak1dsk1]

I'd rather just have Shenmue 1, with updated controls and graphics, japanese audio and english subtitles. Thanks-

[rvy]

With the popularity of Yakuza, they do have an opportunity to bring back the Shenmue series. They would probably make it a lot more action oriented, but I'm fine with it.

Yakuza is only popular in Japan, really. It's a niche game in the West.

[sonicmj1]

A short interactive intro would also be possible, of course, but would screw up too much the pacing and the buildup towards the third part. Still absolutely doable, but not entirely ideal if you ask me.

The thing is, I don't really think there are that many new players out there who are willing to play through all of Shenmue 1 and 2 to reach a new chapter. Given that not a lot of people bought the Shenmue games, and that a third chapter of any reasonable size will be expensive, Sega has to bank on bringing in new blood. Making the barrier to entry for new players as low as possible has to be a must. That's why I think that if they want to do this, they've got to do something that's interesting and brief that exists as a part of whatever new game they make. The movie of Shenmue 1 that was packaged with Shenmue 2 Xbox won't cut it.

If they're not going to put money behind it, a third chapter won't be satisfying to anyone, and they may as well just slap a bit of HD shine on Shenmue 1 and 2 and see how many old fans they can lure back before they even commit to new content.

[hokahey]

A highly cinematic, fully voice-acted, obsessively realistically-detailed adventure game with a deep combat system and generously seasoned with nostalgic SEGA references sounds like something Nintendo could do better?

What the...

I said the only company that has ever made a better game than Shenmue is Nintendo, IMO of course. Not that Nintendo would make a better Shenmue than SEGA. Well actually, better than current Sega yes.

And of course Nintendo could do it justice. Shenmue is the only non-Nintendo game I've ever played that captured the same sort of wonder and awe a game like Zelda inspires. Epic story, engaging side quests, colorful characters... It's not a stretch.

They certainly aren't known for games with voice acting, but that's about it as far as things they don't do that Shenmue does.

In addition, the budget for it to become a Wii title would be much smaller, and a port of the first two with Wii controls would be a perfect fit alongside HotD, Samba, etc.

What I dislike about the current gen is that Nintendo is the only old school, for the love of gaming kind of company around anymore. As much as I was a SNES fanboy debating with the Genesis lovers on the school playground about mode-7 versus blast processing, I miss Sega. They "got it." They made classic, after classic after classic, just like Nintendo.

So YES, the only company that can do justice to what some consider the greatest game of all time, is a company that has and continues to make games that challenge that title with similarly magical storytelling and gameplay.

[Dead Man Typing]

Port Shenmue I and 2 to the Wii, with Waggle QTE's.

Come on, House of the 2&3 Returns sold pretty well(and is a lot of fun). And even now, 3 years into the Wii's life, Shenmue I and II would look as good as(or better than) most of the Wii's mid tier games.

That's not a troll on the Wii, it's just that Shenmue looks that darn good.

EDIT: Woops, just realised I already posted, effectively, this same statement earlier in this thread. I'm glad to see I still agree with myself.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=320

[Segata Sanshiro]

What the... I said the only company that has ever made a better game than Shenmue is Nintendo, IMO of course. Not that Nintendo would make a better Shenmue than SEGA. Well actually, better than current Sega yes. And of course Nintendo could do it justice. Shenmue is the only non-Nintendo game I've ever played that captured the same sort of wonder and awe a game like Zelda inspires. Epic story, engaging side quests, colorful characters... It's not a stretch. They certainly aren't known for games with voice acting, but that's about it as far as things they don't do that Shenmue does. In addition, the budget for it to become a Wii title would be much smaller, and a port of the first two with Wii controls would be a perfect fit alongside HotD, Samba, etc. What I dislike about the current gen is that Nintendo is the only old school, for the love of gaming kind of company around anymore. As much as I was a SNES fanboy debating with the Genesis lovers on the school playground about mode-7 versus blast processing, I miss Sega. They "got it." They made classic, after classic after classic, just like Nintendo. So YES, the only company that can do justice to what some consider the greatest game of all time, is a company that has and continues to make games that challenge that title with similarly magical storytelling and gameplay.

I'm sorry, I just can't agree. This kind of game is not Nintendo's strong suit at all.

And if you miss SEGA so much, maybe you should buy some SEGA games. This year alone SEGA has published Bayonetta, Yakuza 3, Infinite Space, Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing, and Resonance of Fate, all wonderful, fun games that anyone who loves gaming should be able to love.

[Dark Octave]

Yes I bet alot of people will buy a game where they have no idea what is going on story wise. Sorry this franchise is dead.

Again, Hat...er..I mean Xater, they can easily combine the first two games in movie form like they did the first one on Xbox.