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SEGA currently investigating how to make Shenmue 1/2 HD a reality
- Thread starter TimmiT
- Start date
CertifiedFP
Member
This too. Maybe with a special-edition of Azure Revolution?
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )
Freshmaker
I am Korean.
High Voltage?
OnionPowder
Member
If they do this I will buy 4 copies
1 for each major platform and one for a GAF giveaway
1 for each major platform and one for a GAF giveaway
Those early Dreamcast ports were quick, dirty, and most importantly cheap. They launched in a very sorry state and only became serviceable years later when SEGA went back to clean the PC versions up.
That's not SEGA's business model anymore. Current SEGA knows they have a legacy they've let down, and what better way than to do right by Shenmue fans by giving them perfect HD remasters of both original games?
Going back to the video that started this thread:
Preserving the games and their atmosphere as they were originally seems a high priority. I don't think this is a smokescreen for anything at all.
OnionPowder
Member
jhmtehgamr20xx
Banned
Awesome. Now hopefully this opens them up to bringing back some other IP in the future. Hint hint, wink wink....
Hopefully if (when) the Shenmue remasters do good business Sega'll look into the other properties. New Daytona, new Panzer Dragoon, new Virtua Fighter etc.
At least, that's the logical idea, anyway.
I desperately would like for a Panzer Dragoon digital remaster of the original games, especially Saga, but I can understand why Sega is taking a stab at Shenmue ahead of those or Daytona; it's more well-known, especially given it's the most related to their Yakuza games.
Hopefully if (when) the Shenmue remasters do good business Sega'll look into the other properties. New Daytona, new Panzer Dragoon, new Virtua Fighter etc.
At least, that's the logical idea, anyway.
AstroNut325
Member
I'll take Skies of Arcadia over anything else.
potatohead
Member
It does, but it was always small town Japan, so the size of the world probably won't matter.
Shenmue II's Hong Kong is still reasonably sizable though.
Oh ya Yakuza of course, I'm sure I forgot other ones too.
Look, as many people as possible should be able to experience these games, they should all be ported to Xbox One, PS4, and PC, but the latter is the best way to indefinitely preserve these games.
MrCunningham
Member
Surely they can modify the Yakuza engine/ tool chain to use as a base for a port?
ShenmueNextGen
Neo Member
The good things is that finally they don't show a sign of doubt about Shenmue 1 & 2 HD's selling potential.
The interesting thing is about licensing in the first two games. If it's for products like TIMEX, Coca-Cola (JP vers. only), Sapporo, Hitachi etc, then it's a simple matter of re-texturing (even a fan modder can do this). Therefore, I infer it is something more complicated. There is high possibility it is related to the rumours about the game engine being licensed.
Assuming SEGA's efforts is in full force, it's a matter of time and two factors are responsible for the delay: i) resolving the licensing issues, ii) porting the game (as well as QA).
Related links:
The interesting thing is about licensing in the first two games. If it's for products like TIMEX, Coca-Cola (JP vers. only), Sapporo, Hitachi etc, then it's a simple matter of re-texturing (even a fan modder can do this). Therefore, I infer it is something more complicated. There is high possibility it is related to the rumours about the game engine being licensed.
Assuming SEGA's efforts is in full force, it's a matter of time and two factors are responsible for the delay: i) resolving the licensing issues, ii) porting the game (as well as QA).
Related links:
At least 1,2 and 3. Those are really hard to find and not on PSN.
When it comes to Timing , Sega was never good at that thing.
Is Yakuza tied to Sony in anyway? They seem to promote it a lot. Wonder if that is whats stopping it.
So I actually know the people who worked on this thing, the Shenmue "leak" from years ago:
This was in fact Shenmue working on Xbox 360... kinda. Basically a group of people (Blit Software) were able to get a Dreamcast emulator working on Xbox 360 themselves, and used Shenmue as an example. This was then used as a pitch for making emulated Dreamcast games on Xbox 360.
Sega got the pitch and loved it - to the point that they instead pushed back and said they shouldn't do just emulations, but ports of the games instead.
This then turned into those guys working on Jet Set Radio port, using the original code and porting it to the Xbox 360 and PS3. This ended up being quite the task - a lot of stuff actually had to be remade, as a lot of code and textures were missing from the codebase.
Essentially the Sega Heritage collection didn't do as well as they'd hoped, and Shenmue was obviously a much bigger task at the time. Blit is more into porting of more indie stuff than bigger things now.
This was in fact Shenmue working on Xbox 360... kinda. Basically a group of people (Blit Software) were able to get a Dreamcast emulator working on Xbox 360 themselves, and used Shenmue as an example. This was then used as a pitch for making emulated Dreamcast games on Xbox 360.
Sega got the pitch and loved it - to the point that they instead pushed back and said they shouldn't do just emulations, but ports of the games instead.
This then turned into those guys working on Jet Set Radio port, using the original code and porting it to the Xbox 360 and PS3. This ended up being quite the task - a lot of stuff actually had to be remade, as a lot of code and textures were missing from the codebase.
Essentially the Sega Heritage collection didn't do as well as they'd hoped, and Shenmue was obviously a much bigger task at the time. Blit is more into porting of more indie stuff than bigger things now.
Elfforkusu
Member
Played 2 for the first time last year. Only things that have aged are the graphics and tank controls. World is fine. Really good, even.
Frozenprince
Banned
LimitedTimeGamer
Member
... is this actually sega right now?
God i dont know what they did when they restructured, but it seems to be working. DO IT. MAKE IT HAPPEN AND SELL IT ALONGSIDE Yakuza:ZERO.
God i dont know what they did when they restructured, but it seems to be working. DO IT. MAKE IT HAPPEN AND SELL IT ALONGSIDE Yakuza:ZERO.
D
Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
Do it, Sega. I want the whole experience before Shenmue 3.
ajim
Member
That's cool information. Hopefully there's another shot at Shenmue remasters thoSo I actually know the people who worked on this thing, the Shenmue "leak" from years ago:
This was in fact Shenmue working on Xbox 360... kinda. Basically a group of people (Blit Software) were able to get a Dreamcast emulator working on Xbox 360 themselves, and used Shenmue as an example. This was then used as a pitch for making emulated Dreamcast games on Xbox 360.
Sega got the pitch and loved it - to the point that they instead pushed back and said they shouldn't do just emulations, but ports of the games instead.
This then turned into those guys working on Jet Set Radio port, using the original code and porting it to the Xbox 360 and PS3. This ended up being quite the task - a lot of stuff actually had to be remade, as a lot of code and textures were missing from the codebase.
Essentially the Sega Heritage collection didn't do as well as they'd hoped, and Shenmue was obviously a much bigger task at the time. Blit is more into porting of more indie stuff than bigger things now.
I feel kind of like a broken record here, but if the issues were with engine licencing, SEGA wouldn't have said a word until it was figured out and a deal was made.
Licencing in-game items is a roadblock that can be overcome one way or another, licencing essential parts of the engine would be a far greater task. Engine licencing issues either never existed, or have since been solved.
The video specifically states the licencing issues are with in-game products, but they want to preserve the games as closely as possible to their Dreamcast originals. There's no slight of hand here.
That's the issue, and they're working to resolve it.
Yes, I think it is extremely likely the re-releases will come to PC, like Shenmue III. That's a big one for me as a fan because it would be amazing to have the game on a "forever platforrm" like PC, where it will always be playable, and where fans can make fixes/improvements with modding.
JayBabay
Member
Okay, to be honest, how much can I enjoy this game today, over a decade later, after the nostalgia fades? If i'm looking back critically I think that it may have been slower paced, and the game play a bit stale by today's standards. Revolutionary for its time, with so much stuff to do. But, would it hold up?
I played the game about a year back for the first time in years, and it made a huge impression on me. I found the game's detail and meditative pacing actually made it stand out compared to today's games, with their constant tutorializing and lifeless open worlds. Shenmue's world is concentrated, but dense with detail. Everytime you make even small progress, it seems like every NPC has totally new dialogue, you can go through your house and open every drawer, the weather system still creates such a strong sense of atmosphere.
For me, replaying Shenmue isn't so much about feeling thrown back into another era of gaming (like a lot of titles from its time feel) as its like an alternative path for games that wasn't taken. It feels the Shenmue legacy still hasn't really been picked up and evolved.
I think the game is still fascinating and involving.
Me too (despite owning the games on DC)
I'm right there with you (provided it's the audio from the Dreamcast & extra content from the GameCube).
It's certainly possible to come to the game now and enjoy it.
During the Shenmue III Kickstarter, lots of people came into the thread after picking up the game for the first time, and largely they seemed to enjoy it. You can definitely enjoy and appreciate Shenmue in 2016. The world building, varied gameplay, sense of place, and overall uniqueness of Shenmue seems to resonate a lot more now than it did in 1999.
I think a lot of gamers will enjoy Shenmue despite its age. The voice acting and walking controls were clunky even at the time, but the things the game does well (fighting, world design, collectibles, music, immersion, sub-quests) haven't really aged at all, and in some cases have yet to be beaten by modern game standards. The best way I've seen it described is that you have to "give yourself to Shenmue" in order to enjoy it fully.
Yu Suzuki has described games as the only medium where you're allowed to sink into it at your own pace, like a warm bath. Shenmue is a great example of that kind of game. Even the voice acting can be tolerated if you just kind of accept it like you would accept an accent. "That's just how people talk in Shenmue so get over it", that kind of thing.
Shenmue was a huge experiment in what game design can be like in an era where the satisfaction had to be immediate (and remember, Suzuki comes from a background of arcade games where you had to understand them almost instantly), and I think that'll be appreciated in a landscape of games like Life is Strange, or even something more bombastic like The Last of Us.
What's exciting is that more people will get their hands on Shenmue II. It largely fixes a lot of the pacing problems people had with the original, has a stronger plot and characters, does a better job of linking its sub-quests into the main game, improves the fighting mechanics even further, and overall has much tighter and natural game design. It's also several times larger and looks better than the original. Nuts, right?
TheSpoiler
Member
AFAIK, I think there are MT that aren't branded. So they could either keep the ones that CAN work like AoT and Koei stuff and pay the fees for that, or introduce new ones.
Cosmetic is probably the route they will go. The game already isn't PSW so I can't see them ruining the system they have in place for that..
The Orz
Member
I'm confused. Is this a "Let's give Sega ideas for porting Shenmue" or "Let's beg Sega for ports of other, unrelated Sega games" thread? Of course we want updated versions of Eternal Arcadia, the Panzer Dragoon series, and Daytona USA. Hell, even Crazy Taxi 2 or 3 would be nice. I'd be happy with a crowd funding campaign for any of these. But for now, why not focus on Shenmue?
Wishlist in order of personal importance:
• Widescreen
• Multiple Resolution Options
• Modern Control Scheme
• Dual Audio
• Enhanced Graphics (Shaders, etc.)
• Updated Texture Work
The last two, honestly, aren't necessary. If they had the time and money, sure. Updated controls and high resolution options are a must, though, especially if you're going to call this an HD collection.
Wishlist in order of personal importance:
• Widescreen
• Multiple Resolution Options
• Modern Control Scheme
• Dual Audio
• Enhanced Graphics (Shaders, etc.)
• Updated Texture Work
The last two, honestly, aren't necessary. If they had the time and money, sure. Updated controls and high resolution options are a must, though, especially if you're going to call this an HD collection.
U n i o n 0015
Member
Ah, another Sega thread for me to be depressed about.
Sega ain't gonna do jack. They are sitting on a metric f-ton of titles, that when they don't sell millions, they cancel their entire slate. Company is basically going the way of SNK--but at lease SNK actually does something with their old IPs.
Sega ain't gonna do jack. They are sitting on a metric f-ton of titles, that when they don't sell millions, they cancel their entire slate. Company is basically going the way of SNK--but at lease SNK actually does something with their old IPs.
IbizaPocholo
NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
Please sega, stop investigate and make the ports.
jhmtehgamr20xx
Banned
SNK is actually doubling-down on games again; they're out of the pachinko business.
So I'd like to think, if SNK can wisen up, so can Sega. And really Sega's main problem has been they've over-relied on Sonic at the expense of their other (and a few of which I'd say are quite better) classical IPs. So hopefully now that actually begins to change.