Eh... Does Sega really listen to their fans though? I'm genuinely asking. I haven't really been following them in the past 3-4 years.
-
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.
Chances of a Shenmue I+II HD Collection?
- Thread starter Philippo
- Start date
Eh... Does Sega really listen to their fans though? I'm genuinely asking. I haven't really been following them in the past 3-4 years.
They just announced that they now understand focusing on quality is relevant to making games. Give them another 20 years before they come around to paying attention to fans.
VistraNorrez
Member
My post from the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter thread:
I made this list during my replay of Shenmue but before Shenmue 2. And so I see they did some nice updates for S2. All NPCs have full lipsync and shadows are on all chracaters. I also noticed loading was improved. It appears that some buildings have almost no loading when exiting them. I feel like I remember hearing how they would load the building plus the overworld when you entered a building. Doesn't seem to always be the case, but there is some interesting loading going on.
Also in the Xbox Shenmue 2, there were clearly updates to the water and lighting effects. I know people hate the bloom, but the PC would allow for all kinds of modding. And It looks like Ryo's textures at the very least were upgraded too.
I made this list during my replay of Shenmue but before Shenmue 2. And so I see they did some nice updates for S2. All NPCs have full lipsync and shadows are on all chracaters. I also noticed loading was improved. It appears that some buildings have almost no loading when exiting them. I feel like I remember hearing how they would load the building plus the overworld when you entered a building. Doesn't seem to always be the case, but there is some interesting loading going on.
Also in the Xbox Shenmue 2, there were clearly updates to the water and lighting effects. I know people hate the bloom, but the PC would allow for all kinds of modding. And It looks like Ryo's textures at the very least were upgraded too.
sturgboski
Member
Might as well Kickstart it a few months after this one ends. Or not. I just want it.
biggersmaller
Banned
E3 2016 launch. PS4 exclusive.
Dragoon En Regalia
Member
SEGA isn't one guy in a tower: Yosuke Okunari and M2 have been listening to classic SEGA fans and giving them remakes of arcade titles for years now. Even the Shining team, as much as I dislike what they've done, listens to its Japanese fans.
NiGHTS had it's controls improved post launch, even though hardly anyone bought it.
People can get used to the controls. They'll need to fix wide screen support and increase IQ.
BodiesWithoutOrgans
Member
I really want a HD collection also I really want to play this game
AcademicSaucer
Member
There are apparently some legal issues with some software components used in the game's engine.
Nevertheless, I am pretty sure that Sega will figure that out and release the games on current platforms. The media attention Shenmue has gotten in the last days warrants the legal hassles. Can't be that hard for a lawyer to figure out the licences situation of these software components.
Skies if Arcadia was cancelled? fuck SEGA
There are apparently some legal issues with some software components used in the game's engine.
Nevertheless, I am pretty sure that Sega will figure that out and release the games on current platforms. The media attention Shenmue has gotten in the last days warrants the legal hassles. Can't be that hard for a lawyer to figure out the licences situation of these software components.
This is really disappointing, I know I'll sound petty, but I really don't want to back Shenmue 3 unless I have a way of easily playing 1 and 2. I know I could always watch LPs, but it's just not the same feeling as playing for yourself to understand why people love them so much. And I don't want to back a project that I don't know whether or not I'll like based on the previous games
Rapscallion
Member
They would be crazy not to capitalize on ports of the game.
Yes they do own the Shenmue IP, but they gave 3 to Yu Suzuki since no one was willing to fund it, so he could try himself through a KS.
I'd love a HD remaster. I was way too young when the Dreamcast and Shenmue were out in stores. I remember playing Shenmue II at a friend's house on his Xbox a few years ago, but I want to experience the games myself. As for a wishlist, I actually only wish for better sound quality. Clearer sounding VO and multichannel surround would be awesome, especially because of the kick-ass soundtrack. The graphics should be 1080p60 anyway, so there's not much to improve on.
Do it, SEGA!
Do it, SEGA!
They'll have to get past the legal issues in order to do so.
And if this happens, I hope that there's a dual audio option.
Elfforkusu
Member
HD collection? Doubt it. Straight up ports though? I think it's gonna happen.
SpikedGunner
Member
I remember correctly, Sony mentioned that in their building the list campaign Shenmue was one of the more requested games and they themselves echoed the whole legal issues situation preventing a release...so it's not SEGA being lazy, it's pretty much legal issues being a major hurdle.
Again, the Kickstarter bringing attention to the franchise MIGHT get them to reconsider a release. Ball is in their court, but they have to decide if it is worth the risk on their part.
At the very least it'll be on PC as well, since Shenmue III will be.
Moderately likely. Sega probably has a lot of other things planned without worrying about cranking out a 1+2 HD port by early-mid 2017 (before Shenmue 3.) I do feel that at this point Suzuki is okay either way, and that 1+2 would be icing.
It took a shitton of work, but Sumo Digital lobbied like hell to Sega to get them to include Ryo as a character for SASRT DLC (after polling fans, though as I recall the polls didn't attract much publicity/less than what I would've wanted.) Sega is smart enough to hold onto the IP but it's not clear they're willing to make investments into it.
1+2 is obviously desirable to the gaming public for various reasons, besides that. The discussions are probably taking place over the next few months.
It took a shitton of work, but Sumo Digital lobbied like hell to Sega to get them to include Ryo as a character for SASRT DLC (after polling fans, though as I recall the polls didn't attract much publicity/less than what I would've wanted.) Sega is smart enough to hold onto the IP but it's not clear they're willing to make investments into it.
1+2 is obviously desirable to the gaming public for various reasons, besides that. The discussions are probably taking place over the next few months.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
Ryo was in the original Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing as a non-DLC character. So they probably didn't have to work too hard to get him in the sequel.
IbizaPocholo
NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
I want more a shenmue 1/2 in HD or the dreamcast version than the shenmue3 because i like it more the urban gameplay than a village.
IronicSonic
Member
I want Bluepoint or M2 to develop it. We' ll be fine
biglittleps
Member
Only if they get money from Kickstarter because Sony wont fund PC version.
Upsidedown Fuji
Member
Praying TGS will deliver Skies of Arcadia at the very least. I want to have faith in SEGA AGAIN!If Sega really wants to suck less, uncancelling that Skies of Arcadia port would be a pretty good start. Like, seriously. I never finished it on GameCube and I could really use an HD rerelease.
Noisepurge
Member
you will get High Voltage and LIKE IT. 1080p upscaled graphics, no other changes. 60$ pls.
I doubt Sega will need a Kickstarter or other outside investments to fund a Shenmue HD collection, their other PC ports like Valkyrie Chronicles were well received.
Shenmue Hype doesn't exist outside of the Shenmue communites fans because it only made so far 4,6 millions and there are only 7 days to go... Thanks to journlies who didn't supported it at all for most of them and I'm not even talking about the popular youtubers who didn't gave it a FUCK.
ranmafan
Member
I really hope SEGA has taken a look at the situation this past month and is at least thinking about it. If they seriously want to repair their reputation as they said recently, this would be a great place to start. That and just going back through their Dreamcast and Saturn catalogs and given us more of that too would be so nice. Its a nice dream, hope it turns to reality.
I think the legal issues are going to be the main stumbling block for these titles and that could literally take years of work to get around. I remember that there was a post on the PlayStation Blog a few years ago about the work that had to go into getting PS1 games released on the PS3 and at times it needed two or three years of legal work to get a PS1 game on the PS3.
It takes an incredible amount of money to do that sort of work and the sales of a Shenmue I & II Remaster collection quite possibly wouldn't even cover the costs of the conversion, let alone the cost of making it legally viable.
Much like Shenmue III, for it to happen it's going to need somebody who is willing to foot the bill and do the work while fully understanding that they're probably not going to get a financial return for the collection. Shenmue III had apparently been offered to publishers for years but publishers weren't willing to lose money on the project.
It takes an incredible amount of money to do that sort of work and the sales of a Shenmue I & II Remaster collection quite possibly wouldn't even cover the costs of the conversion, let alone the cost of making it legally viable.
Much like Shenmue III, for it to happen it's going to need somebody who is willing to foot the bill and do the work while fully understanding that they're probably not going to get a financial return for the collection. Shenmue III had apparently been offered to publishers for years but publishers weren't willing to lose money on the project.
Maybe things are different for Japanese companies, but the most fucked up legal situation for an old game I remember was System Shock 2, whose IP rights changed hands and split dozens of times through companies who did not give a shit about gaming. It took time but in the end it was a small development studio who got those rights sorted out for a modern re-release and they saw a nice profit in return.
I seriously doubt getting these rights issues sorted out would cost Sega money overall. But I do think, at the time, the opportunity cost for this investment was deemed too wasteful for Sega. Why spend $2m remastering Shenmue to get say $5m in return, when the same amount of money spent on mobile games will net $10m in return? That said, with the talk around Shenmue now that's a completely different outlook and I definitely think it'll be pursued by Sega.
Don't forget, system shock 2 didn't also need a port job. All of the work was legal.
This job is legal and technical so it'd probably be more expensive and risky. I still hope we get it though.
I would think they did. Basically, there were no plans at first for any DLC characters IIRC. Sumo then heard that players wanted more characters, and set up a large batch of petitions for individual characters to be included as DLC. All conditional - stating that there was no guarantee any of it would work. They then had to approach Sega and discuss with them the addition of a new character. He was a character like a year or so after the game had come out.
Asset use/reuse is one thing (I don't know if any were? I never played the game.) But the OK is a separate one.
Duggie_Brown
Member
If Sega don't capitalise on the current Shenmue 3 hype by not releasing Shenmue 1 & 2 in HD then they are Muppets!
IdreamofHIME
Member
Its crazy how many times I've seen it quoted over the years and even mentioned outside GAF.
Talk about urban legends..
The post also has zero do with what's happening right now either. There's no way in hell Sega is looking at the kickstarters success and thinking that sorting out a rights issue wouldn't be worth the returns.
Like how they won't fund Street Fighter V for PC?
Oh wait.