Sort of an old interview, given that it happened back in January, but given the newfound attention heaped on the series, here's another nugget on one of the most discussed aspects of the infamous Shenmue budget:
http://www.seganerds.com/2015/01/22/polygons-matt-leone-speaks-to-yu-suzuki-in-new-interview/
When asked if Shenmue's budget ever soured relationship between Yu Suzuki and Sega, Yu Suzuki had the following to say:
This is interesting, because most people take Shenmue and Yu Suzuki's projects in isolation. But it seems the man himself was paying very much attention to how his projects did, and, ultimately, his work for Sega was a very big profit earner.
What's most interesting, however, is this speaks about the sales earning potential of Virtua Fighter - if VF3 and VF4's profits could "easily recoup" the cost of Shenmue, which, as a series cost about $47 million to make - that would speak incredibly well of their earning potential. Naturally, they have longer legs than a typical console game given that they were arcade games released at a high point for arcades in japan, but surely if those games were profitable like he says, another Virtua Fighter should be coming one day... right?
http://www.seganerds.com/2015/01/22/polygons-matt-leone-speaks-to-yu-suzuki-in-new-interview/
When asked if Shenmue's budget ever soured relationship between Yu Suzuki and Sega, Yu Suzuki had the following to say:
When Leone asked if Shenmue losing money hurt his chances to create another game of that scale, Suzuki acknowledges that Sega took a loss on the game but says the company easily recouped Shenmues development budget with profits from Virtua Fighter 3 and 4.
This is interesting, because most people take Shenmue and Yu Suzuki's projects in isolation. But it seems the man himself was paying very much attention to how his projects did, and, ultimately, his work for Sega was a very big profit earner.
What's most interesting, however, is this speaks about the sales earning potential of Virtua Fighter - if VF3 and VF4's profits could "easily recoup" the cost of Shenmue, which, as a series cost about $47 million to make - that would speak incredibly well of their earning potential. Naturally, they have longer legs than a typical console game given that they were arcade games released at a high point for arcades in japan, but surely if those games were profitable like he says, another Virtua Fighter should be coming one day... right?