SEGA would develop Shenmue III
In the latest issue of Famitsu Magazine, Sega has revealed that despite the poor sales of the previous two instalments of ‘Shenmue’ they have not ignored the fan based reception of the franchise. However, due to the excessively high production costs of the series which was estimated to be around 70 Million per game, it had been put on hold. Now Sega have revealed that if one of the three top console manufacturers bought the 3rd instalment as a console exclusive - it could be resurrected.
Shenmue which started on the Sega Dreamcast in 1999 is diverse world where most of the game is spent walking around various Japanese locations in a third-person ‘chase cam’ mode (talking to people, searching for things, and so forth), it is interspersed with many ‘mini-games’, including forklift and motorcycle races, bar fights & chases down crowded alleys. The game was one of the first to include a Magic Weather System which created effects based on the season you were playing in & used real weather record data from the 1986 time period the game was set around. Ryo Hazuki, aged 18 in the game was the main protagonist in the series and the only playable character. He had recently dropped out of High School to embark on an epic journey to avenge his father’s seemingly senseless murder and unravelled the clues as the game progressed.
Famitsu Quote:
Translated by Eurogamer.pt: None of the previous games sold really well for the investment made, and SEGA is in doubt as to if it will resurrect the series. However, SEGA assured the fans that if there is some opportunity to revisit the series, they would love to do it.
SEGA also mentioned the chance of one of the three hardware makers financing the game’s (Shenmue III) production in exchange for an exclusivity deal.
The last we ever saw of this great franchise was ‘Shenmue II’ released this time on both Sega Dreamcast and Microsoft Xbox in 2001 in which we took Ryo on an epic adventure through Hong Kong - the game ended just as he embarked in China which opened up the possibility of a 3rd instalment.
For fans of the original two games, how excited would you be at the thought of a third instalment to the series on Xbox360 and what changes would you hope for in a next gen gaming environment?
Source: BeefJack
I would certainly be interested in a Shenmue III, I loved the first 2 games. It’s just a shame they might never make it. They should release the original on marketplace and see how well that does as a test.
I have never played Shenmue II since by that time I was swinging around on Tomb Raider PS2 haha, but I thought the first Shenmue was brilliant - not quite sure HOW it cost 70 Million back then, but it was a great game - so for that alone I’d love to see a next gen version.
I have a hard interest in games…
and i hardly like Shenmue II….
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It sounds to me like Sega is broadcasting a message to Microsoft: “Sony already has Heavy Rain and Yakuza. Wanna send a little bling our way for this cult hit?”
I enjoyed both games on my Dreamcast. Still have a working DC.
Shenmue III would be abit of a mistake. Shenmue remake would be pretty amazing tho, with some gameplay tweeks!
if this game comes out i will shit myself
Wouldn’t it be a bit late to make a game like this now?! I mean like this gen hasn’t got too long left now I don’t think, so I would think it would be made for next gen, since if it was on xbox it would have like 4 discs.
we want shenmue 3, x10 event shenmue 3 release?