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Shenmue Community Thread | Still lookin' for sailors

M

master15

Member
Some photo's from Suzuki's recent Chinese presentation:

HbY7TsP.jpg
4Fpap4R.jpg
G3PXySx.jpg
9vfnpIx.jpg
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More pictures
 
Ghost_Messiah

Ghost_Messiah

Member
Found this pretty interesting from a recent interview with Yu:

Q: How many more Shenmue games are there until the end of the story?

Yu: There is a total of 11 chapters. Shenmue 3 will be chapters 5 and 6.
Click to expand...

This makes it sound like there'd possibly be a Shenmue 5 then? If Shenmue 3 is two chapters then a theoretical Shenmue 4 would also be the same unless it's super compressed. Interesting.

Q. In the near future, do you have any plan to release a fighting game similar to VF? Or to work with Sega for the next installment of the game?

Yu: Right now Daichi Katagari is the one who is overseeing the VF games. I handed over the games to him 100%. I will not be working with Sega for another VF game. But I might develop a brand new fighting game of my own.
Click to expand...

Q: Is there any plan to release an Outrun-like racing game in the future?

Yu: We do have plans to release such a game.
Click to expand...

And here he is outright confirming plans for YS Net to develop a spiritual successor to Outrun and possibly even a Virtua Fighter style fighting game. So Yu's plans are ultimately to get back in to game development independently with YS Net beyond just Shenmue 3?

If so awesome. This is the first time I'm hearing anything like this. Usually the questions he's asked are heavily Shenmue 3 focused.

EDIT: Also the guys at Shenmue Dojo at speculating that this answer means he got more funding:

Q: Will Shenmue 3 follow the same formula as Shenmue 1 and 2? In your opinion, what is the biggest difference with Shenmue 3? And what is the key selling point to attract new players to the game?

Yu: 1. Shenmue 3 will follow in the footsteps of Shenmue 1 and 2. It will keep what makes Shenmue Shenmue. For example, real-time full voice acting.
2. Shenmue 3 will be a more of an "open world" game so player can explore more places.
3. Towards the later half of the game, there will be a brand new way to play the game to attract new players. But the details are a secret.
Click to expand...

Remember back with the KS he stated he needed to hit 10 million to make Shenmue 3 "open world" and now he's saying it's open world anyway. And that gameplay feature in answer 3 sounds expensive. Pure speculation of course but it does genuinely sound like more investors have jumped on-board. Awesome if true.
 
S

Shadowman16

Member
I'm both excited and nervous at Shenmue III just being chapters 5 and 6. I'm excited as it doesn't sound like Yu will be condensing the chapters too much (if at all) and rush the game to finish the entire story in III. On the other hand, after waiting so long for III, I don't know if I have it in me to wait for another sequel!

I'm interested to see what this late game change is that Yu eluded to.
 
Z

Zafir

Member
I'm partially happy that he's sticking to what I imagine he was originally going to do with the chapters. But I'm also rather worried that Shenmue 3 will do badly and we'll be left on a cliff hanger all over again. xD
 
ajim

ajim

Member
Zafir said:
I'm partially happy that he's sticking to what I imagine he was originally going to do with the chapters. But I'm also rather worried that Shenmue 3 will do badly and we'll be left on a cliff hanger all over again. xD
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Haha yep. My fear too.

Then we will be trapped in some other cave :-(
 
D

Die Squirrel Die

Member
Maybe this is just blind optimism, but I feel when you look at the success of games like Heavy Rain, Tell Tales games, Life is Strange, walking simulators, etc. I feel more hopeful of Shenmue being able to find an audience these days compared to the DC era (being on PS4 and PC with a much wider reach also helps).

That's not to say that Shenmue is exactly like those games, but just that the market seems more accepting of games that are slower paced, immersive and focused on the minutae of interaction. I found it especially encouraging to hear DOTNOD talk about LIS doing well, and also that it's budget was ~6million Euros, which is in the same ballpark as Shenmue's crowdfunded total.
 
M

master15

Member
To provide some more information regarding chapters and originally scope of the games:

Switch said:
Just a small point I noticed during translation where the China talk differed from the one at GDC 2014:

In the part about the original plan for Shenmue, Suzuki mentions that he had at first been planning to release Shenmue as a set of two games, which would cover all 11 chapters.

I found that this is different from 2014 GDC's translation (from Mark Cerny), which said he had originally planned to release "the first 2 chapters as a single game".

I double-checked with a Japanese news report of the GDC presentation, and it turns out that this was actually a mis-translation; Suzuki did in fact say he had originally planned for two games covering the 11 chapters

http://www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/vi...498d03785d2b45292420ee518a&start=150#p1124102
Click to expand...
 
S

Spaghetti

Member
Ghost_Messiah said:
Remember back with the KS he stated he needed to hit 10 million to make Shenmue 3 "open world" and now he's saying it's open world anyway. And that gameplay feature in answer 3 sounds expensive. Pure speculation of course but it does genuinely sound like more investors have jumped on-board. Awesome if true.
Click to expand...
i would hold off on assuming yu got more money. his definition of an open world is hard to pin down exactly, though we know he intends to fully keep the spirit of shenmue in a focussed environment with a strong sense of place.

then again, it is definitely looking like the development team are able to stretch the money further than they anticipated, with yu commenting on making the forest outside bailu village larger, and how he seems to be implementing the High Ground Battle System now despite not hitting the stretch goal.

and that gameplay feature in answer 3 was expensive. it's likely the $5 million stretch goal, the Character Perspective System.

Die Squirrel Die said:
Maybe this is just blind optimism, but I feel when you look at the success of games like Heavy Rain, Tell Tales games, Life is Strange, walking simulators, etc. I feel more hopeful of Shenmue being able to find an audience these days compared to the DC era (being on PS4 and PC with a much wider reach also helps).

That's not to say that Shenmue is exactly like those games, but just that the market seems more accepting of games that are slower paced, immersive and focused on the minutae of interaction. I found it especially encouraging to hear DOTNOD talk about LIS doing well, and also that it's budget was ~6million Euros, which is in the same ballpark as Shenmue's crowdfunded total.
Click to expand...
i feel similar on this. a shenmue game released in this age is not a standalone oddity, it has a fraternity of similar games with shared ideas and functions, though none quite arrange the parts like shenmue does.

if there's a strong effort to market shenmue 3 as this alternative to modern open world games, and put a strong focus on its attention to detail and narrative, i feel it will do very well within reason.
 
O

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
Yu Suzuki should not be in charge of VF imo. and this coming from someone whose favorite entry is 3.
 
S

Spaghetti

Member
oneida said:
Yu Suzuki should not be in charge of VF imo. and this coming from someone whose favorite entry is 3.
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kind of agree.

not for any bad reasons of course, i'd like to see him try something new with a fighter of his own in the future. VF is in good hands, because i absolutely love vf5:fs.
 
B

bishopcruz

Member
Looks like that was fun, jealous over here in the states.

How much longer do we have for the slacker backer campaign? Have they added add ons for existing backers yet?
 
S

Spaghetti

Member
bishopcruz said:
Looks like that was fun, jealous over here in the states.

How much longer do we have for the slacker backer campaign? Have they added add ons for existing backers yet?
Click to expand...
31 days and counting. maybe someone should make a thread/bump the old paypal shenmue 3 thread to remind people there's only about a month left to pledge.

add-ons aren't there yet, neither is PC for slacker backers, but cedric says they're both coming but hasn't elaborated on when.
 
Ghost_Messiah

Ghost_Messiah

Member
Fantastic interview with Cedric posted at Shenmue Dojo with loads of new information: http://www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=49417

Summary:

*Substantial progress update targeted for February 2016 with the first true, reliable images of the game and a teaser trailer planned

*Production is advancing extremely well and they're still on target for Christmas 2017 which they see as an important launch date because of the sales potential of the holiday season

*Shenmue 3 is a huge risk as Sega remains the original IP owner meaning Shibuya Productions/YS Net are only entitled to a return on the game's sales with the rest of the revenue (merchandise and so on) going to Sega

*Cedric estimates that there are about 200K passionate Shenmue fans

*Cedric says Shenmue 3 will not be on the level of Call of Duty in terms of AAA status but will however be a really good PS4 game in good standing amongst other PS4 games

*Cedric's internal and hidden goal for the Kickstarter was $5 million

*Cedric anticipates that Sega will release Shenmue 1 and 2 HD though nothing is official nor confirmed yet. He sees it as important for the sales potential of 3 and to attract new fans. They're planning a manga/animation of Shenmue 1 and 2's story to fill in newcomers but would vastly prefer HD re-releases

*Cedric refuses to give the exact number of developers working on Shenmue 3 as per advice from Yu Suzuki who wanted to keep the number confidential but admits that it's a substantial development team "a lot of people" given the game's nature as a PS4 title

*Prior to Cedric's first meeting with Suzuki in 2013 Sega did not want to let go of the Shenmue IP at all nor licence it out and that was what was primarily preventing the game from happening. In Cedric's words it made the game's development "impossible"

*Following the June E3 announcement of Shenmue 3 Cedric's office was stormed with enthusiastic emails from professional studios and individual developers wanting to participate in the development of Shenmue 3. Some developers even offered to work for free

*Cedric states that there will be a physical version of the game in stores
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Full interview at the link (worth the read!) but I think I covered the main points of information. Physical version in stores!
 
M

Maligna

Banned
Shadowman16 said:
Shenmue snow is my favourite snow in any game ever still. I just love how well the weather cycle was done in Shenmue - where it gets overcast before it starts snowing. Then you turn in for the night and get up in the morning with the town covered in snow. It looked so beautiful. Then having the snow gradually melt over the next few days... really awesome.

So glad to hear snow will be back for Shenmue III, odd that I'd get so hyped for a weather effect!
Click to expand...

I also loved the crunching sound when you walked on it.
 
Ghost_Messiah

Ghost_Messiah

Member
Found this interesting:

Source: Rights Issues Hampering Shenmue Re-Release
by Tristan Oliver December 28, 2015

It may be one of the most successfully crowdfunded projects of all time. It may be far and away the industry’s surprise announcement of the year. But one of the most crucial elements of Shenmue III‘s future success may be introducing a new generation to the original franchise in the first place. Though it sounds as simple as re-releasing the original titles to current consoles–and indeed there has been and outpouring of support from the Shenmue community to do just that–a reliable source has told TSSZ it’s not that easy.

Our source indicates Sega has interest in re-releasing the original Shenmue to current platforms–and has wanted to for years, not just recently with Shenmue III’s Kickstarter success as a catalyst–but there are several hurdles to overcome. One of them involves rights issues with brands used in-game, like Timex and, in Japan, Coca-Cola. Those rights have to be re-negotiated. If they can’t be, the brands have to be purged from the title, and given how vast Shenmue is as a game, that is a “heavy” task, our source says. Still, it is something Sega is pursuing.

Even if that obstacle is overcome, there’s the matter of the game engine. Our source says that while the bulk of the core Shenmue engine was developed in-house by AM2, there are pieces of it licensed through a third party that Sega does not own outright. The trouble, our source indicates, is that the company in question–the name of which we do not know–has gone out of business since Shenmue‘s original release. Sega is attempting to track down who owns the technology. While we do not know how much of it was used in combination with AM2’s in-house work, not getting those rights means some additional coding will be necessary for any re-release to occur.

And what about Shenmue III? When it appeared as part of Sony’s E3 keynote this year, it was widely assumed Sony would offer a level of assistance to series creator Yu Suzuki and Ys Net, be it financial or otherwise. But our source tells us Sony’s agreement with Ys Net almost entirely involved that stage announcement. It does not appear Sony is financially supporting Shenmue III otherwise, and in fact our source says Sony had a similar marketing agreement with Sega on Yakuza 5‘s Western release where Sony only assisted with marketing. The good news is that, conceivably, there’s nothing stopping Shenmue III from being on platforms past the PC and Playstation 4 for that reason. The bad news is that, with a crowdsourced budget currently hovering under $6.5 million, the game’s success really is on the backs of its supporters. You can still contribute through its official website via PayPal.

We should note we’ve attempted to reach out to those connected to the Shenmue III project for comment on these matters, unsuccessfully. If you can help us, please tip us through email or Twitter.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about Bayonetta–and there is quite a lot to talk about.
Click to expand...

Source: http://www.tssznews.com/2015/12/28/source-rights-issues-hampering-shenmue-re-release/

They're not the most reliable site in the world but they have proven Sega-connected sources and have been right about Sega-related things in the past. This might explain why we haven't had a Shenmue 1 and 2 HD announcement yet. Good to hear however that Sega are working on it.
 
M

master15

Member
Ghost_Messiah said:
Found this interesting:



Source: http://www.tssznews.com/2015/12/28/source-rights-issues-hampering-shenmue-re-release/

They're not the most reliable site in the world but they have proven Sega-connected sources and have been right about Sega-related things in the past. This might explain why we haven't had a Shenmue 1 and 2 HD announcement yet. Good to hear however that Sega are working on it.
Click to expand...

We've heard this stuff before but I'm curious is not getting the rights to Timex and Coca-Cola such a big thing? With the western release they didn't have the latter brand name and that wasn't a problem. Also correct me if I'm wrong but is the Timex logo only relegated to Ryo's watch? I can't recall the brand appearing in any other places, surely its not such an onerous task of coding another watch?
 
S

Spaghetti

Member
Ghost_Messiah said:
Found this interesting:



Source: http://www.tssznews.com/2015/12/28/source-rights-issues-hampering-shenmue-re-release/

They're not the most reliable site in the world but they have proven Sega-connected sources and have been right about Sega-related things in the past. This might explain why we haven't had a Shenmue 1 and 2 HD announcement yet. Good to hear however that Sega are working on it.
Click to expand...
just seems a regurgitation of what's already been said on GAF for a long time, which nobody was ever 100% sure about the validity of. we'll see what 2016 brings, but it's definitely in sega's best interests to get these remasters out soon.
 
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