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Shenmue Community Thread | Still lookin' for sailors

Spaghetti

Member
I still don't think Shenmue 3 will be at E3.
You may be right, but we'll just have to wait and see.

I don't think we're in for a total media blackout, though. Keeping my fingers crossed next Tuesday is that day the silence breaks, but if not it's no biggie. Even through March I expect Zelda will be keeping most of us busy.
 
I think if they were nigh-on almost ready to show something at PSX then missing that particular show means E3 is a strong possibility and almost definite. Guess it depends on how development is coming along. If it's still on track for December 2017 then E3 is a must to build momentum and hype for the holiday season. The game slipping to Spring 2018 could make it an E3 no-show however.

Would really love to see an in-game trailer at some point. Hopefully soon if they're progressing well.
 

Spaghetti

Member
The catharsis of seeing a blowout trailer at E3 this year will be unbelievable, so I absolutely hope YSnet have got all their ducks in a row for a showing. Even if they don't make it this year, it won't be for a lack of trying. YSnet have been working hard for quite a while now.

Interviews with Yu Suzuki have said it, Ryan Payton has said it, backers who met Yu in Japan have said it. They'll only be putting their foot further to the floor this year.
 
You know, I still need to get around to playing Shenmue 2 one of these days.

Well, if the HD release ends up being a thing, I suppose I could wait for that. The last time I touched Shenmue was when I was a kid. Miss that game.
 

fast_taker

Member
i have never played the first one but i have finished quite a few times the second one which i love. I am looking forward to play the remastered editions of the first 2 games and the new series installment.
 
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This is pretty cool.
 

Spaghetti

Member
If there is a Shenmue 3 at Sony E3. I am expecting a Shenmue 1&2HD Available today sorta thing.
That'd be nice, but it depends on a lot of "what ifs" that we can't really say with any certainty right now.

We don't know how closely SEGA are coordinating with YSnet on the future of Shenmue - if at all.

We don't know how much of an interest Sony are taking in getting Shenmue HD made/onto their platform.

We don't even know if Shenmue III will be at E3 - although I'd say it's a strong possibility.
 

Spaghetti

Member
yeah but im kinda tempering my hopes here and expecting a video, hopefully something longer than a blip in a sizzle real
For Shenmue III? Sure.

If there's not a trailer, then it won't be in the sizzle reel either, though. Well, unless they use some of the old footage from the E3 2015 reveal- but I doubt that'll happen. It's so outdated and unrepresentative of what the game presumably looks like now.

Can't wait for the day when the E3 2015 materials stop being the de-facto "face" of the game.
 

Spaghetti

Member
Last few weeks have been busy for video game news so the thread about the dev diary itself has been buried a bit, so I'll just kind of reiterate thoughts here:

It's really starting to look like a game now, which is a great milestone considering games straight up don't look like that for a lot of the development process.

It was nice to see they've managed to sneak an arcade in there, in what looks like a warehouse possibly at the Choubu docks. We got a nice high-angled look at part of Bailu Village, a good idea of the viewing angle of the FREE Quest camera, and a look at user-friendly improvements like segmenting the notepad and a (probably optional like Shenmue II) minimap.

There's still a lot of the game that hasn't been shown, which has been verified by people who saw the game in September at a backer dinner with Yu - and I imagine a lot of what they were shown will be saved either for final release or a proper unveiling maybe at E3?

Either way, we're nine months away from the earliest possible window of release, so obviously more work is left to be done.

It's been pretty disheartening to see some shitty attitudes towards this video on Twitter/in certain parts of the press. YSnet does not have a dedicated media wing. They don't have a documentary crew following them around all day like other crowdfunded games. These videos are done by YSnet staff members who also have to contend with a full work day of responsibilities too.
 
I still can't handle that guys shirt but everything else is looking pretty great in that video. I wouldn't be surprised to see something more at E3 after that.
 

Spaghetti

Member
There were still placeholders in the visuals that make me wonder if it'll be Sony's conference or not, but they could easily turn all that around in the three months until then.

It's looking good for something that left prototype only a few months ago.
 

Spaghetti

Member
Celebratory bump because of the Slacker Backer campaign officially raising an additional $400,000 since it opened in September 2015.

Also, here's Episode 04 of the Chasing Shenmue vlog/podcasty thing; which is charting the story and progress of the fan documentary of the same name.

Director Adam Sipione talks to Shenmue community fixture Peter Campbell (Peter on the Dojo, ShenmueGuru over here on GAF) about their Shenmue pilgrimage last September, while they were out in Japan for the Yu Suzuki backer dinner. It's a good watch!
 
Ah so reading the Twitter replies it does seem to pertain to Shenmue HD and is thus good news on that front. Awesome, would love Shenmue HD.
 

Spaghetti

Member
Wheels are moving. Although, we could have guessed when SEGA Europe's COO brought the matter up unprompted.

Either way I'd be more than happy to replay both games later this year, II especially.

I'm wrapping up a playthrough of II on an emulator, and the Guilin section has a whole other dimension now we know Shenmue III is coming and roughly what it'll be about/where it'll go geographically.

Like, there's an ominous tapestry in Shenhua's home and when asked about it, she talks about it being of some unknown mountains where allegedly nobody returns from and all I could think about was the Dev Room video from last August where they showed an in-progress event with Ryo on a mountainside dodging falling rocks...

And also it was good to get some background on Bailu Village that seems to tie in completely to what we know about it in Shenmue III.
 
In light of the Persona 5 streaming restrictions, and the restrictions Sega put on Puyo Puyo Tetris, do you think this is something of concern for Shenmue III?

I realize these companies aren't directly involved with the game (though Sega might still have some say regarding it), but with them both being Japanese, do you think that mindset will permeate into Ys Net?
 

Spaghetti

Member
In light of the Persona 5 streaming restrictions, and the restrictions Sega put on Puyo Puyo Tetris, do you think this is something of concern for Shenmue III?

I realize these companies aren't directly involved with the game (though Sega might still have some say regarding it), but with them both being Japanese, do you think that mindset will permeate into Ys Net?
Unless there was something very specific regarding streaming in the licencing agreement with YSnet (which is monumentally unlikely), then there's nothing SEGA can do to impact that decision.

As for whether YSnet will do anything... too early to say. They won't want spoilers getting out, but that's no guarantee either way what the decision will be.

If fans make enough noise that they don't want streaming restrictions then they're likely to take notice.
 

_Ryo_

Member
Unless there was something very specific regarding streaming in the licencing agreement with YSnet (which is monumentally unlikely), then there's nothing SEGA can do to impact that decision.

As for whether YSnet will do anything... too early to say. They won't want spoilers getting out, but that's no guarantee either way what the decision will be.

If fans make enough noise that they don't want streaming restrictions then they're likely to take notice.


I don't think it's true that SEGA aren't allowed to do anything or set streaming restrictions. Shenmue is after everything, still a SEGA IP and they probably have ultimate control over it.
 

Shadoken

Member
The official SEGA Facebook page just made a post about Shenmue-branded apparel available at InsertCoin. This is the first time i have even seen SEGA officially acknowledge Shenmue on any of their Social media channels. Looks like there might be something coming up.
 

Spaghetti

Member
The official SEGA Facebook page just made a post about Shenmue-branded apparel available at InsertCoin. This is the first time i have even seen SEGA officially acknowledge Shenmue on any of their Social media channels. Looks like there might be something coming up.
I wouldn't read into it too much. SEGA have done similar stuff for other Shenmue merchandise in the past, if I remember correctly. There was a pretty salty period where it seemed SEGA would give Shenmue fans literally everything other than games, but I guess retrospectively it was the first indicator that SEGA were properly acknowledging Shenmue again and may have helped pave the way towards licencing the IP to YSnet.

I don't think it's true that SEGA aren't allowed to do anything or set streaming restrictions. Shenmue is after everything, still a SEGA IP and they probably have ultimate control over it.
Seriously, unless there was a specific clause in the licencing agreement addressing this (and there won't have been), SEGA don't have a say. The decision would not relate to IP usage, which is where SEGA's remit as the licence holder would be. They just simply couldn't enforce something like that.

Shibuya Productions, as the publisher and major financier of Shenmue III, would have more of a say than SEGA in that department.

It would also be a complete 180 on SEGA's position to Shenmue III so far, which has rightfully been to be hands-off to the point where there have been few official recognitions of the project at all.
 
In light of the Persona 5 streaming restrictions, and the restrictions Sega put on Puyo Puyo Tetris, do you think this is something of concern for Shenmue III?

I realize these companies aren't directly involved with the game (though Sega might still have some say regarding it), but with them both being Japanese, do you think that mindset will permeate into Ys Net?

I doubt it, especially since it appears that the Western release of Puyo Puyo Tetris will NOT have any sharing restriction issues.
 

Spaghetti

Member
New Cedric Biscay interview that touches on Shenmue III. I used Google Translate so, your mileage may vary.

On the release window:

I'm always surprised to hear very regularly about the release date because in fact it was originally given and it has not moved yet. So we're on the 15th of April? - the date when we did the interview. - Well, on April 15, 2017, Shenmue 3 is still scheduled to be released in December 2017. So there are no conflicting elements to this day, but it can evolve. But in any case, we are not late in development so it does not mean that we can not have a problem last minute or anything. In any case, the developers have not alerted me on the slightest problem to date.

I've thought for a while that a delay wouldn't be decided on until the very last moment they're past the point of no return for shipping in December, so Cedric's comments aren't too surprising for me.

It's an admirable thing, and I'm glad they're gunning that hard to meet the original release window. By the end of summer we'll probably know what's up with a slip into 2018 or not.

Important to note: We've not even really seen the tip of the iceberg yet in terms of work done. This is a fact confirmed by those who saw it in Japan last year, and even they wouldn't have an idea of the full picture either. There's nothing for us to realistically judge about the full state of completion, so the word out of YSnet is law until proven otherwise.

On Sony's involvement:

And then of course, they will actively participate in marketing the game soon.

Before anybody gets eager to call this an E3 hint, remember how PSX went down. If the game IS releasing in December this year, then yes I'd expect Sony to step up their end on marketing and that would include press conference time IMO.

That doesn't necessarily mean Cedric knows anything right now, and if Shenmue III were delayed past June 2018 I could realistically see YSnet skipping E3 to make a big splash the following year.

With about 8 weeks left until E3... I imagine things are very interesting at YSnet right now. Hopefully the high spirits seen in the March update video keep up!
 

Spaghetti

Member
Eh, if a better translation presents itself I'll update the post.

Google did a good enough job, and it's really just a reiteration of what we've been told before anyway. Just gotta buckle in and see how shit goes from here.

Due an update next week, in theory.
 

AsianOni

Member
Google Translate did a good enough job, I don't think there's much more to retrieve from this interview. Like Biscay said, it's not the time for exclusive infos yet. :D

E³ can't come soon enough.
 

Spaghetti

Member
Cross-post from a Dojo thread I made:

Tekken dev requests guest fighter ideas - let's give 'em one

Tekken's Harada has recently asked on Twitter for guest character suggestions - likely as baseline research into Tekken 7 DLC.

https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/853769649447608320

We all know about Harada's reverence for Shenmue and Yu Suzuki thanks to that amazing interview Switch graciously translated for us all on his blog, so a swell in suggestions for Ryo being a guest character in Tekken is likely to be noticed and taken seriously.

In regards to the fighting style differences between Tekken and the Virtua Fighter-lite system Shenmue uses, the Tekken team appear to have been very faithful with mixing in the gameplay style of Street Fighter when they included Akuma into baseline Tekken 7, and hopefully they'll do the same again with Ryo and have him control quite like he should if he is included.

WHY THIS MATTERS IF YOU DON'T LIKE TEKKEN/WANT RYO IN TEKKEN

It raises the profile of the series and its characters, which is nothing but beneficial to Shenmue III or future instalments. I'm not much of a Tekken person either, but I see this as an opportunity.

Shenmue fans are great at mobilising and making our voices heard, so why not throw our weight behind this to grab Harada's attention?

Bit of food for thought. If anybody wants to spend a few seconds on Twitter to request Ryo for Tekken, go for it. Can't hurt.
 
I know they're striving for that December launch, but with the relative success of Japanese exclusives like Yakuza 0, Nioh and Nier: Automata, a Q1 2018 release might be the best thing to happen to Shenmue.
 

Spaghetti

Member
I know they're striving for that December launch, but with the relative success of Japanese exclusives like Yakuza 0, Nioh and Nier: Automata, a Q1 2018 release might be the best thing to happen to Shenmue.
Agreed. Hopefully they're not sleeping on that fact. I could see Shenmue III being a March/April release quite easily.
 

Spaghetti

Member
Nice little filler update.

Story in games is difficult because of having so many moving parts in development. Quite frequently you either have a story that is prisoner to the gameplay, or gameplay that is prisoner to the story. It's a difficult balancing act.

Honestly, Shenmue II is one of the few games that I feel got that balance right and managed to properly integrate gameplay and story in ways that made sense. Hearing Yu talk about his process and approach to game story was pretty revealing as to why Shenmue II works so well as a story-based action game.
 

Spaghetti

Member
Mm. The Shenmue series is great at hiding little things away.

Even in 2017 I've learnt new stuff about Shenmue II in particular after having played it basically every year since release.

Keeping my fingers crossed that it's within the scope of III to continue that trend.
 
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