B_Rik_Schitthaus
Banned
Ryo farting his way to the moon is a little too OTT.
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Yu Suzuki interview on Shenmue
- Thread starter ajim
- Start date
Ryo farting his way to the moon is a little too OTT.
ajim
Member
Comments.
Theonik
Member
I am well aware of this fact, also I think there was a lot of content that is speculated to be intended for Shenmue 3 on the DC on the Shenmue 2 disk wasn't it? I was just jokingly saying that GAF collectively could fund Shenmue 3. Not being 100% serious btw.
This could also tie in to why Ryo loses interest in avenging his father. He could still confront Lan Di and during the battle discover that Lan Di was himself taking revenge for something his father did and then decide to spare Lan Di realising how bad the circle of hate may become though that would be a bit of a cliché.
I might add to this interview. Shenmue Gai isn't dead as only the mobile version has ended. The next move is to develop the game on to smartphones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8W1K6RaT_tw#t=589s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8W1K6RaT_tw#t=589s
Imagine they release them and they don't perform well, and thus no Shenmue 3 is released afterwards. That would hurt Sega's reputation in a big way among the gaming public (leaving people hanging on the huge Shenmue II cliffhanger TWICE). That's why, if Sega have coped with the losses already, I understand why they don't want to take the risk anymore.
On the other hand, I guess if Sega has no plans for the IP, it shouldn't be that expensive for Yu Suzuki to buy it and try for himself. Despite being out of the position he had at Sega, it looks like the relationship is still friendly, and that's the least Sega should do after all the glory Yu gave them in the past... In fact Sega has been quite nice before with other ex-employees like Tetsuya Mizuguchi (with Rez HD) or Yuji Naka (publishing his games).
I should be doing hw
Member
ajim
Member
Added to the OP. Good post!
Finally got around to looking at this, it's pretty interesting IMO. In many instances, it looks like they did what they could to minimize or remove transparencies from the xbox version, probably due to limited fillrate on the xbox. Curious how they changed some textures between the two and how the colors look better on the DC at times but then better on the xbox in other screens.
Thanks for the link.
butter_stick
Banned
He hits like a girl anyway.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
The first game sold 1.2 million WW, how much bigger than Yakuza could it be? The original PS2 game sold at least 1 million.
Haunted
Member
It's bigger in our hearts, goddamnit.
Theonik
Member
It's still 4 Rayman Origins bigger dammit! (Now I went and made myself sad)
Well one must also consider that there were ~10M DCs shipped Vs ~100M PS2s shipped at the time of release of either game too.
Liquidsnake
Banned
God I was what 24 when I first played Shenmue. If I am in my mid 30's now, I will never ever see a sequel. 
It makes me so sad. SEGA lost all my respect a long time ago.
It makes me so sad. SEGA lost all my respect a long time ago.
ajim
Member
Take into consideration how many Dreamcasts there were worldwide and how many PS2s there were worldwide and the Shenmue sales seem a lot more impressive too.
Thunder Monkey
Banned
For a minute there I thought I was reading a post by me.
I don't care if they just reuse the old engine at this point. I just need to know how it freaking ends!
Zoramon089
Banned
Uhh, look at the relative sizes of each consoles fanbase and realize 1 million on the DC is MUCH MUCH more impressive than 1.2 on the PS2
ajim
Member
Thats what people forget, the Dreamcast had a poor install base worldwide and the sales Shenmue got for a new franchise were amazing. Shenmue 2 would have done just as well, if not better if it weren't for the Dreamcast dying, and Shenmue 2 only being released in Europe and not the US, in which it was one of the most imported games at the time.
Oh well. Fate was not kind to it, and Yu
The Yakuza sales numbers are inaccurate. This is what happens when something is mentioned on Wikipedia entry and no one bothers to do proper research. Yakuza is only a worldwide million seller if you combine the sales of the original game internationally, along with the super low priced budget re-release in Japan. The two main sales trackers in Japan also have very different numbers for the game, which makes it a little harder to be certain of the final sales.
Enterbrain (Famitsu) tracking:
Ryu ga Gotoku - 345,323
Ryu ga Gotoku The Best - 484,199
Ryu ga Gotoku The Best Re-package - 53,657
Total: 883,179
Media Create tracking:
Ryu ga Gotoku - 242,076
Ryu ga Gotoku The Best - 384,462
Ryu ga Gotoku The Best Re-package - 52,810
Total: 679,348
Ryu ga Gotoku's US sales were totally pathetic, so the only way the game could have shipped a million worldwide would be to combine the tiny US and Europe with the combined Japanese shipment numbers (which should be around 900k if you add everything up and account for unsold copies).
What can we learn from this? The original Yakuza only sold as much as it did in raw units because the first game had EXTREMELY strong word of mouth, and many people picked it up when it was re-released for a budget price. It is not really fair to compare that with the full price sales of a single release.
For comparison here are Shenmue's Japanese sales as tracked by Enterbrain:
Shenmue - 355,902
Shenmue 2 - 125,781
This tells me that Shenmue had a much stronger international appeal compared to Yakuza.
Roland Deschain
Member
Did any of the Yakuza sequels break 1 million WW?
Thunder Monkey
Banned
I always knew there was a reason I didn't make a voodoo doll of you.
The unfortunate truth is the series was created by a console manufacturer on the outs. It was a terrible time to create a multi-part story game series. By the time the second released in it's largest market, on the Xbox... all the hype for the series was gone.
I really enjoyed this series and it hurts, but if there was cheap money in it, modern Sega would have done it by now.
Yakuza 2 sold over 800k in Japan if you combine the original (572k) and the cheapass version (255k).
Yakuza 3 sold under 600k in total (509k+89k).
The sales for the games outside of Japan are completely negligible now, so no, none of them will have broken 1 million ww.
ajim
Member
I'd say because it was already released on the DC elsewhere, and was one of the most imported games into the US at that time. Everyone who wanted it, already had it. Only the few (like me) double dipped. It's similar to the Xenoblade scenario now - it's not going to sell a lot because everyone has either imported it, or pirated it thinking it will never come to the US.
Thunder Monkey
Banned
Which is why I said the hype for its release was gone.
kurtrussell
Banned
Shenmue is better than Star Wars.
There, I said it.
There, I said it.
IrishNinja
Member
how much of this do you put on marketing? i wanna say shenmue got a commercial, i know it had ads. yakuza had the latter, but i don't recall what level of prominence they got.
pretty low bar there, but agreed.
I do think a lot of it is simply that Sega didn't really bother pushing Yakuza at all outside of Japan. I mean there's clearly a negative impact on popularity and hype when you release the games a year late, and usually after the NEXT game is already out in Japan.
I don't think we can ever know for sure what the full potential Yakuza has in say the US, because I don't see Sega ever having the chance to push it in a significant way in terms of marketing and timing.
IrishNinja
Member
yeah, kind've a shame it didn't really get a chance to anchor over here, but then with the obvious shenmue comparisons everyone falls into, i can't blame a burned sega for not going all-out with it, kinda like others here @ GAF point at ads for bayonetta but no vanquish.
what i do like is them respective of the niche audience here (4 was done right after 3's errors) and even nagoshi talking about western tastes in terms of dead souls' controls. i've absolutely no idea how 4 sold (most sources point to it doing less than 3 though, sadly) but clearly it's enough to keep bringing the series over, so i'm happy.
what i do like is them respective of the niche audience here (4 was done right after 3's errors) and even nagoshi talking about western tastes in terms of dead souls' controls. i've absolutely no idea how 4 sold (most sources point to it doing less than 3 though, sadly) but clearly it's enough to keep bringing the series over, so i'm happy.
damn shame about kenzan!, though
ajim
Member
Also better than Lord Of The Rings.
R_thanatos
Member
Even with US & Eu , it didn't reach The mil ?
That's ...sad ..kicking people in the face is a pleasure that should be shared with everyone ...
Totally agree, but that's meaningless praise coming from someone like me who is a former SEGA fanboy who absolutely detests Star Wars (and Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Twilight and a lot of other western "geek" stuff)
shinobi602
Member
I got my hopes up when I saw this thread!!!!! Fuck you both for resurrecting it! MOTHER.........DAMN...IT....
-Pyromaniac-
Member
lol I never thought of that, would be pretty funny.
I got my hopes up when I saw this thread!!!!! Fuck you both for resurrecting it! MOTHER.........DAMN...IT....
all part of being a shenmue fan, man
butter_stick
Banned
Maybe we can convince Child's Play to give their funds to a more worthy cause and help make Yu Suzuki's dream come true.
Theonik
Member
There are developers trying this sort of model right now. Namely, project C.A.R.S. being the first example coming to mind.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Done.
Shit just finish writing the last chapters and give it to us on a napkin. There will never be another Shenmue.
YOU CAN THANK ME FOR THE IDEA LATER, DOUBLE FINE
HEY YU SUZUKI, LOOK. IT WORKS. FUCKING DO IT