It looks like the Tokyo Game Show 2018 news keep on coming out, this time its our boy Yu Suzuki who has announced to be producing a upcoming virtual reality arcade game called VRSUS. Yu Suzuki joins JPPVR Corporation that makes VR rigs for arcades as part of the software development subsidiary company VRes. He joined the live stream to talk about his history with VR including talking about the 1991 failed SEGA VR headset that never made it to market.
Unsurprisingly Yu Suzuki said the reason he really wanted to work on VR is because he thinks it will “liven up” arcades, which have been in a decline for awhile.
“In its current state it is a true prototype, and I’m still feeling out which aspects will make for an interesting game. Going forward I’d like to work with things like ‘bullet time’ (which slows down time) and the concept of dodging through a slew of balls within a 3D confined space” – Yu Suzuki
I’ll tell you my opinion, I’m not shocked that Yu Suzuki would take a job making a arcade game. While a lot of Shenmue fans adore him for that title, Yu Suzuki’s real passion would always be with arcade games and you can see it considering the reason he left SEGA was because they weren’t investing in their arcade division like they used to. Not because they wouldn’t do Shenmue III, but because he couldn’t make big budget arcade games like he used to. I hope this project works out.
But a little bit inside me has me a bit worried that Yu Suzuki might be stretching himself out too much. We still haven’t gotten Shenmue III finalized gameplay footage and he announces he is working on another project? While fans will say that he can work on more than one project at a time, its just troubling considering how long Shenmue III has taken and how we haven’t gotten any finalized media yet. What are your thoughts?
[Via: Phantom River Stone]
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“But a little bit inside me has me a bit worried that Yu Suzuki might be stretching himself out too much”
He’s just a director/producer, he doesn’t do any actual work. EVerything the team does goes through him for his approval or insight and that’s it. No reason to worry. The more Yu does in the industry now, the bigger the chances for Shenmue 3’s success and we might even see Shenmue 4.
I think directors are a little more important than that…
amen! as long as we get the completed Shenmue3; i am good. yes, what many don’t realize is that we will still need Shenmue4 or possibly 5 to finish the story; a lot of people are forgetting that Shenmue3 does not conclude the story just yet. I would hope that it could conclude with Shenmue4; but who knows? YuSuzuki. I would join the kickstarter for Shenmue4 in a heartbeat!
He ran away with our money