I just can't understand how SEGA Japan used to make so many games with Western appeal in the 90's, and now can't seem to make one for this generation
I don't think it's entirely that the games themselves are not appealing to the west, but rather that they haven't presented them or pushed them hard enough in the west.
The trouble is SEGA been very silly . Val looked stunning on the PS3, but an SRPG is a niche genre in Japan, never mind inthe west . I think Yakuza has every chance of working inthe west , But its really needs a Western setting and feel to get the Americans really into it , and it needs much, much better tech . Compare Yakuza to the likes of AS II, Red Dead . The tech is way behind and they're also far more open world games.
I really feel its time SEGA made a Shenmue III. I look at the likes of Mass Effect and to me, they're Shenmue in space . With all the Hype and a Multi Platform Shenmue could just about work .
I don't necessarily think Yakuza needs to 'Go West' so to speak to appeal to Americans. GTA games are set in the USA, but AC2 is set in Rennaissance Italy and sold well, Red Dead was America and Mexico in the old West, Mass Effect in Space in the future. They can enjoy games with a variety of settings.
I think that Yakuza could be shown off really well with a nice trailer, the ones for Yakuza 2 and 3 were a bit half-assed I felt, but Yakuza 1 had a decent trailer. If they could take that to the next step and really push the story and action I don't see why it wouldn't turn a few heads.
Hell my 18 Year old cousin can't wait to buy Yakuza 3 because he thinks it looks brilliant and wants to explore the city. He said it reminds him of his favourite Xbox game, that one set in the China where you could go into all the shops and learn martial arts. I told him it was called [spoiler:2y2p0ygo]Shenmue II[/spoiler:2y2p0ygo]
As for Shenmue III, I agree they could do something special with that now. After all this time, the fanbase has become pretty rabid and I'm sure everyone who plays games has at least some passing knowledge of the brand.
Imagine how they could advertise it
"Over a decade in the making - The single most ambitious series ever created will finally be concluded" stuff like that. Make it a huge deal and employ the fanboys to help out. Have downloadable and printable posters on the website and tell them to make copies and stick them in their school/uni/office noticeboards etc etc. Just manufacture as much hype as possible, which shouldn't be too hard because the internet will surely be buzzing with talk.
