SEGAbits Shenmue III Hype Train! Update: Funded but lets go further!

[George]

Luminous is a OK engine. Doubt Square will release it to other companies (and why would they want it?) Why not just use something like Unreal 4 or Unity? They are multipurpose engines that do anything a developer would need.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AMY7I_eHjk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOzlRNNRdC8

Or they can use the in-house engine from Alien: Isolation, I thought the environments in that game where pretty sweet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6zv1_amkFU

[Team Andromeda]

Why do people think its the engine that the issue ? . The Shenmue engine for both the Saturn and DC versions was in place very early in . That is not is holding this game back at all , I mean to save money SEGA could just use the Yakuza engine . What holding this game back is the main power and money needed to make Shenmue III and IV to finish the story . You're looking at a team of 100 to 200 and quite a few years to finish the job and for a series  that sold less than 2 million copies on 2 different platforms, its not going to happen, more so as SammySEGA have little interest in making games anymore

[3raser]

Sega made a large profit from Shenmue. If they didn't, why would they have made Shenmue II? I admit that the sequel did not earn Sega as much money. This is only for the reason of a dying console. Sega has been a software company ever since. Engines do matter. Without an engine the game would not work at all. The Yakuza engine is not the same type of engine that the originals were from. The engines they were from were Unreal 1 & 2. I only suggested Luminous because the graphics look the best. Even saying that, I think it would be a bad idea. It would be the second best engine though. Why do you think Sega would have to make Shenmue IV? They could just have two games together.

[Barry the Nomad]

I don't know, I guess maybe whatever Yakuza 5 runs on (I know past games ran on Magical-V Engine) or a modified Virtua Fighter engine assuming VF6 is in development and has a new or modified engine.

[George]

Hummm SEGA said they would need to sell Shenmue 1 twice to every single Dreamcast owner to turn profit. Let's say at the time it was a conservative 5 million units out, that would mean 10 million sold. I think they did 2 because AM2 worked on both at the same time, if you see Saturn development, they also show footage of 2.

[Team Andromeda]

Sega made a large profit from Shenmue. If they didn't, why would they have made Shenmue II? I

SEGA made no money from Shenmue project that why it was canned and SEGA don't want to go anywhere near it .

Why do you think Sega would have to make Shenmue IV?

There's 10 chapters left to be told and it took SEGA some 7 years and 2 games to tell just 4 chapters  that's why ...

[pcm92]

SEGA made no money from Shenmue project that why it was canned and SEGA don't want to go anywhere near it .



There's 10 chapters left to be told and it took SEGA some 7 years and 2 games to tell just 4 chapters  that's why ...

In that case, Sega could make 3 & 4 on handheld consoles. I was once skeptic of another Shenmue title, until I thought of this. There are hardly any good games on PS Vita as far as this year so far, so I'm sure Shenmue 3 & 4 would sell like hot cakes.

[Team Andromeda]

In that case, Sega could make 3 & 4 on handheld consoles. I was once skeptic of another Shenmue title, until I thought of this. There are hardly any good games on PS Vita as far as this year so far, so I'm sure Shenmue 3 & 4 would sell like hot cakes.

You may have missed it, but most games don't sell that great (even in Japan) which is why all the major developers have given up on the system, even SONY. 

[MadeManG74]

Hummm SEGA said they would need to sell Shenmue 1 twice to every single Dreamcast owner to turn profit. Let's say at the time it was a conservative 5 million units out, that would mean 10 million sold. I think they did 2 because AM2 worked on both at the same time, if you see Saturn development, they also show footage of 2.

From my understanding, they saw the loss on the first game as an investment, since this was meant to be their 'Annual series' or at least their next killer IP. It was meant to launch the series to be something like Final Fantasy, or for modern reference, an Assassin's Creed or CoD style property.

[Team Andromeda]

From my understanding, they saw the loss on the first game as an investment, since this was meant to be their 'Annual series' or at least their next killer IP

Shenmue has it developed,  was made to sell the DC . I still have a interview with Yu Suzuki and he said Shenmue (the 1st game) needed to sell over a million copies to pay for its budget of $25 million dollars (JP version alone)

[3raser]

In that case, Sega could make 3 & 4 on handheld consoles. I was once skeptic of another Shenmue title, until I thought of this. There are hardly any good games on PS Vita as far as this year so far, so I'm sure Shenmue 3 & 4 would sell like hot cakes.

I don't know of anyone who owns a PS Vita or even a 3DS. Handheld consoles are not nearly selling as much as they did fiveteen years ago. We now have games on smartphones and tablets.

There's 10 chapters left to be told and it took SEGA some 7 years and 2 games to tell just 4 chapters  that's why ...

It didn't take seven years between the two games. The Dreamcast lasted in North America for only two and a half years. If you mean the entire writing of it, then does that stop Yu Suzuki from continuing the story? He already has the rest of the story. He even said multiple times that he is considering a new Shenmue creation. I'm sure he would not mind making his last story shorter than intended, if he has to.

[Team Andromeda]

It didn't take seven years between the two games. The Dreamcast lasted in North America for only two and a half years.

The Shenmue Project started life in 1994 on the Saturn and Shenmue II came out in 2001 . 7+ years in total and over 70 million dollars spent

He even said multiple times that he is considering a new Shenmue creation

And no-one is coming up the with money , which tells its own story never mind that Shenmue City flopped on the mobile . I like Shenmue series to be made and finished the way it was meant too. Not some cutdown cheap version which fans will hate and make people hate SEGA all the more

[Nathan]

I still have a interview with Yu Suzuki and he said Shenmue (the 1st game) needed to sell over a million copies to pay for its budget of $25 million dollars (JP version alone)

I'd be interested in seeing that interview.

[Team Andromeda]

I'd be interested in seeing that interview.

It was in a Japan DC mag and then translated for the English press by the likes of Total Control , just after SEGA share price dropped on the news that Shenmue would miss its planned October 1999 date. Yu Suzuki then talked about the game a little on the Shenmue passport and how the game would need to sell a million copies to pay back it costs.

[Nathan]

Do you have a copy of it, digital, or hard?