SHENMUE III ON LIMBO FOR 3-5 YEARS!!!

Hi,

If anyone here is from the Shenmue Dojo, You' ll know about a campaign BBC Scotland have started to try and get Shenmue III released:

http://shenmue.planets.gamespy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32193&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

However, today it seems that campaign has come to nothing, if not at least for some comfirmation on just what is going on:

http://shenmue.planets.gamespy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32193&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=725

Don' t get excited, guys. I' m in here to tell all of YOU first, that it isn' t good news.

We got contacted by a member of Sega staff, and we can at least clear some things up.

Despite any rumours, Shenmue III is not at any stage of development, and is not in Sega' s plans.

" This is hardly an official statement, but I can tell you that despite rumours to the contrary, there is nothing in the works for Shenmue III. However, SEGA is aware of Shenmue' s position and the special place it holds for fans, and we would never discount the possibility of doing another one.

There is no Shenmue 3 in the works because Suzuki-san is too busy on Shenmue online and will be for another couple of years at least. There is every possibility that he would want to do a Shenmue 3, but the general feeling is that it won' t happen in the next 3-5 years; or until SEGA reaches it' s current business goals - That is to become a top 3 publisher.

I’d tell our fans not to give up hope – but not to hold their breath either."



That' s it in a nutshell. While the guy says that it' s " not an official statement" this is just to keep him in the clear with his bosses in Japan. Shenmue III isn' t going to happen anytime soon, no matter how much we want it to.

I' m gutted that I can' t come out of this with something more positive for you all. The thing that annoys me most is that Sega seem to be suggesting that the only way it will happen is if Sega' s fortunes really pick up - but in my opinion Sega are producing some poor games these days. The latest Sonic games, for example, are a disgrace. So does Sega DESERVE to have their fortunes improved?

I dunno. Disappointed.

Anyway, at least it clears up any bullshit stories (such as the Kikizo one) about Shenmue III being " out there" somewhere.

Really sorry, guys. Wanted to tell you first, because we never had much time to cover it on the show.

Thanks for all the input. At least now we know where we stand.

Sickened...

The only good to have come out of this is some conclusion, but regrettably Shenmue III seems to be on limbo.

The reason I post in this forum is because I now have to question Adam Doree' s article back in August of last year:

http://games.kikizo.com/news/200508/141_p1.asp

I want some understanding as to what this article was about, because everything has been pretty much rebuffed by the SEGA employee.

First off, welcome to the forums.

I wouldn' t have expected Shenmue 3 anyway. It was one good series that deserved another shot, & like others, just didn' t get one before Sega went down.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
STELLAR! I HATE YOU!

...You ruined my night!!!

...In 2 hours I' m getting on the bus to go to the nearest El Giganten, to que for a Nintendo WII...

... You ruined my WII LAUNCH!

Atleats i know now.

Even if you break 2 legs from a crab it still runs!
What you gotta do is find its weak spot and do massive damage at it.

It was the uncertainty that killed.

Why does Sega think that anyone gives a fuck about Shenmue Online? Phantasy Star Online all but ruined that series. Remember when " Phantasy Star" = " good game" ? Now " Phantasy Star" = " extreme ball-licking gayness" . Sega doesn' t like it when fans request or demand things. That' s why they take good intellectual properties and destroy them. They took Phantasy Star and destroyed that. They took Sonic and destroyed that. Now they will do the same for Shenmue. They figure we' d rather have gonorrhea infected stuff like Full Auto 2 or Chromehounds. Yay. I wish Sega would stop licking the crusty flakes off of every other developer' s anus and go back to what they used to do looong ago. Make games that are good instead of ass drippings like Shenmue Online.

I agree,Shenmue online is a game im not gonna even look at.

Itwas the story and the plot and the movie feeling that made me love Shenmue.

A mmorpg?

Lol @ SEGA.

Even if you break 2 legs from a crab it still runs!
What you gotta do is find its weak spot and do massive damage at it.

I thought Shenmue Online was canned a long time ago?

And who the heck is the guy you quoted? Why in the world should I believe that guy? And it' s not an official word, merely a member of " Sega' s staff." Like WHO? If you can' t quote the person you talked to, then you talked to no one.

Sounds like bullsh1t to me.

If anything I think someone just wanted to advertise a particular site.....

Sega sucks. They used to be a company with a goal of making great games. Now their only goals are to make money and be come a big publisher.
Sega has become the Japanese EA.

"If you knew how good I am you would think I'm modest."

OK, so someone we know well from the Shenmue fan community just emailed me about this. He was quite angry about these guys' throwaway " bullshit" branding of that article we did some time ago. Here is my reply to him.

---

Hi

To be honest I am tired of the Shenmue thing. There' s only so many times I can say to people that our source was totally credible and involved, without revealing who it is or the nature of their role with Shenmue. These campaign guys never contacted us or asked us anything, which was their decision. I doubt whoever anyone else is talking to understands the facts as clearly as the source we had. I doubt it very much because it' s virtually impossible. If someone who' s got a quote off a PR rep (or a " member of Sega staff" , at any rate) thinks they are somehow proving us wrong, then fine - we talk to the same people anyone else does on a PR level regardless, and frankly they have been as interested to hear what we know as the fans. It doesn' t mean it' s false, it means it' s a complex Japanese company with a pile of confidential matters and issues leading up to why this thing cannot be dissected. Really it can' t, people' s jobs are implicated, people we' re actually bothered about.

This statement just means that things, unsurprisingly, have changed since our article. They won' t get a Sega rep anywhere to comment on record about how or why right now. A lot of people seem to have got excited about the fact that this was a " BBC" thing, but now that these guys seem satisfied with their quote from someone at Sega, to brand somebody else' s 16-month old article " bullshit" strikes me as unprofessional and very short-sighted. Where does this leave Shenmue III? Clearly it' s not our place to judge now, even though there are new things we have learned. Rest assured this official statement is the best the fans will get for now and I think the bottom line is fair, although the reality is certainly not as straightforward or as breezy as they try to make out.

Sonic never lived on Mobius as far as Sonic Team is concerned, yet that' s what it says in all the English instruction manuals and beyond. Doesn' t mean it was true at Sega Japan where Sonic was always from Earth. This was only cleared up after about 15 years. If the planet where a mascot comes from can cause so much confusion you can understand why Sega would rather tell everyone about its announced games and publicly stated corporate goals than divulge sensitive and potentially embarrassing information about Shenmue.

All our 2005 article did us no favours when it comes down to it and I think that' s a pity in many ways. Next week somewhere on the BBC though, perhaps: " PR person says their game is good."

---

So........ Shenmue is still coming out then?

There are two rules to success:

1. Never tell all you know.

Dojo? A bloody Dojo? I' ll Karate these fucking midgets, they don' t come from real bloody Dojo!

They believe anything that is said to them as long as the source has an ounce of credibility...

" Oh he' s from the BBC?! He' s from the BBC!!!!!!! Oh the guy from the BBC says it' s not happening?! He says it' s fucking canceled????? Damn it!!!!!!! Damn it, damn it damn it!!!!!!! We need to contact Trisha and get ourselves on her show, ...we can' t let SEGA do this to us, we just can' t."

Then they come here and tell us - like we fucking care! Do we like SEGA games?! Yes, mostly. Do we want Shenmue 3?! Ofcourse. Do we want somebody to come here and tell us that on some forum, somewhere else on the internet, there is a guy who works for the BBC and he called some SEGA PR rep who said something other than " We have not made any announcements at this time..." Erm, no.

The most pathetic thing is that they actually sign up just to tell us. Great, well lets do something productive and ask this guy from the BBC to call al Qaeda and ask them where they are going to attack next, i would like to know where not to be...

What a terrible way to start off the morning.

This guy.... This guy.... THIS GUY!

That post contradicts itself in so many ways, honestly.

" This is hardly an official statement, but I can tell you that despite rumours to the contrary, there is nothing in the works for Shenmue III. However, SEGA is aware of Shenmue' s position and the special place it holds for fans, and we would never discount the possibility of doing another one.

So it' s an uneducated opinion?

Hmm.

I' ll stick with what KikiZO' s interview said. Thank you very much...

What is it with people head-hunting Kikizo as soon as they find out any morsel
of Shenmue information?

There are two rules to success:

1. Never tell all you know.

Kikizo staff is people i trust,its funny they always happends to land in the shit,once Peter moore said he was missquoted in a kikizo video interview,WHEN HE IN FACT SAID THOSE WORD HE CLAIMED HE WAS MISSQUOTED FOR.

Kikizo just uploaded the video,then other site quoted what PM said,and PM said he was then missqutoted by Kikizo.

LOl.

I feel sorry for this site,but you keep the good fight on.

Anyway,I belive Adam and kikizo staff.

oh now i remember,it was about stop adding xbox games that works for 360,funny since himself said that,we havnt seen any more xbox games working on the 360,wtf!

Where is shenmue2?

Even if you break 2 legs from a crab it still runs!
What you gotta do is find its weak spot and do massive damage at it.

i dont to the future of Shenmue....IMO the kikzio article was BS.

I HATE EVERYONE!!

...In 2 hours I' m getting on the bus to go to the nearest El Giganten, to que for a Nintendo WII...

where are you from? Dio?

Why does Sega think that anyone gives a fuck about Shenmue Online? Phantasy Star Online all but ruined that series. Remember when " Phantasy Star" = " good game" ? Now " Phantasy Star" = " extreme ball-licking gayness" . Sega doesn' t like it when fans request or demand things. That' s why they take good intellectual properties and destroy them. They took Phantasy Star and destroyed that. They took Sonic and destroyed that. Now they will do the same for Shenmue.

lol yeah It' s almost as if they like to destroy good franchises just because there are fans out there that like them.

@Majik, it' s a bit more nuanced than what you make it sound like. It' s not as if a member there just happens to do accountancy for the BBC and thought of calling Sega out of boredom ;) They had a show about video games and tried to get an answer as a Shenmue fan. All the guy did was sign up there to let Shenmue fans know how things went.

And it' s not that pathetic if people sign up here to tell this I think. Considering this might be the most Sega-friendly out of the bigger gaming sites. This site had the article mentioned earlier, was one of the first to write about Shenmue Online and seems to have better/closer contact with Sega compared to other gaming sites.

That being said, I don' t question the Kikizo article. What a PR-person says in an unofficial statement probably only hints at how the situation really is.

Yes we are SEGA friendly here, we love SEGA (no matter how many times they mess Sonic up) - but every couple of months somebody comes and calls Kikizo' s article nasty names, causes a huge argument and then disappears. We' re all sick of it.

Please don' t think i have anything against the guys at Shenmue Dojo. I don' t. I was simply being sarcastic. We all want Shenmue 3, but making a fuss about what some guy (and i know all about BBC' s campaign) who claims to work for the BBC said is daft. Has this guy proven beyond a shadow of a doubt who he is and who he works for? because that' s exactly what you guys keep asking of Adam, to prove that the article was genuine.

Y' know people seem to wonder why Kikizo gets exclusive interviews and has close ties with SEGA, but they never talk about Gamerweb. Do they even know?

Sega just seems to be up to it' s eyeballs in shit at the moment. Hopefully someone there will see the light and sanction Shenmue III. Yu come on get it made and you can get another ferrari!

Who ever is in charge at Sega at the moment wants to be instantly dismissed, and whoever was in charge, put back in place. I presume they must also have lost most of their star programmers lately (on evidence of the dross they are producing), sega just give them a call and offer the money and freedom and they' ll come flooding back.

Sega once stood for something, they might just have time left to save the name.

Has this guy proven beyond a shadow of a doubt who he is and who he works for?

Not seen his tv show on the bbc then??

For me the kikizo article should never have been posted unless they had something solid. Which they did not. Its just a ' you should take our word for it' article which is not very professional IMO.

That post contradicts itself in so many ways, honestly.

But then so did the kikizo article...

where are you from? Dio?

I' m a Swede, who recently (this summer) moved to a rural village in order to attend the university of my choice.


If, IF this news would turn to be true... What changes should we expect of Shenmue? I mea, with 3-5 years on their hands, they would have to update graphics at least, but what more?

Oh, IF true, then it would come right in time for the next " next generation"

Erm, just clear up. These guys do have a thing with the BBC and it is their comment on Dojo' s forum. It is not Dojo' s own comment. This doesn' t need to get messier than it already is.

Shenmue is one of the few games I' ve ever played that emphasizes inner growth, artistic discipline (in this case martial arts), the value of friendship, and reverence for nature.

To reflect upon the fact that the most popular videogame currently, in contrast, is one where you play a cartoony he-man who runs around and impales people with a chainsaw, is to reflect upon the pathetic immaturity of an industry caught in a never-ending loop of arrested male adolescence.

Which is truly for mature audiences, Shenmue or Gears of War?

Yes we are SEGA friendly here, we love SEGA (no matter how many times they mess Sonic up) - but every couple of months somebody comes and calls Kikizo' s article nasty names, causes a huge argument and then disappears. We' re all sick of it.

I can understand that. I' m not one of those though although I' m a member there. I' m more of a regular silent lurker here ;)

Please don' t think i have anything against the guys at Shenmue Dojo. I don' t. I was simply being sarcastic.

I assumed so :P

Y' know people seem to wonder why Kikizo gets exclusive interviews and has close ties with SEGA, but they never talk about Gamerweb. Do they even know?

I think few actually know and often those are the most critical ones.

Shenmue is one of the few games I' ve ever played that emphasizes inner growth, artistic discipline (in this case martial arts), the value of friendship, and reverence for nature.

To reflect upon the fact that the most popular videogame currently, in contrast, is one where you play a cartoony he-man who runs around and impales people with a chainsaw, is to reflect upon the pathetic immaturity of an industry caught in a never-ending loop of arrested male adolescence.

Which is truly for mature audiences, Shenmue or Gears of War?

Interesting point. Every genre has its place of course but it seems the majority of gamers never want to stray from the more accessible violence-based games. Which is a pity of course.

Excellent point I must say.

And for whoever questioned the futility of me joining this forum simply for the sake of posting this, I post it here because Adam Doree had so Shenmue fans hooked on his article- people still refer to it now. I' d like answers, and it seems we have some, pretty much blanket statements.

I still call BS on Doree' s article. But thats just an opinion. I post this here for other people to have their point of view, which I believe they certainly do.

ORIGINAL: Interstellar Fighter

Excellent point I must say.

And for whoever questioned the futility of me joining this forum simply for the sake of posting this, I post it here because Adam Doree had so Shenmue fans hooked on his article- people still refer to it now. I' d like answers, and it seems we have some, pretty much blanket statements.

I still call BS on Doree' s article. But thats just an opinion. I post this here for other people to have their point of view, which I believe they certainly do.

Perhaps you need to ask yourself why SEGA never asked for the offending article to be removed, or why other than confusing comments made by Suzuki in a different interview SEGA have never disputed the piece.

I want to hear them pronounce " Ryo" as " D. Yo" some more. That is why Shenmue 3 needs to be made.

Perhaps you need to ask yourself why SEGA never asked for the offending article to be removed, or why other than confusing comments made by Suzuki in a different interview SEGA have never disputed the piece.

Because they haven' t really noticed it? Most game companies do not comment on ' rumors and speculation' . It is the view of many that Kikizo' s article was a piece of rumor-mongering. And no, the frikken BBC wouldn' t do that. The BBC asked a direct question and got this responce. biglime, the presenter of the show' s username on the forum, has since posted confirming the source as being higher than " PR representatives" .

And someone before mentioned they haven' t seen it, that' s because it' s BBC Scotland. Arn' t you in Ireland?

If it was something really slagging them off for no reason. SEGA would have asked it to be taken down...they tend to just ignore lies.

sorry i ment ' rumors and speculation' .

The guys from the BBC have named their source...Kikizo have not.

The guys from the BBC have named their source...Kikizo have not.

Well, it' s entirely possible that both stories had legit sources. Sega is a big company and decisions have to be made at many different levels to get things moving. Is it so hard to conceive that there might be disagreements within the company itself, and until these are resolved, the company as a whole cannot make a decisive official statement?

Also, it seems reasonable to assume that a lot of the creative people at Sega would want Shemue to continue, and a lot of the accountants and executives would be holding it back because they are more concerned about the bottom line.

Maybe the person who spoke to Kikizo was a creative director trying to exert pressure on higher-ups at Sega by generating some excitement in the press and subsequently the public. It might have been an attempt that didn' t end up having the desired result. It doesn' t mean that the Kikizo article was fabricated.

And yet in February of this year SEGA sat down again with Kikizo in another interview... You' d think that if Kikizo had lied then SEGA wouldn' t have any further dealings with them.

Seriously, you guys are retarded and you aren' t doing your friends at Shenmue Dojo any favors as they will all now be seen as troublemakers who come here to stir things.

EDIT: I want to add that after reading through 35 pages of rubbish on your forums, that it appears that you guys aren' t exactly united in your belief that Kikizo made the article up. You people can' t even verify who' s said what to whom and inwhat context. It' s ironic more than anything that you don' t believe what Adam says because y' see there are people who disbelieve what your man of 30-odd posts who works for the BBC says.

I' m curious though, the BBC started this campaign and now have their answer, so when should we expect the verdict to be aired on television?!

Shenmue is horrible.

I see.

I see.

I see.

The day of the incident.

The day it rained. (lmao)

I see.

Can you tell me anything about the day it rained?

I see.

And Adam isn' t going to admit he made all that bullshit up (I wouldn' t either, if I was in his position) even though everyone knows he did. Just let it be a lesson, don' t make bullshit up in the future, it' s not gonna get you anywhere.

I started writing a long post about this but when i clicked the send button I got a " please enter a subject line blabla" so I' m mad right now.
I guess this is the article you refer to:
http://games.kikizo.com/news/200508/141_p1.asp
In short, I think the article contained correct information.
I actually believe that the Shenmue series was nearly done when Shenmue 1 was released. Since the game was made out of chapters with a story that really couldn' t be disrupted they must have believed that the series would be finished. And concidering the amount of money Sega used for development they must have been very confident in the project and therefor I think most things like art, characters, story, gameplay and basic coding was done long ago.
Which means that the article was true when it said that the series was only in hibernation. Never does it say that there' s a 100% chance of a Shenmue 3 on a console. It says it' s likely and that' s probably the truth.
The reason it' s not out yet is probably because they' re playing the waiting game to see which console would be most profitable to release it on.
They probably want people to forget the " failure" with the past games in the series so that it gets a fresh[er] start.
Also there' s the cost of PR campaigns and final development that will cost a shitload of money too.
The only bad thing the article does is that if you doesn' t read it carefully it sounds like Shenmue 3 is being under full development and all that' s left is an announcement. But if you read it carefully you' ll realise that no such thing is ever mentioned.

This was not a wise thing to start the article with though

Amazing revelations as Sega' s mythical sequel prepares for reality on next-gen platforms. It' s nothing to do with the newly announced Ryu ga Goto Ku from Toshihiro Nagoshi. It' s AM2 - and it' s back, with Shenmue 3.

Makes you believe stuff even before you read the full article.

You got some brown on ya nose Majikdra6on.....

Thats your reply? You' re a fucking joke.

News of the world lies all the time...they still get interviews. Point? nothing.

Fact is Kikizo have never shown any solid proof that there was a source. Even if it was not BS, should not have put the article up without something solid.

Shenmue Online was all the proof you needed, SEGA dont care about the main story anymore they just wanna turn it into a crap MMORPG

Oh and i lost any respect for Adam after he said this...



Not very professional is it?? But i was always hoping it would turn out to be true. The BBC have shown thats not the case.

ORIGINAL: Dead Saint

Fact is Kikizo have never shown any solid proof that there was a source. Even if it was not BS, should not have put the article up without something solid.

This is what i don' t understand. Kikizo acted exactly as every other website does, ...as every other facet of the media does and yet has been repeatedly badgered about an article that Adam probably wishes he' d never bothered publishing.

Bearing in mind the fact that Shenmue and it' s sequel were financial flops and certainly didn' t have impressive sales figures, what i wonder would Kikizo have gained by making up such a story. Would hundreds of thousands of people suddenly visit the site? No. Would a simple story about Shenmue 3 that didn' t go into as much detail still have brought the same amount of people to Kikizo as the actual published story did? Yes. And so it would be illogical to simply bullshit about a game that to be frank, wouldn' t sell very well at all.

If Kikizo had lied, or had said something that was completely false then they would have been held accountable for it. Since there was no cease and desist letter, no complaint from SEGA - a company that has since been interviewed again by Kikizo, no official rebuttal, ...then it' s safe to say that SEGA didn' t have a problem with what was written.

Now, if i look back just three months, Perrin Kaplan, in a video interview stated as fact that Wii would be region free. Is Wii region free?! No. Instead Nintendo were quick to explain that Perrin was incorrect and that Wii was infact region locked. Going back slightly further, Peter Moore said there would be no more BC updates for 360 because gamers weren' t interested in playing Xbox games and would rather have next-gen titles. What happened?! Microsoft were quick to state that BC was still being worked on and that Peters comments were incorrect.

Looking at other sites, IGN - which had a exclusive deal with Nintendo and as far as Wii was concerned, insisted that there was a final secret to the console and that it was hardware related. There wasn' t, ...but Wii received lots of attention and no doubt IGN' s Wii channel saw it' s daily hit count sky rocket.

We' re now 16 months down the line from Kikizo' s article and we' ve seen numerous people like yourself come and ask for answers and when Adam says that the information was correct at that time, you guys go into your shells and cry foul. Well you can take it or leave it but some know nothing Shenmue fanboy coming and calling the article bullshit isn' t going to be treated with respect as it looks like you' re here to simply cause an argument.

Me, i' ll believe it when SEGA announce it officially. The article was an interesting read and we know for a fact that Adam has connections with SEGA, but Kikizo isn' t SEGA and so like with everything else you take away from it what you want to take away from it. If you' re the kind of person who believes something without knowing that it' s fact and hearing it from the source (in this case SEGA) then more fool you.

Dont get me wrong i was hyped when it was first posted simply cause it mentioned Shenmue III. But after reading it again i found it to go back on itself a few times.

One minutes its ready and will be released for a next gen console...then it might not get released at all.

Now if Adam could get a screen shot of something from S3 then i think everyone[including me of course] would belive the kikizo article.

after reading through 35 pages of rubbish on your forums

My god. Get a life. Seriously.

If you think we have conflicting interests at " our" forums, it' s a thing called opinion. Do you think I personally represent the whole of the Dojo in saying it' s BS? Of course not. Espically in this circumstance where Doree lead quite a few people.

The only reason for this is because Doree certianly lead a lot of people with his article, BS or not, and I' m asking exactly what was the deal. I add my opinion, but it doesn' t reflect everyones.

There' s a possibility Doree was duped by this " source" , for whatever reason.

This is what i don' t understand. Kikizo acted exactly as every other website does, ...as every other facet of the media does and yet has been repeatedly badgered about an article that Adam probably wishes he' d never bothered publishing.

The BBC is media. Moreso than this site, BY FAR. Adam Doree' s article amounded to rumor-mongering, if even the stuff was fact, it simply had no grounding with regards to it' s sources.