shenmue
Culture
Halloween Greetings From Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
8:20AM Mike Fahey | “When darkness falls and thunder drums, something speedy this way comes.” Thus begins Sega’s attempt at drumming up Halloween marketing for Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. More »
News
Shenmue Creator Yu Suzuki ‘Retires’ From Sega
11:40AM Michael McWhertor | The creator of titles like Virtua Fighter, OutRun and Shenmue has retired from his Creative Officer position at Sega of Japan, Sega announced this week. But the company isn’t done with Yu Suzuki just yet. More »
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Shenmue Fans Plan Toy-based Direct Action
7:20AM Stuart Houghton | Power to the people! In a move straight out of the Jericho fan playbook, disgruntled Shenmue devotees are planning a mass protest to try and convince SEGA to resurrect the franchise. More »
News
Shenmue Creator Yu Suzuki No Longer At Sega
6:40AM Michael McWhertor | The hopes of a Yu Suzuki led Shenmue III have just become ground into ever finer particles, as Sega of America president Simon Jeffery tells Gamasutra in a new interview that the legendary developer is no longer at the company. Jeffery says of Suzuki’s status that “Last I heard, he was doing some online stuff in China”, saying that the Space Harrier and Virtua Fighter creator is “kind of his own man right now”. Suzuki’s recent projects, the arcade game Psy Phi and MMO Shenmue Online never made it to final production stages. There’s obviously much more to the Jeffery Q&A and, as you may be aware, we’re fans of the frank Sega exec — and not just because he kept hope alive for a System 16 compilation. The entirety of the interview is worth your while. The Evolution Of Sega: A Conversation With Simon Jeffery [Gamasutra - thanks, Jay!] More »
News
Sega: No Plans For Shenmue III, Seaman 2
4:40AM Michael McWhertor | Talking with Sega of America president Simon Jeffery today, we asked the inevitable question — Is Sega ever going to release Shenmue III? The Yu Suzuki helmed adventure that saw two releases on the Dreamcast and Xbox has yet to see its epically planned story fully resolved. Unfortunately, the fate of Ryo Hazuki and another taste of “Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment” will have to wait. “There are no plans for [Shenmue III] right now”, Jeffery told us. Despite being one of the most requested Sega “fanboy” titles, it certainly didn’t sound like the publisher has much interest in or resources dedicated to the project. Jeffery was at least less final on Shenmue III’s fate than he was on a North American release of Seaman 2. We asked about the still unpublished PlayStation 2 oddball’s Western release, to which Jeffery flat-out said “No”. More »
Ryo Hazuki Is A Crank-Calling Smartarse
3:00PM Luke Plunkett | Yeah, as a concept, these have been done before. Most notably that still-funny Governator one. But soundboard prank calls based on videogame characters? That’s new. And what better way to kick off the trend than with Shenmue’s Ryo Hazuki doing what he does best: asking deadpan, stupid questions. [Tapezilla] More »
Shenmue On Wii, Anyone? Anyone?
4:00PM Luke Plunkett | Look, I’m so on the fence about posting this my arse cheeks are dotted with splinters. But hey, it’s Shenmue, and there’s precendent for this kind of business on the Wii, so who knows. Scandinavian games mag Gamereactor have heard that Sega plan to release Shenmue on the Wii. Not a new Shenmue, however, just Shenmue 1 & 2 bundled together, with added (no doubt waggle-intensive) minigames thrown in. Would it sell? Of course not. Would it get certain areas of the internet all giddy with excitement regardless? Of course it would. Shenmue Ar Tillbaka! [Gamereactor, via Go Nintendo] More »
News
The Most Expensive Game Budget Ever
9:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Shenmue, that was a pricey game! For the past 18 years or so, Yu Suzuki’s Shenmue has been the most expensive game ever developed at $US70 million, making the game the current Guinnes World Record holder. According to Rockstar producer Leslie Benzies, Grand Theft Auto IV just might supplant Shenmue. Over a thousand people worked on the game, and Benzies guestimates GTA IV cost roughly $100 million. Just imagine if Tom Cruise had done voice acting work! So, any takers on what Metal Gear Solid 4 cost? I’m betting slightly north of $120 million. Grand Theft Auto Producer [Times Online via NeoGAF via Sega Nerds] More »
