Shenmue — it was very good. So good, in fact, that fans are still clamouring for the franchise to continue almost 11 years after the second game was released. Yu Suzuki, the creator of Shenmue isn’t doing these poor folks any favours by hinting about the possibility of his new studio obtaining the Shenmue license from SEGA and creating the third entry. Come on Suzuki, don’t be so cruel!
Shenmue III, the unfulfilled third entry in the Shenmue saga, is the game fans really want. Fans did not get that game. Instead, they got Shenmue Town. Nobody wanted Shenmue Town. And now, it’s dead.
Yu Suzuki, creator of games like Shenmue, Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter, has been easing himself away from Sega ever since he opened his own studio, YS NET. He’s now revealed that come September he’ll be leaving his current job at Sega behind, remaining only as an “advisor”. [Gamasutra]
Will there ever be a Shenmue III? Maybe. But the long hoped for conclusion to the Shenmue saga is moot now, thanks to Sega legend Yu Suzuki revealing to Mega 64 how the story arc would have ended. Spoiler alert!
Speaking at a talk during the Game Developer Conference today, designer Yu Suzuki said that he thinks Sega is going to let him make Shenmue III. The audience broke into shouts and applause, and then Suzuki abruptly changed topics.
Why did Sega’s beloved and ambitious Shenmue series fail to progress beyond its second game? Because Sega never really promoted one of Shenmue II’s most spectacular features: underground duck racing.
