110 Industries have been teasing Shenmue IV a lot lately

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Their reply is a little snarky, but I consider them to be more of a critical friend. Their 6/10 review of Shenmue III seemed pretty fair to be honest and they're not one to go over the top with reviews (getting a 9/10 is bloody hard).
Haha their reply actually made me laugh to be honest. I do quite like GameCentral (the only thing I do like about the Metro!).

Anyways, truthfully I am somewhat bored of this rumour now. Can they shit and get off the pot already? To be honest, and I know I shouldn't, but I will be kind of sad if this fizzles out and nothing happens after the anime ends. I know it doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't any truth in these rumours if an announcement doesn't come in the next month or so, but then don't tease if an announcement isn't imminent... and definitely don't tease if you're just bullshitting people!
 
I've been thinking about this for a while now so long post incoming (I apologise :D):-

I think that honestly, we won't get a verbal confirmation from 110 industries. They might keep liking/hinting/stoking the flames, but I really don't think they would just come out and say "Yes we are making Shenmue IV with Yu Suzkui". They especially won't just reply to some random people tweeting at them on their social platforms, or who are emailing them directly (which seems to be a bit over the top to be honest). I think they are doing the right thing by dragging it out, as it's a way to get eyes on via press, gives us a hint towards it, and also at the same time gives them a good indication of what they can get out of the Shenmue brand. If the tease does happen to be true, and they are indeed working with Yu, then it can also be the start of their marketing campaign, in that they are building interest towards the project.

The reason I think I do not think they will come out and confirm the rumour is simple. We rarely see that kind of announcement (unless it's something we know is coming - new Assassin's Creed or something), and it would be a very underwhelming confirmation in terms of exposure for the announcement. It would also just end the conversation which is ultimately free PR.

They would want to drop a bomb like that when they have the maximum amount of eyes on the project, for example at TGS/Gamescom etc. At the same time, if they were to just come out and confirm it, I believe that it would be an announcement Trailer/promo video, that they are working with Yu on something, be that Shenmue IV or another project, and I also think that this will be further down the line, not via the end of the anime etc (I would love to be wrong though :D! In related thoughts, do you think they have the hook up to be able to have it announced with the end of the Anime, in terms of ties with Sega/Crunchyroll etc, or would it just be a standalone announcement after?).

Announcing things these days with simple text, or a Logo doesn't work very well at all, especially when it's done way too far in advance/prematurely (for example Metroid 4 - announced with a literally Logo at E3 2017 and we still haven't seen a single screenshot of the game. Yes, there can be some exclusions to the rule, but they are usually a game that we know would be coming anyway). All in all, the viewer gets excited on the spot, but the drop off is swift and turns into frustration as the wait to see something is generally too long.

My second favourite game of all time (after Shenmue), is Starcraft 2 which was released in 2012 from Blizzard (Activision-Blizzard). It received 3 expansion packs over the years, before basically being put on maintenance mode ~2 years ago. In recent times, Blizzard has turned into a shit company, and news broke that Activision wouldn't greenlight a Starcraft 3 because RTS games on the PC do not make enough money (when stood up against their other juggernauts like CoD etc). For this reason, most of the developers responsible for the Blizzard RTS team, left the company and created 4-5 different studios (which most have now received funding from Riot/Tencent etc) to make new RTS projects.

The reason I bring all this up, is that yesterday Mike Ybarra (Blizzards President/new President after all the horrible stuff that's been going on there for the last few years), randomly tweeted out a Starcraft Image and quote.
Now, in my eyes, this is a very similar situation to what we find ourselves in with Shenmue lol. Granted, he is the President of the Company, and they own the IP, and they are now being acquired by Microsoft (who understands the value of RTS games in the PC space), so I believe that there will be a new game in the Starcraft Franchise eventually. However, there is no way in hell, that if I tweeted at him saying "Yo Mike, can you confirm that you are making Starcraft 3", that he would go "Yeh man, we are making it" lol.

TLDR:- I don't think we should expect (or want for the good of the series/exposure) a confirmation that this is true, in the near future. Yes, I believe something is happening, but I really doubt they would just confirm it to some random bloke on twitter/insta. Keep the buzz up by retweeting, interacting with the posts, and have faith that an official confirmation will come in due time.
 
I've been thinking about this for a while now so long post incoming (I apologise :D):-

I think that honestly, we won't get a verbal confirmation from 110 industries. They might keep liking/hinting/stoking the flames, but I really don't think they would just come out and say "Yes we are making Shenmue IV with Yu Suzkui". They especially won't just reply to some random people tweeting at them on their social platforms, or who are emailing them directly (which seems to be a bit over the top to be honest). I think they are doing the right thing by dragging it out, as it's a way to get eyes on via press, gives us a hint towards it, and also at the same time gives them a good indication of what they can get out of the Shenmue brand. If the tease does happen to be true, and they are indeed working with Yu, then it can also be the start of their marketing campaign, in that they are building interest towards the project.

The reason I think I do not think they will come out and confirm the rumour is simple. We rarely see that kind of announcement (unless it's something we know is coming - new Assassin's Creed or something), and it would be a very underwhelming confirmation in terms of exposure for the announcement. It would also just end the conversation which is ultimately free PR.

They would want to drop a bomb like that when they have the maximum amount of eyes on the project, for example at TGS/Gamescom etc. At the same time, if they were to just come out and confirm it, I believe that it would be an announcement Trailer/promo video, that they are working with Yu on something, be that Shenmue IV or another project, and I also think that this will be further down the line, not via the end of the anime etc (I would love to be wrong though :D! In related thoughts, do you think they have the hook up to be able to have it announced with the end of the Anime, in terms of ties with Sega/Crunchyroll etc, or would it just be a standalone announcement after?).

Announcing things these days with simple text, or a Logo doesn't work very well at all, especially when it's done way too far in advance/prematurely (for example Metroid 4 - announced with a literally Logo at E3 2017 and we still haven't seen a single screenshot of the game. Yes, there can be some exclusions to the rule, but they are usually a game that we know would be coming anyway). All in all, the viewer gets excited on the spot, but the drop off is swift and turns into frustration as the wait to see something is generally too long.

My second favourite game of all time (after Shenmue), is Starcraft 2 which was released in 2012 from Blizzard (Activision-Blizzard). It received 3 expansion packs over the years, before basically being put on maintenance mode ~2 years ago. In recent times, Blizzard has turned into a shit company, and news broke that Activision wouldn't greenlight a Starcraft 3 because RTS games on the PC do not make enough money (when stood up against their other juggernauts like CoD etc). For this reason, most of the developers responsible for the Blizzard RTS team, left the company and created 4-5 different studios (which most have now received funding from Riot/Tencent etc) to make new RTS projects.

The reason I bring all this up, is that yesterday Mike Ybarra (Blizzards President/new President after all the horrible stuff that's been going on there for the last few years), randomly tweeted out a Starcraft Image and quote.
Now, in my eyes, this is a very similar situation to what we find ourselves in with Shenmue lol. Granted, he is the President of the Company, and they own the IP, and they are now being acquired by Microsoft (who understands the value of RTS games in the PC space), so I believe that there will be a new game in the Starcraft Franchise eventually. However, there is no way in hell, that if I tweeted at him saying "Yo Mike, can you confirm that you are making Starcraft 3", that he would go "Yeh man, we are making it" lol.

TLDR:- I don't think we should expect (or want for the good of the series/exposure) a confirmation that this is true, in the near future. Yes, I believe something is happening, but I really doubt they would just confirm it to some random bloke on twitter/insta. Keep the buzz up by retweeting, interacting with the posts, and have faith that an official confirmation will come in due time.
I didn't find it TLDR at all. Im enjoying the way shenmue fanbase its taking all this. Like ying-yang, opposing forces of people calling to caution +(and not versus :)) people saying lets's get nuts. The result of both sides pulling the string set a balance which provides the flame kept alive and 24 pages long thread (and counting) of happy people rejoicing.
Liye ying-yang, the cautious fan has "a bit" of illusion inside and the over-excited (lack a better word for it, not sure about this) fan has "a bit" of caution inside.

You called some very well stablished series, I must admit Metroid example cut me deep. But "I want to believe" and you forgot covid pandemic has boosted this lame teasing and twitter announcing thing against pharaonic multitudinary events. Those you mentioned are from the golden prepandemic years, now everything is twitter/insta and i hate it btw.

ATM im relieved of we not being victims of a "brighten the image and see a message!" type of campaign, started with FNAF series i believe. That's my line in the sand: a bit of teasing with a sakura tree, Ryo's jacket/patches and such are ok but the moment a BlueBox thing start to develop im out.

Meanwhile, with current events, I need to expect Shenmue IV confirmation in 18 days vista or less. I really feel its happening, leaving the caution behind at last, im finally free. Everything sounds like coming along. Yu Suzuki hasnt spoke against this yet. When the river sounds water flows and all that.

EDIT: not feeling good me flooding the dojo because the itch so I'll put this here. Tokyo MX seems to target this audience area: Greater Tokyo Area so you can figure the respected status for anime tv channel. @mjqjazzbar
 
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It seems airing on Tokyo MX is like a show airing on one of the regular basic cable channels in the States or FreeView in the UK?
 
Indeed. My wife assures me that this is a reputable station for anime, so the decision makers there must see some potential in the series.
They definitely should see some potential in this series, I mean it's been getting ratings between 240,000 and 250,000 weekly. if the anime hits big out there and those numbers can more or less match these we can be more than gauranteed a shenmue full future. :)
 
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#21 most streamed anime on whatever this Yahoo site is:




Worth clicking the heart in the bottom right corner? Probably sends it up the chart or something.
 
They definitely should see some potential in this series, I mean it's been getting ratings between 240,000 and 250,000 weekly. if the anime hits big out there and those numbers can more or less match these we can be more than gauranteed a shenmue full future. :)
There's no way of getting such a weekly rating in the oversaturated anime market without the teenager audience rooting with your product, even emitting for the largest metropolitan area the kids rule the tv. We use to think of this series as "our generation" thing, but Im taking in consideration that a lot of young gamers unaware of Shenmue are finally falling at it.
This would confirm Shenmue as a cultural phenomenom, with peaks and downs of generatinal fame, like ufos or Brandon Lee who is apparently hot talk again between the kiddos. Its normal, this series are an ode to asian culture and martial arts so theres a huge potential market there for generations.
 
I know it doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't any truth in these rumours if an announcement doesn't come in the next month or so, but then don't tease if an announcement isn't imminent... and definitely don't tease if you're just bullshitting people!
I absolutely agree with this. They already knew what they were doing when they made that initial comment and they continued it for the past week and beyond that. If it's happening surprise people down the line when something whether footage, logos or screens are ready and like you said don't tease for a publicity stunt and get people super hyped and over happy when you know full well it might not be happening at all at your studio. I honestly don't know how hard it is to address a rumour.
 
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Something interesting that I've just seen over on Era. It looks like the CEO of 110 has started following the Dojo on Twitter 👀

s9Fh3YS.png
 
Something interesting that I've just seen over on Era. It looks like the CEO of 110 has started following the Dojo on Twitter 👀

s9Fh3YS.png
I just want them to address this situation and all the speculation. All the hints, teases and guessing is getting exhausting.
 
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It gives us something to talk about at least haha
True. That's always a positive in the dojo. :) but I just don't know or understand why they haven't come forward yet and said their piece on the matter. It's exciting that an idea of a shenmue IV could be coming but also scary that they might just be pulling our legs if you know what I mean.
 
It makes sense for them to wait to announce anything until after the anime finishes.
Without a doubt it is logical to wait until that time my friend, but I just t don't understand why drop likes and comments and but not fully address it? If your company for example is being quoted all over the net and there's a possibility of a lie inserted in say article why not end it before gaining traction? It's just the silence is making me feel antsy lol
 
Something interesting that I've just seen over on Era. It looks like the CEO of 110 has started following the Dojo on Twitter 👀

s9Fh3YS.png
omg You can not make refresh after going buying a cofee and stomp at this. This is it! people. Or he has a real deal of free time or he's already counting the profits. Date: May, the 3rd 19:00 (JP). We have the power to either became such a toxic community which even manages to make Yu quit or make real magic. Let's build a zero count somewhere. Let them now we want it and they can take our money

@Sergei Kolobashkin/This thread:
this.gif
wow sorry that was a weighty gif. enough,this was last i promise. new blood should carry on with loltorch
 
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