110 Industries & Yu Suzuki

That comment about the lunches being the reason we didn't get baisha is such bs 😂 could have been the most extravagant meal ever created and wouldn't have made a dent in their budget
 
That comment about the lunches being the reason we didn't get baisha is such bs 😂 could have been the most extravagant meal ever created and wouldn't have made a dent in their budget
What if this $3 Million dollar tuna was served?

That’s the cost of Baisha right there.

 
I don’t want to hear anymore talk about this “Shenmue 0”. It’s embarrassing and signals a disconnect from reality.

Yu Suzuki is a big ideas guy who Sega knifed in the back and put out to pasture in what should have been his prime.

Now he’s an old man with no money to fund anything relevant and his talk of “Shenmue 0” is just residual sparks of his ideas- a signal trying to get through a wire that Sega severed long ago.

Sega needs to get off their ass and fund Shenmue 4 and 5 right now. They make most of their money in the dirty gambling business and I bet dollars to donuts Yu Suzuki has tons of dirt on Sega but he’s too classy to go to the press about it. Sega has the (dirty) money and funding Shenmue 4 and 5 is the least they can do after cheating Yu Suzuki of his prime and robbing the world of the games he could have given us between 2000-2010.

The 80s he gave us a few arcade gems.

In the 90s an exponential leap with Virtua Fighter and Shenmue.

Can you IMAGINE the games he would have given us in the 2000s?? It would have soared so far beyond even Shenmue.

Screw Sega.

I vehemently agree with everything you said.

What makes this more perplexing is that Sega just recently funded some underhyped project (Hyenas) as the "biggest budget ever" and it didn't even get released. I can bet that whoever is responsible for Hyenas won't get ostracized nearly as bad as Yu Suzuki did.

Sega could have made Shenmue IV and V for 1/10 of the price by the RGG team and recouped their investment very quickly.

I could keep going on and on, but Sega's mishandling of the Shenmue IP pisses me off the more I think about it.
 
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I vehemently agree with everything you said.

What makes this more perplexing is that Sega just recently funded some underhyped project (Hyenas) as the "biggest budget ever" and it didn't even get released. I can bet that whoever is responsible for Hyenas won't get ostracized nearly as bad as Yu Suzuki did.

Sega could have made Shenmue IV and V for 1/10 of the price by the RGG team and recouped their investment very quickly.

I could keep going on and on, but Sega's mishandling of the Shenmue IP pisses me off the more I think about it.
Remember that Sega isn't really a video-game company anymore.

They were bought out by Sammy so they make their real money in the gambling business.

To maintain the Sega brand they'll occasionally use their gambling revenue to fund a half assed Sonic or Yakuza game.

Sad end for Sega.
 
Imagine being angry Sega puts money into their biggest franchises. Sonic is bigger than it’s ever been. There’s a huge new movie coming out and it’s going to make a ton of money. I’m disappointed about Shenmue, too, but sometimes it’s good to interface with reality. I’d love for Yu Suzuki to make anything he wanted with a bottomless budget but that ship sailed.
 
Imagine being angry Sega puts money into their biggest franchises.
It isn't just like that, is more being angry annoyed for Sega sitting on their others ips. I totally understand their hard bets on Sonic and Yakuza but at the same time, can't get my head around the feeling of being tricked upon the "New era, New energy" hyping on legacy series and then going for a Simple 1500 series of sorts, using fighting games streamers to build more hype among Virtua Fighter fans and then ghosting everyone.
The "Project Hyenas" controversy was laughable and infuriating, that wasn't one of their successful franchises and flooded the project with money they refuse to use with Shenmue. I believe thats fair to complain about it.

Sonic is bigger than it’s ever been. There’s a huge new movie coming out and it’s going to make a ton of money.
Im gonna be a bit picky, ofc you're making the point that Sonic is really profitable for Sega atm. Sonic is in shape again and even catched up with a new young generation used to other modern icons. But is bigger than it was in the 90s, when Sega and Nintendo were facing-off each other at sunset? I don't think so. Same with the return of Dragon Ball this autumn, It will make noise again but never like at the early days.

This is all a personal opinion and may be wrong, Im not engraving it in marble.
 
Sammy-SEGA are a far cry from a sane company. It is not only the problem in Hyenas. It's even good that they canceled it, so it doesn't become like Concord. Remember that they haven't given up on live service games yet. The new Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi will be something like that.

Sammy-SEGA are a strange company that thinks they understand the market very well. However, in my opinion, they lose a lot of gamers like me. I haven't even seen the first 2 Sonic movies. I don't care about Sonic that much these days. Yakuza games are starting to look more and more like Assassins Creed as a formula to me. The formula works, the games always sell, but there has to be something fresh.In my opinion, right now they are in dire need of something like Shenmue 4.

Hopefully the "New Era, New Energy" initiative doesn't turn out to be another short-lived thing like they did with SEGA Ages for Switch. They just put out some interesting arcade remasters in the beginning and completely stopped.

However, let's not deviate from the topic of 110 Industries. I wish I could learn more about them and their relationship with Yu.
 
Title: The Shenmuedojo Uprising: A Fan Community’s Quest for Shenmue 4 and 5

In the year 2023, the fervor surrounding the Shenmue franchise reached a boiling point. The Shenmuedojo fan community, known for its passionate advocacy of the series, had grown increasingly frustrated with Sega’s lack of commitment to continuing the beloved saga created by Yu Suzuki. With each passing year, hope dwindled as fans watched other franchises thrive while their cherished story remained dormant.

The community, which had initially formed as a forum for discussion and support of the Shenmue games, began to organize more aggressively. Fueled by a shared love for Ryo Hazuki’s journey and a desire to see his story concluded, they devised a plan that would shake the very foundations of Sega headquarters in Tokyo.

On a fateful day in October 2023, members of the Shenmuedojo community converged on Sega’s headquarters. Armed not with weapons but with banners and chants demanding “Shenmue 4 and 5,” they stormed the building. Their numbers swelled as fans from around the globe joined in solidarity, creating an overwhelming presence that could not be ignored.

As they entered the building, they were met with confusion and disbelief from Sega employees. The fans took over key areas within the headquarters, setting up makeshift offices where they began drafting plans for future installments of Shenmue. They demanded immediate negotiations with Yu Suzuki himself, insisting that he be brought back to lead the development of new games.

The takeover was not without its challenges; security personnel attempted to regain control but were quickly outnumbered by passionate fans who were determined to make their voices heard. The atmosphere was electric—filled with excitement and tension—as discussions turned into negotiations.

After hours of deliberation and demonstrations outside Sega’s windows, company executives finally agreed to meet with representatives from Shenmuedojo. The fans presented their case passionately: they argued that only by embracing their dedicated community could Sega revitalize its brand and bring new life to one of gaming’s most iconic narratives.

In an unprecedented move, Sega executives conceded to hire Yu Suzuki as a consultant for future projects. They recognized that his vision was integral to capturing the essence of what made Shenmue special. As part of this agreement, it was decided that Shenmue 4 and 5 would be developed under Suzuki’s guidance—an announcement that sent shockwaves through both the gaming industry and fan communities worldwide.

With newfound power in their hands, the Shenmuedojo community transformed Sega into a company driven by passion rather than profit margins alone. They established a new division focused on fan engagement and feedback—a model that would ensure players had a voice in future developments.

As news spread about this remarkable turn of events, many hailed it as a victory for grassroots movements within gaming culture. The once-dormant franchise was now set on a path toward revival thanks to an impassioned fanbase willing to fight for what they loved most.

The story culminated in an epic reveal at E3 2024 when Yu Suzuki took center stage alongside members of Shenmuedojo to announce not just one but two upcoming titles: “Shenmue IV” and “Shenmue V.” Cheers erupted from fans who had fought so hard for this moment—the culmination of years spent advocating for their beloved series.

Thus began a new chapter not only for Shenmue but also for how companies engage with their communities—a testament to what can happen when passion meets purpose.




Then I woke up.
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SMDzero what would we do without you!? Good thing you're here, so we can get some laugh. :LOL:

The time of Shenmue series under Yu Suzuki guidance is running out. We will fight as hard as we can this year and whatever happens, happens.. 🍎🍌
 
Unfortunately, time is not on our side @thedemon1238 has already said.

As long as Ys-net is still active and we do not know their next game yet there might be the chance that something is happening behind the scenes.

If anything is going to happen it should happen in the next few months. I hope at least that something might happen.

But we fans are very limited in our ways to act. We can just try to promote S4 as well was we can.

And then we can only hope. Whatever happens happens.
 
Well--I sometimes pop in here to offer a healthy(unhealthy?) dose of hopium and I still remain hopeful for Shenmue IV.

Most of follow gaming news, and today's news was the fall of Concord, which was an outright rejection of a GAAS/Hero Shooter so badly that Sony shut it down 11 days after launch.

It is also worth noting that XDefiant is on life support as well.

I'd like to think it was hard lesson learned for Sony and the games industry as a whole.

We are seeing a paradigm shift where developers are finding success in strong single-player narratives once again(Black Myth Wukong, Baldur's Gate III, etc.) and games that go for the GAAS buck are dying fast.

Even EA, *long* maligned for trend-chasing, seems to have reversed course on this GAAS situation.


I would hope that the desire for more AA/AAA single player narratives lends more power to Shenmue to make a return. Anyway, just my musing.

I do feel for those developers, though. It was a really, really bad launch and Sony, despite their slogan, definitely does have a limit on Play when there's lack of it. I doubt they survive; Sony can be ruthless.
 
Single player games never really stopped being successful though, and with the exception of a select few, games that follow the GaaS model have pretty much always bombed.

Unfortunately, big companies like Sony and WB got their heads turned by the success of Fortnite and some of the big hero shooters and now seem reluctant to give up on the idea of hitting it big despite multiple (expensive) failures.

You’d like to think Sony will learn their lesson this time, but this will be the seventh big live service game that they’ve cancelled over the past few years, and yet they still have five or six more of them in active development (that we know about).
 
You’d like to think Sony will learn their lesson this time
What lesson? Outside of Nintendo, Sony is probably the most consistent AAA publisher pushing in-house single player games (Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica, Guerilla Games, Sucker Punch and Insomniac are all Sony studios that exclusively develop bleeding edge single player games). And most of their hardware is sold on the back of those games, since they push the envelope graphically in a way that no online game can.

GaaS model have pretty much always bombed.
This is very much a recent trend and many of these bombs entered development the better part of a decade ago (see: Concord, Suicide Squad, Hyenas), when giving those games the greenlight made sense. Also, most of the successful GAAS games are free to play, which is not something those $100+M projects could justify, so they tried to have their cake and eat it. I wish the service model would die as much as the next gamer, but Apex Legends has made $3.4B so far. There isn't a single player only game that even comes close to those numbers.

I would hope that the desire for more AA/AAA single player narratives lends more power to Shenmue to make a return.
Shenmue did return though, we can't discount that.
 
What lesson?
About wasting money on games that nobody asked for rather than having their studios focus on what they do best, which is to make single-player, narrative-driven games.
This is very much a recent trend and many of these bombs entered development the better part of a decade ago (see: Concord, Suicide Squad, Hyenas), when giving those games the greenlight made sense.
Iirc, Sony first released details about its live service strategy in 2022, by which point, it was already pretty clear that players weren’t all that interested in the GaaS model outside of a select few already established games. Obviously some of the twelve games that they were originally working on will have been greenlit before that announcement, but they’ve had plenty of time to take the many failings and total lack of enthusiasm from the gaming community into account since then.
I wish the service model would die as much as the next gamer, but Apex Legends has made $3.4B so far. There isn't a single player only game that even comes close to those numbers.
For every successful live service game there are ten or more that fail or don’t make it out of production.

As for no single-player only game making billions, while this may be true, I think it’s important to remember that the success of the PlayStation brand is built largely around single-player IPs. A lot of people I know only bought PS5s for the exclusives, so it could be argued that a lot of the money that Sony makes from software sales (both first and third-party) can be indirectly attributed to series like God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and The Last of Us.

It’s also worth pointing out that with the resources wasted on Concord and the many other live service games that were canned before release, Sony could probably have put out another three or four big single-player games (twice that, if we count the other six that are still being worked on), which, between them, would likely have brought in close to what an Apex Legends-style game could (iirc, Marvel’s Spider-Man had generated more than three quarters of a billion dollars before the remastered edition for PC and PS5 came out, so it’s not like these games don’t still make bank).
 
About wasting money on games that nobody asked for rather than having their studios focus on what they do best, which is to make single-player, narrative-driven games.
But they do that. I named you 5 Sony-owned studios that exclusively do that very thing. Do you think Sony should only be making single-player games? Also worth pointing out that nobody asked for God of War PS4 either, it was a huge departure for the series, and it paid off.

Iirc, Sony first released details about its live service strategy in 2022, by which point, it was already pretty clear that players weren’t all that interested in the GaaS model outside of a select few already established games. Obviously some of the twelve games that they were originally working on will have been greenlit before that announcement, but they’ve had plenty of time to take the many failings and total lack of enthusiasm from the gaming community into account since then.
A company as big as Sony is a slow moving ship and no one wants to be the one responsible for turning down the next Apex or Destiny and/or letting another publisher capitalize on it. There are still plenty of GaaS coming out that are going to be huge and the big boys all want to have one in their back pocket.

For every successful live service game there are ten or more that fail or don’t make it out of production.
This is true of basically every type of game, though GaaS have a large upfront cost and rely on being a significant hit upon release.

As for no single-player only game making billions, while this may be true, I think it’s important to remember that the success of the PlayStation brand is built largely around single-player IPs. A lot of people I know only bought PS5s for the exclusives, so it could be argued that a lot of the money that Sony makes from software sales (both first and third-party) can be indirectly attributed to series like God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and The Last of Us.
I know, that's why I said what I said. Clearly Sony doesn't need help on the single-player front, they need a multiplayer hit. They've been trying for this ever since Killzone back on PS2.

It’s also worth pointing out that with the resources wasted on Concord and the many other live service games that were canned before release, Sony could probably have put out another three or four big single-player games (twice that, if we count the other six that are still being worked on), which, between them, would likely have brought in close to what an Apex Legends-style game could (iirc, Marvel’s Spider-Man had generated more than three quarters of a billion dollars before the remastered edition for PC and PS5 came out, so it’s not like these games don’t still make bank).
It still costs tens to hundreds of millions of dollars to make a AAA single player game, which is a similar cost to a GaaS, but nowhere near the potential revenue. This site is dedicated to perhaps the most infamous example of this inherent risk. Worth pointing out that Respawn's (developers of Apex) previous game was Titanfall 2, one of the best single player FPS campaigns that year, and it wasn't a hit.
 
But they do that. I named you 5 Sony-owned studios that exclusively do that very thing.
Of the five studios you mentioned, three are (or were at one point) developing live service games at the request of Sony rather than focusing on single-player games (The Last of Us Factions, Spider-Man: The Great Web, and Horizon: Hunting Grounds).
Do you think Sony should only be making single-player games?
Not at all, but when you have some of the best single-player studios in the world at your disposal, having them focus on live service games that will more than likely fail seems like a poor use of resources, especially when there’s still a huge demand for more first-party single-player games on the PS5 (not to mention a massive shortage).
A company as big as Sony is a slow moving ship and no one wants to be the one responsible for turning down the next Apex or Destiny and/or letting another publisher capitalize on it.
Perhaps, but then you’d also like to think that nobody wants to be the one responsible for a $200 million+ hole in the company’s accounts either.
I know, that's why I said what I said. Clearly Sony doesn't need help on the single-player front, they need a multiplayer hit. They've been trying for this ever since Killzone back on PS2.
Sony has Destiny now, and in Bungie, a studio with experience successfully bringing a live service multiplayer game to market.
It still costs tens to hundreds of millions of dollars to make a AAA single player game, which is a similar cost to a GaaS, but nowhere near the potential revenue.
The difference is, people actually want new single-player Uncharted, Spider-Man, and God of War games, so whilst the potential RoI is a bit lower, the chances of those projects turning a profit (or even just making it through to release without being cancelled) are significantly higher. It’s like Sega pivoting to Shenmue Online when many people were still crying out for Shenmue 3.

And as I said in my last post, these games have more value to Sony than just unit sales. With game sales now leaning more towards digital than physical, the 30% platform fee that Sony takes from all third-party games sold through the PlayStation store is worth far more than any GaaS game could ever be. If they don’t start to put out some more first-party exclusives, they may not be able to rely on that when the next console generation rolls around, especially if MS decides to make the next Elder Scrolls and Fallout games X-Box exclusives.
 
Of the five studios you mentioned, three are (or were at one point) developing live service games at the request of Sony rather than focusing on single-player games (The Last of Us Factions, Spider-Man: The Great Web, and Horizon: Hunting Grounds).
Not at all, but when you have some of the best single-player studios in the world at your disposal, having them focus on live service games that will more than likely fail seems like a poor use of resources, especially when there’s still a huge demand for more first-party single-player games on the PS5 (not to mention a massive shortage).
This is true but they weren't only developing those games. They were being developed in tandem with single player games. But single player games of this caliber take forever to make and cost a fortune in production value (voice acting, mocap, writing, cutscene direction etc.) so it may not have been a waste, rather than a reallocation of resources. Who knows?
Perhaps, but then you’d also like to think that nobody wants to be the one responsible for a $200 million+ hole in the company’s accounts either.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The problem is when the money people interfere with the devs, the devs always eat shit. All the money people have to do is point out that they made a sound decision when betting on the devs (ie: this team has guys that worked on Call of Duty, Destiny, etc.).
Sony has Destiny now, and in Bungie, a studio with experience successfully bringing a live service multiplayer game to market.
Good point, but Destiny is far more of a "real game" than most GaaS. It's basically a MMORPG FPS with cutscenes, a story, bosses etc. Compare that to Apex, Valorant, Fortnite etc. which are just content factories and you can see how it's orders of magnitude more difficult to develop and expand a game like Destiny. Hell, Overwatch 2 pretty much cancelled their single player plans for this reason.
The difference is, people actually want new single-player Uncharted, Spider-Man, and God of War games, so whilst the potential RoI is a bit lower, the chances of those projects turning a profit (or even just making it through to release without being cancelled) are significantly higher.
But they're still getting those games. Spider-Man 2 just came out last year and God of War Ragnarok the year before that. Uncharted is also the rare example of a game that gracefully bowed out with an actual ending, so it's possible that fans don't even want to see a sequel to that. Just look at what happened when they dug Indiana Jones out of retirement.
And as I said in my last post, these games have more value to Sony than just unit sales. With game sales now leaning more towards digital than physical, the 30% platform fee that Sony takes from all third-party games sold through the PlayStation store is worth far more than any GaaS game could ever be. If they don’t start to put out some more first-party exclusives, they may not be able to rely on that when the next console generation rolls around, especially if MS decides to make the next Elder Scrolls and Fallout games X-Box exclusives.
Not disagreeing at all and Sony's lineup of exclusives has consistently proven to be more enticing to consumers than Xbox's for at least the last 2 console generations. Even Elder Scrolls and Fallout (and Bethesda in general) have fallen out of favor in recent years like Halo and Gears before them, so that alone probably isn't enough.

Unless there's a massive change, which seems unlikely as they're shit canning studios that make solid games like Hi-Fi Rush, I wouldn't bet on MS out-competing Sony or Nintendo.
 
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