Cedric answering questions live on Facebook right now!

[Rydeen]

Thanks for the summaries. Doesn't sound like great news, overall, but it's nice to hear something, at least.

 

[Real1]

In @Kyo_JP's post.

Wow, I really was blind

 

[mjqjazzbar]

Thanks for the summaries. Doesn't sound like great news, overall, but it's nice to hear something, at least.

Seems like business as usual, tbh. Not gonna break Yu's trust or news that hasn't been announced to the public yet, so he's got to stay fairly secretive.

 

[mjqjazzbar]

Some interesting answers there.
I'm glad Yu is dedicated to sticking to 5 games to complete the series.
Little bit worried about when Shenmue 4 will happen now, though. Cedric always seemed to come across a bit more optimistic in the past. I guess all we can do is wait - and be vocal like we were for Shenmue 3.



Wow. Would just handing Yu the licenses for various SEGA characters really have hurt them?

Pretty sad they can’t do more for one of the key figures behind Sega’s most successful years and IPs.

 

[hmjohnny]

2 more shenmue games to finish the story

Big gulf between what Yu wants and what might be able to realistically do

These two things worry me to be honest. The biggest thing impacting Shenmue 3 was that it was too ambitious for its budget. If that happens again with Shenmue 4, there may not be a Shenmue 5 to finish the story.

On the other hand if Suzuki compromises too much we will get a truncated and butchered Shenmue. Might not be a way for the fans to really win this one at this point.

 

[Kiske]

Some interesting answers there.
I'm glad Yu is dedicated to sticking to 5 games to complete the series.
Little bit worried about when Shenmue 4 will happen now, though. Cedric always seemed to come across a bit more optimistic in the past. I guess all we can do is wait - and be vocal like we were for Shenmue 3.

Cédric is being cautious because nothing is set in stone at the moment, when it comes to Shenmue IV development.
But that's what he and Yu Suzuki want. They want to make it real.

As for us, be vocal like we were for Shenmue 3 is exactly the best thing we can do to help them.

 

[Sh3ppy]

That he says he's seen some terrific things related to SIV actually gives me optimistic vibes. It means to me that there is being work done on it, even if it is preproduction of some kind.

And the fact he's also saying it's 5 games and that he would like to make SIV bigger than 3 also gives me good vibes. I haven't really changed my stance after this Q&A. Still pretty optimistic. Next gen consoles are around the corner so it makes sense that they would develop it for PS5 & Series X.

He was never going to come out and confirm anything, even if he does know more than he's letting on.

 

[Dietsoap]

That he says he's seen some terrific things related to SIV actually gives me optimistic vibes. It means to me that there is being work done on it, even if it is preproduction of some kind.

And the fact he's also saying it's 5 games and that he would like to make SIV bigger than 3 also gives me good vibes. I haven't really changed my stance after this Q&A. Still pretty optimistic. Next gen consoles are around the corner so it makes sense that they would develop it for PS5 & Series X.

He was never going to come out and confirm anything, even if he does know more than he's letting on.

I agree, the fact he was talking about going big rather than downsizing a possible next installment surprised me. That coupled with the fact he could so easily dismiss crowdfunding makes me think he's confident in his and Yu's ability to make their case to potential funders.

 

[WuyingRen]

Have to agree that we should be positive based on the way that he spoke. Whilst not confirming Shenmue 4 (which he was obviously never going to do during a random Facebook live with an audience of 50 people), the way that Cedric spoke about Shenmue 4 suggested that things are looking very positive for the future of the series.

On a side note, Cedric really does seem like a great guy, but his candidness would really worry me if I were working with him. As a fan it’s refreshing, but it definitely feels like he’s prone to letting things slip if that Facebook live is anything to go by.

 

[Machsi]

Cedric is a very nice and very candid professional. I’m not too sure of S4 within the next few years, but still holding onto the hope. I am curious on more detail around their original ending for S3.

 

[Sonoshee]

That he says he's seen some terrific things related to SIV actually gives me optimistic vibes. It means to me that there is being work done on it, even if it is preproduction of some kind.

It may have just been the cut content from Shenmue 3 that was being reworked for Shenmue 4 at one point.
Or Shenmue 4 is actually in development but he's being coy.
Either way it's frustrating not knowing where we stand right now lol.

 

[Yokosuka]

Very interesting answers (as Shenmue fan at least), thanks.

Sega was frustratingly dumb not to let YSnet do what they want. This could have feed their business if they were a bit smarter. I've got a slightly better opinion since Shenmue 3 but this new insight downs the last shred of sympathy I have for them.

Well, we could expect more optimistic hints about Shenmue future but the situation seems to be a bit more complicated than we may think.
I expected Cedric talking about some preliminary discussions between YS and Deep Silver but looks like Yu didn't even have the power to negotiate pre-conditions for Shenmue 4 when the company approached him at the time. The whole Shenmue destiny now lies in the hands of somebody in an European company and it sounds as good as Shenmue 2 post-release tbh. The coming gaming shows are going to be pretty tense!

And why the hell the history of Shenmue Saturn is so contradictory?

 

[Rydeen]

Seems like business as usual, tbh. Not gonna break Yu's trust or news that hasn't been announced to the public yet, so he's got to stay fairly secretive.

That he says he's seen some terrific things related to SIV actually gives me optimistic vibes. It means to me that there is being work done on it, even if it is preproduction of some kind.

I agree. I wasn't really concerned about whether anything was being worked on for Shenmue IV, though. I just thought it also seemed like Cedric was saying that they haven't necessarily acquired funding for the full budget. We can continue to hope that they do, but if they weren't able to find funding for some reason, I think the project would be liable to be shut down, or released in an unfinished state. I'm still optimistic, I just thought it sounded like there was some cause for concern. Obviously there wouldn't be an announcement for anything if they're still looking at their funding situation.


I do really wonder what kind of licensing fee Sega charged for Shenmue. It makes me wonder if they actually even did YS a solid aside from allowing him to license it from them. That could have potentially been a fairly hefty fee. Seems like they probably would have charged top dollar on licensing for arcade games too. Otherwise I feel like we would have seen something like Power Drift, at the very least.