How would you feel if Microsoft funded Shenmue IV in exchange for exclusivity?

I would buy it in a second.

Then, complete the game fully, with everything done and everything to my satisfaction.

Then sell the damn thing because MS has 0 in their library that interests me and they're American.
 
Whilst I think most westerners wouldn’t mind too much, there are practically zero Xbox owners here in Japan; so I think Yu would have to consider any deal with Microsoft carefully. Japan remains one of the strongest markets for Shenmue games and so alienating 20%+ of the fan base with an exclusivity deal isn’t something that should be done lightly. Just look at the response to the Epic deal and that probably only affected about 1%.
 
Regarding Japan had never been a strong market for the Shenmue franchise, it might be a good move being back on a Xbox system.

But whatever which system has Shenmue IV running on, I'll buy it in a second without hesitation.
 
Regarding Japan had never been a strong market for the Shenmue franchise, it might be a good move being back on a Xbox system.

But whatever which system has Shenmue IV running on, I'll buy it in a second without hesitation.
Literally all of the sales data we have for pretty much every release of a Shenmue game ever would beg to differ...

Shenmue 1 DC - 32% of total sales were in Japan (380,000 / 1,180,000).
Shenmue 2 DC Xbox - 32% of total sales were in Japan in spite of Xbox having practically zero presence here (150,000 / 470,000).
Shenmue 1/2 HD - 25% of week 1 console sales were in Japan (37,500 / 145,000).
Shenmue 3 - Japan was the only major country in which the game broke the top ten. Gamestat estimates that 22% of all players on PS4 are based in Japan but also insists that their database has poor coverage in Japan meaning this number is likely higher.

Japan might not be the strongest market for Shenmue anymore, but I don’t think that a decision that could end up alienating a quarter of the fan base should be taken lightly.
 
If Microsoft funds it, I will go Xbox. If Nintendo funds it, I will go Nintendo. If Sony funds it, I will go Playstation. Wherever Shenmue ends up is where I end up.
 
Let's take it a step further and say specifically exclusive to the Xbox Series X. Would this be a deal breaker for you? I'm aware of the irony of this scenario with them passing on funding S3 fwiw.
i would buy an xbox insteed of a ps5
 
Personally I always felt Xbox should have been the home for Shenmue after the Dreamcast.
Sega helped Microsoft get a foot in and the controllers were very similar with the ABXY layout.
Still feels weird using the PS4 pad for a Shenmue game lol.
 
Personally I always felt Xbox should have been the home for Shenmue after the Dreamcast.
Sega helped Microsoft get a foot in and the controllers were very similar with the ABXY layout.
Still feels weird using the PS4 pad for a Shenmue game lol.

I agree! That, and Sega made the best consoles in the 90's as Xbox has been the best of the 2000's/2010's. DC and Xbox One controllers are super comfortable. PS4 dualshock is crap, PS2/PS3 era is better which is sad when the previous gen feel better in the hand than current gen. I remember when 360 controller came out it was like the best thing, then Xbox One controller perfection.
 
Then I'd end up getting an xbox. Depending on how the rest of the game are looking for that console would determine if I would sell the console after beating the game
 
I'm not sure if Microsoft would give Yu Suzuki 100 percent creative freedom if they fund that.

They would force Yu to make the game faster(Storywise) and more action focused imo.
 
I'm a Playstation user but Yu getting a full AAA budget from Microsoft would be way better than the current situation. It would also show more clearly what he's capable of if he doesn't need to cut as many corners.

there are practically zero Xbox owners here in Japan; so I think Yu would have to consider any deal with Microsoft carefully. Japan remains one of the strongest markets for Shenmue games and so alienating 20%+ of the fan base with an exclusivity deal isn’t something that should be done lightly.
That's a good point that sometimes gets overlooked I guess.

Sega helped Microsoft get a foot in and the controllers were very similar with the ABXY layout. Still feels weird using the PS4 pad for a Shenmue game lol.
It's funny that you say this. I thought of this about a day ago. I'm used to the PS controller but when I played the Shenmue games on PS4 my mind still expects the Dreamcast buttons during QTE's.
 
On Switch it would definitely sell better and allow for optimizing a moderate budget. If MS will provide AAA funding that's good, otherwise it would be damaging to have an *old-gen-looking* exclusive next to PS5/XBX's awesome Gigaflops titles.

Of course I would buy any console for it!
 
I would have no problems with that. IV needs to happen in whatever form it may take.

In this specific case, it's even less of an issue for me because I'm leaning toward the Series X over the PS5 anyway (at launch; I can't afford both at once most likely), but as a general rule, I'll follow the series wherever it goes.
 
Xbox exclusivity was what helped killing the series in the first place. Microsoft's consoles are no place for nicher Japanese games and they would only harm the series further.
Multiplatform is the way to go.
 
Xbox exclusivity was what helped killing the series in the first place. Microsoft's consoles are no place for nicher Japanese games and they would only harm the series further.
Multiplatform is the way to go.

I dunno. The Xbox 360 was rife with niche titles, like the Cave shooters. It's not all Call of Duty and Halo fans on Xbox.
I wholeheartedly agree with the multiplatform route, though. It would only benefit the series.
 
I dunno. The Xbox 360 was rife with niche titles, like the Cave shooters. It's not all Call of Duty and Halo fans on Xbox.
I wholeheartedly agree with the multiplatform route, though. It would only benefit the series.
Cave went on Xbox 360 because it was cheaper for them, and their nicher than niche ultra hardcore fanbase only had to follow them regardless.
Overall, almost everytime a non-western focused huge Japanese ip went Microsoft exclusive it always ended up being its grave, starting from the Sega ones.
I could understand all the talk about Xbox being some kind of Dreamcast 2 back in 2002 or whatever, but keep believing this in 2020 when it could not be further from the truth reeks of extreme delusion.
In the end, having Shenmue 4 on Series X or whatever would be fine in a global multiplatform realease strategy, but it should not be a priority with a limited development budget.
 
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