Random Shenmue III Thoughts

Of the reported 1.2 million sales from Shenmue I, it was pretty evenly split between Japan, North America, and Europe, as you can see here: https://web.archive.org/web/20050228083737/http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~hokora/english/dcchart.html

Shenmue II, however, didn't fare too well. In the above chart, it had sold about 126k in Japan by 2003, but does include its budget "Dorikore" release, which came out March 6th. IIx charted number one in Europe: https://translate.google.com/transl...l&xid=25657,15700021,15700124,15700149,157001

And it also was reported to have sold 26k in the month of October, having released on October 28th: https://translate.google.com/transl...l&xid=25657,15700021,15700124,15700149,157001

But past those stats, I don't know if any other numbers exist.
 
Especially the UK. Like half the board is from the UK, and I'm pretty sure there was an infograph showing how massively over-represented UK donations were during the KS were relative to their population.
Yeah, it's pretty interesting. I'm from the US and when I used to post on the old forums, there were certain posters that I knew were from the UK. But it wasn't until I started posting again a couple of years ago that I began realizing that the forum membership is basically dominated by the UK. I also never knew until recently that Shenmue is not really that popular in Japan.

Rumour has it that back in the day it was appealing because it offered a glimpse into authentic Japanese live for us in Europe, USA etc which helped its appeal.
Definitely makes sense as an explanation for why it's less popular in Japan, but I wonder why it's so much more popular in Europe than in North America. I guess you guys just have better taste in games. ;)
 
I mean, the numbers actually support that the US was likely the most successful market for Shenmue. While it is impossible to know secondhand purchase numbers, we have the sales data I posted above, as well as the top Kickstarter backer numbers by country.

The numbers in that list for all of the European countries combined are still about five thousand behind the United States alone. And aside from what I posted above, to my knowledge, there are no further solid sales numbers for Shenmue I, Shenmue II, Shenmue I & II, or Shenmue III (outside of one week of Japan and Spain, I believe).
 
I mean, the numbers actually support that the US was likely the most successful market for Shenmue. While it is impossible to know secondhand purchase numbers, we have the sales data I posted above, as well as the top Kickstarter backer numbers by country.

The numbers in that list for all of the European countries combined are still about five thousand behind the United States alone. And aside from what I posted above, to my knowledge, there are no further solid sales numbers for Shenmue I, Shenmue II, Shenmue I & II, or Shenmue III (outside of one week of Japan and Spain, I believe).
Now I'm even more confused. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
I've always had the impression that Shenmue as a series is held in higher regard in the UK than in other territories. When the topic of Shenmue is brought up in modern UK magazines, podcasts, etc. it's almost always referred to as an "all-time classic", or something along those lines, while it's viewed as more of a "cult classic" in other places.

Not saying that's 100% accurate but I have definitely noticed that pattern over the past 15+ years of coverage.
 
Yep, unfortunate about the sales thing. That slice of guesswork went far and wide and a lot of people took it as gospel, unfortunately.
 
The irony that Shenmue 3 might end up being the actual death of the series is depressing.

In the 17 years after Shenmue 2 during the series’ dormancy, it was considered a classic, if somewhat niche, series. Now it’s considered a punchline. That sucks.
 
The irony that Shenmue 3 might end up being the actual death of the series is depressing.

In the 17 years after Shenmue 2 during the series’ dormancy, it was considered a classic, if somewhat niche, series. Now it’s considered a punchline. That sucks.

It’s always been a punchline for a certain segment of media/players. If that’s your personal opinion then that’s unfortunate but I certainly don’t view it that way. And I don’t believe III will be the end anyway.
 
It’s always been a punchline for a certain segment of media/players. If that’s your personal opinion then that’s unfortunate but I certainly don’t view it that way. And I don’t believe III will be the end anyway.
Exactly. Shenmue has always been a punchline and has only been considered a classic by the existing fanbase. Shenmue III didn't do anything to change the perceptions of the general public one way or the other (if anything, the series has garnered some new fans in the last couple of years).

If someone who already was a fan for the last 15-20 years now views the entire series as a punchline just because they didn't get the exact game that they wanted, then I really don't know what to say.
 
I can see existing fans being alienated by Shenmue 3. I'm still onboard but if Shenmue 4 disappoints I can see myself turning away from the series.

While the later installments don't take away anything from the previous per se, Shenmue needs to be viewed as one long story rather than a bunch of sequels. The ultimate playing out of events and ideas that were alluded to in S1 & 2 can change how we view the earlier installments if in the end it was all basically for nothing.

The Matrix did this for me. I loved the first movie. Matrix Revolutions I didn't completely hate but I was reserved towards after watching it, basically telling myself I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and see where it goes (still had the potential to be cool). After Matrix Revolutions I realized what I liked about the series was never what it ultimately was about. It doesn't change the original film, but it kind of taints re-watching it knowing how things play out.

Ultimately, how the rest of the series and ending pan out will determine whether Shenmue was really worth waiting decades for. If it does turn out to be disappointing there is an argument that leaving Ryo and Shenhua in the cave would have at least left the fans the what if speculation to fill in a good ending in their heads.
 
I still think I'm the only one that truly liked Revolutions.

Totally get why people didn't like it, but it still didn't cheapen anything or whatnot; the last 30 minutes probably could've been handled better in terms of how it was told, but what happened was fine by me.

Reloaded is awesome in parts, but if it didn't have the Architect, I wouldn't think twice about that film.
 
I still think I'm the only one that truly liked Revolutions.

Totally get why people didn't like it, but it still didn't cheapen anything or whatnot; the last 30 minutes probably could've been handled better in terms of how it was told, but what happened was fine by me.

Reloaded is awesome in parts, but if it didn't have the Architect, I wouldn't think twice about that film.
I thought Reloaded was the greatest movie of all time walking out of theaters.
 
I still think I'm the only one that truly liked Revolutions
you might be lol. Actually it's not a bad film necessarily but it fails for me on a couple levels as it kind of cements everything being smaller in a way. Like how the conflict was basically just Neo vs Smith in the end, and that Neo was basically just the One, a Jesus stand in etc.

I liked the Matrix because it dealt with good ideas like a good sci-fi story should. I'm not saying it was super deep like some people thought, but good sci-fi should still be about thinking about ideas through technology or what-ifs. I thought a lot of what was in the Animatrix was more interesting than what we got in the last 2 films. It seemed like in the end they just cared about making a cool action movie with philosophical posturing.

I thought Reloaded was the greatest movie of all time walking out of theaters
I also really liked it leaving theatres but I was also a teenager when it came out. I remember thinking about it a week later and realizing it wasn't as good as the original but it had alluded to some interesting ideas I was hopeful would play out in the sequel but ultimately didn't.
 
Ren is a total bro. If you disagree, you are simply an insane person that needs to be locked up. That is all.
 
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