Random Shenmue IV Thoughts.

Let's all cosplay as Shenmue characters, get a massive crowd of us and do a flash mob dance outside Sega HQ. Get a professional videographer to shoot it and then get it to go viral online.

Failing that, we all start calling into random daytime television shows around the world, pretend we are talking about the topic at hand, but then just slip in "yeah, but what I think really matters, Michael (or whatever the host is called), is getting Shenmue 4. Yu Suzuki, Sega, we need Shenmue 4". Try those political shows too where they pick up a bunch of culture war nonsense and try to be as divisive as possible. "Well, yes, Piers. I do think immigration is a very important issue. I for one am absolutely sick of our politicians ignoring the public on this particular issue... The issue I am of course talking about is WHERE IS SHENMUE 4!? WHY ARE NONE OF OUR POLITICAL PARTIES TALKING ABOUT SHENMUE?"
 
Reprise said:
I'll phone up LBC to talk about the Israel-Palestine conflict and be like "well, personally I do think we need a two state solution, but the only way that will ever be achieved, with lasting peace, is if we get Shenmue 4"
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lol
 
Reprise said:
I'll phone up LBC to talk about the Israel-Palestine conflict and be like "well, personally I do think we need a two state solution, but the only way that will ever be achieved, with lasting peace, is if we get Shenmue 4"
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Let’s be honest. What would we rather have… peace in the Middle East or Shenmue 4?
 
Fortunately, I don't have to make that choice. The two things are unrelated. Poor Shenmue is not the cause of wars. His absence will not stop them. Perhaps the existence of the game creates wars between the fans about "Is Shenmue 3 a worthy sequel..."

Even if the question is purely hypothetically asked... You can't enjoy S4 if your conscience is guilty of not saving innocent people. Can you do it? :D
 
thedemon1238 said:
Fortunately, I don't have to make that choice. The two things are unrelated. Poor Shenmue is not the cause of wars. His absence will not stop them. Perhaps the existence of the game creates wars between the fans about "Is Shenmue 3 a worthy sequel..."

Even if the question is purely hypothetically asked... You can't enjoy S4 if your conscience is guilty of not saving innocent people. Can you do it? :D
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If the Palestinians had accepted the peace deal Gaza could have been a beautiful beach resort like Dubai by now and the tourist revenue alone could have paid for Shenmue many times over.
 
@SMDzero I'm losing brain cells in real-time reading your messages. You've been told several times to stop the constant spammy troll posts and to stop the political posts, yet you continue to do it? Take another break and do better. Your account will be monitored closely upon your return. If you continue to do the same nonsense when you return, the next ban will be instant and permanent.
 
It’s just unfortunate the bloke who invented Allen keys didn’t spend all the profits funding Shenmue 4.
 
We would need some high-risk investment companies that would be willing to invest some money into S4. But I do not think such companies do something with video games.

The idea of a reboot was also mentioned a few pages earlier and I also think it is not a good idea.

A reboot would need to bring something new to the table that the mainstream likes. And stuff the mainstream likes has nothing to do with Shenmue in the first place.

Winning the mainstream over Shenmue is an uphill battle that cannot be won easily.

We fans also should ask ourselves what type of Shenmue 4 we want. Do we want a Shenmue 4 according to the vision of Yu-San or do we just want a Shenmue 4 to progress with the story? And are we willing to sacrifice some elements that would make Shenmue Shenmue in that process?

I cannot speak for everyone of course. I would prefer the full Shenmue experience. A game with toned gameplay to cater to the mainstream would not be my cup of tea.

But my wishes are not very realistic. I am aware of that. Making some concessions to mainstream taste is probably unavoidable
 
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9dragons said:
And stuff the mainstream likes has nothing to do with Shenmue in the first place.
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I disagree. I am not saying it's not difficult and not an uphill battle, but plenty of more niche Japanese properties have proven they can occupy space in the industry and find success in the West. Just look at the Persona franchise, games like 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim and Yakuza.

Beyond that, lots of niche genres like visual novels and point and click adventure games have gained lots of attention and success in recent years.

Shenmue's story is marketable. A classic martial arts based coming of age story about revenge that grows exponentially in scope and is set in Asia isn't an unpopular story choice.

The definition of madness though is trying something, having it fail and to keep trying expecting different results. So yes, they really need to look at the execution and look objectively at how they can make the games more marketable and change things to grow their audience and reduce the budget. No, that doesn't mean "make it play like Yazuka" or "give Ryo a gun".
 
9dragons said:
A reboot would need to bring something new to the table that the mainstream likes. And stuff the mainstream likes has nothing to do with Shenmue in the first place.

Winning the mainstream over Shenmue is an uphill battle that cannot be won easily.
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Like Reprise said, the story / setting of Shenmue is very marketable, we also live in an era where "job simulators" make success for example, I don't see why a martial arts drama + open world should be doomed to be niche.

But it take a lot of effort, Persona and Yakuza took more than 10 years to go from niche games that no one cared about, to huge mainstream success, Shenmue could do even better with the right marketing.

yeah it's an uphill battle but especially because it require some actual effort by the publisher, just like they did with Persona and Yakuza.
No pain no gain.



9dragons said:
I cannot speak for everyone of course. I would prefer the full Shenmue experience. A game with toned gameplay to cater to the mainstream would not be my cup of tea.
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same for me, I want Shenmue because it's unique and no other game do the things that Shenmue does, even Yakuza is a different experience and not a substitute.

If I want to play an open world, there are plenty out there, if I want to play a "Shenmue experience / FREE", only 3 games exists.
 
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