- Joined
- Aug 22, 2018
I don’t think the fandom’s desire for a new Shenmue game has ever really been in doubt. The issue is going to be convincing a publisher that the series has the potential to penetrate a broader demographic, which without solid sales data will be a difficult task to accomplish. We can only hope that the slow trickle of Shenmue 3 sales has brought the total up to a respectable amount and that potential developers take the time to understand the game’s flaws to a point where they can see the how a great Shenmue game could perform much better.I get the feeling that we're a lot more active than ever in more community projects which can only be a good thing to ensure that Shenmue 4 becomes a reality.
Before Shenmue 3 was announced, we all supported any new Shenmue merchandise, participated in the tweetathon and voted for more Shenmue content in various polls.
After Shenmue 3, we're still doing the above (e.g. Shenmue 3 merch, #LetsGetShenmue4) but the Dojo now has its own podcast, there's the ongoing Shenmue World mag (which even caught the attention of Cedric and Yu), and the Dragon & Phoenix fan project.
Surely all of this is helping to communicate the fandom's continued interest in a fourth game to YS Net.
If I’m completely honest, I’m not all that convinced myself at the minute (mainly because it will be the fourth and potentially final game in a series that most of the people they’ll be targeting won’t have played), but if the anime ends up being good enough to attract a sizable audience and sales of older Shenmue titles continue to trickle in, I think a fourth game will happen.