Shenmue IV Will Happen - Here's Why!

Little by little we are getting to the point where Shenmue 4 will be just as big a miracle as Shenmue 3 was.

It's not that bad right now because there are still some initial plans for the forth game that are ready for the start of a new project. Yu-san's studio works with Unreal and is busy with a project. It's not like no one is looking for them. Yes, they are not wanted for Shenmue, but for something else. Still, it's not like they're not wanted at all, and nobody gives them money. :)

There is interest in Shenmue, but they can't agree on money and who knows what else.

Not that I won't wait 5 years if they announce Shenmue 4. I will. We will fight to the end. It's too late to give up. I think they should release something soon though. Some kind of manga with a side story, a short anime film, small game... a novella. Preferably a short episode of Shenmue 4 that will be easier to make. Something to keep fans who aren't as crazy as us. George Kitchen's games are manna from heaven in this moment. Something to look forward to. :)
 
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thedemon1238 said:
Little by little we are getting to the point where Shenmue 4 will be just as big a miracle as Shenmue 3 was.
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It would be a bigger miracle at this point because S3 had the benefit of nostalgia going for it during its pitch. It's also important to remember how high Shenmue's profile rose in the wake of the S3 KS and the HD remasters, which will not happen again--you only get one comeback.
 
The gaming industry is in its infancy when compared to the music and film industries, but I like to think (albeit optimistically) that if we can live in a world where Clint Eastwood (almost 94), Hayao Miyazaki (83), Francis Ford Coppola (85), Dolly Parton (78), Willy Nelson (91), Bruce Springsteen (74), David Gilmour (78) and Terrence Malick (80) can still produce art, then hopefully so can Yu Suzuki (65).
 
bcdcdude said:
The gaming industry is in its infancy when compared to the music and film industries, but I like to think (albeit optimistically) that if we can live in a world where Clint Eastwood (almost 94), Hayao Miyazaki (83), Francis Ford Coppola (85), Dolly Parton (78), Willy Nelson (91), Bruce Springsteen (74), David Gilmour (78) and Terrence Malick (80) can still produce art, then hopefully so can Yu Suzuki (65).
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I went to a Paul McCartney concert (81) in my hometown last year, He sang and played for about 3 and a half hours from what I remember, and it was an wonderful show.

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I'm mentioning Paul McCartney because he is 81 years old and still producing art, I believe Yu-san can continue producing art too.

In the new interview Yu-san made it clear that there lots that he would like to do, he don't show signs that he want to retire now.

I also like to think that Yu Suzuki (65) can continue to produce art for a long time.
 
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WuyingRen said:
At this point, it feels like we’re just waiting for Yu to lower his expectations. I really do admire his optimism, but with age starting to catch up with him, now seems like the right time to start looking for a compromise. Some kind of conclusion is better than no kind of conclusion.
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Are you sure we want to settle for a cheap Shenmue 4?

Might be better to have a great novel than a cheap game...
 
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SMDzero said:
Are you sure we want to settle for a cheap Shenmue 4?

Might be better to have a great novel than a cheap game...
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I don’t, nor do I think that we as fans have any right to tell Yu when it’s time to give up on his dream of a AAA Shenmue 4. Sadly, though, it really is starting to feel like that’s what needs to happen for the series to move forward.

If it were me, I’d run a Kickstarter for a really nice manga that would be given away for free, but have the first stretch goal be the first part of an episodic video game covering what’s left of the story, using the S3 engine. As long as the amount he asks for is realistic, I think he has enough fans around the world and enough friends in the media to help push such a project over the line. One way or another we’d all get some kind of closure.

Of course, it’s possible that some of the potential partners that he’s already spoken with would have bitten had he been asking for a smaller budget.
 
This thread was made nearly half a decade ago.

Is it time to change the title to something a little more realistic?

We’re still hoping for a Shenmue 4 but we’re now in truly desperate straits.

My sister is watching me play Shenmue 2 and I’m already having to temper her expectations about how the complete story will likely never be told at least not through games.
 
The long wait does suck but I remain optimistic we will see it one day. Whether it’s the full story they intended to tell from the Dreamcast days or a truncated version, that’s another question.

The 110 stuff happened only two years ago, and if the leaks are to be believed they were preparing for Shenmue 4 + 0 then before things fell through. Yu has since said publishers have shown interest and with things like the Dojo’s NYC billboard I’m hopeful it’s striking up more conversations.
 
Sony spent 400 million on a game that got canceled in one week. Sega is making a Yakuza Pirate based spin off rather than a Shenmue 4. I don't want to be that guy to say it, but the future of Shenmue isn't looking good.
 
The game industry is crumbling around us, but we won't lose hope for Shenmue. At least I'm not planning to lose hope this year. If there's nothing this year, next year I'll probably start lowering my expectations, but not this year.

We are currently waiting for some announcement from YSnet which we know nothing about. It could be anything, it could be a mobile Virtua Fighter game, it could be something that will have a bigger impact than Air Twister.

There are some very exciting things to come. I believe they will make some noise in addition to the campaigns we do every month on the 4th. I can't wait for the third issue of Shenmue World magazine too. We expect a new fan game in the coming months. There's still some Shenmue merch coming out.
 
Honestly, after Sega confirming a pirate themed Yakuza (which was leaked time ago but even fans dismissed it as it sounded too absurd) my hopes are also at an all-time low. Sure, if YS finds a publisher Sega will lend the IP but nothing is coming from them concerning Shenmue. Literally feels like a 🖕 declaration to me. Like if they were told about choosing between Shenmue/Skies of Arcadia/NightS or Yakuza Pirates and they went the most unexpected crazy thing rather than those legacy series.
Don't get me wrong, congrats to RGG fans.

Oh and Monkey Ball with cameos from every-single-sega-ip except for Shenmue. It has Akira Yuki tho, but again living of the milking instead JUST CONFIRMING VF6.
Im urgently in need of some hopium news and this current year or Im afraid 2025 will be the beginning of my copium-based diet.
 
Revan said:
The long wait does suck but I remain optimistic we will see it one day. Whether it’s the full story they intended to tell from the Dreamcast days or a truncated version, that’s another question.

The 110 stuff happened only two years ago, and if the leaks are to be believed they were preparing for Shenmue 4 + 0 then before things fell through. Yu has since said publishers have shown interest and with things like the Dojo’s NYC billboard I’m hopeful it’s striking up more conversations.
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Seaman said:
Honestly, after Sega confirming a pirate themed Yakuza (which was leaked time ago but even fans dismissed it as it sounded too absurd) my hopes are also at an all-time low. Sure, if YS finds a publisher Sega will lend the IP but nothing is coming from them concerning Shenmue. Literally feels like a 🖕 declaration to me. Like if they were told about choosing between Shenmue/Skies of Arcadia/NightS or Yakuza Pirates and they went the most unexpected crazy thing rather than those legacy series.
Don't get me wrong, congrats to RGG fans.

Oh and Monkey Ball with cameos from every-single-sega-ip except for Shenmue. It has Akira Yuki tho, but again living of the milking instead JUST CONFIRMING VF6.
Im urgently in need of some hopium news and this current year or Im afraid 2025 will be the beginning of my copium-based diet.
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The question is, what year will the writing be on the wall regarding the future of Shenmue?

I’ve seen plenty of videos where the fans say “Oh I’ll be worried if by the end of 2021 it’s not been announced yet.”

Then the goalpost was moved to the end of 2022, then the end of 2023..

We’re now at the end of 2024 and still nothing…. zilch nada.

2025 will mark the 10 year anniversary since the announcement of Shenmue 3. And we all know (deep down) that nothing will change by then.

By this summer of 2025 I call upon all Shenmue fans to just accept the reality that Shenmue will NEVER continue in game form at least nothing more than a cheap mobile game at best.

We can continue to hope for Shenmue 4 but it’s nothing more than a pipe dream.

We’ve been waiting or Shenmue for a quarter century not and if we choose to wait another 25 years we’ll be Senior Citizens.

Does anyone here want their epitaph to read”This poor bastard wasted his whole live waiting for Shenmue.”

I propose that we mark the 10 year anniversary of Shenmue 3 being announced by going to YS and demanding that he release the story.

We’re tired of waiting for something that is little more than the pipe dream of an old man nearing retirement.

Whose with me?
 
They're announcing Pirate Yakuza this month, but surely they made the decision to do it last year. It has been in development for at least 1 year, most likely.

If SEGA decides to make Shenmue game now, they will most likely announce it next year. We're not 100% sure if they're showing us the middle finger right now. :D They most likely are doing it, but let's not be pessimistic. :)

I'm sad to say it because I like both series... But it's very possible that Shenmue's only chance (made by SEGA) is when Yakuza stops selling. Unfortunately, the series is at its peak and there's no reason for that to happen anytime soon. It would be nice if the two series coexisted together, but the parent company are thinking otherwise. And even if Yakuza stops selling so much, there is no guarantee that they will knock Shenmue out of the dust.

Sammy-SEGA isn't the smartest company out there, but they do sometimes cool stuff too. Let's hope they will pleasantly surprise us with something. If not, it won't be a big surprise.
 
SMDzero said:
The question is, what year will the writing be on the wall regarding the future of Shenmue?

I’ve seen plenty of videos where the fans say “Oh I’ll be worried if by the end of 2021 it’s not been announced yet.”

Then the goalpost was moved to the end of 2022, then the end of 2023..

We’re now at the end of 2024 and still nothing…. zilch nada.

2025 will mark the 10 year anniversary since the announcement of Shenmue 3. And we all know (deep down) that nothing will change by then.

By this summer of 2025 I call upon all Shenmue fans to just accept the reality that Shenmue will NEVER continue in game form at least nothing more than a cheap mobile game at best.

We can continue to hope for Shenmue 4 but it’s nothing more than a pipe dream.

We’ve been waiting or Shenmue for a quarter century not and if we choose to wait another 25 years we’ll be Senior Citizens.

Does anyone here want their epitaph to read”This poor bastard wasted his whole live waiting for Shenmue.”

I propose that we mark the 10 year anniversary of Shenmue 3 being announced by going to YS and demanding that he release the story.

We’re tired of waiting for something that is little more than the pipe dream of an old man nearing retirement.

Whose with me?
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How about no
 
SMDzero said:
The question is, what year will the writing be on the wall regarding the future of Shenmue?

I’ve seen plenty of videos where the fans say “Oh I’ll be worried if by the end of 2021 it’s not been announced yet.”

Then the goalpost was moved to the end of 2022, then the end of 2023..

We’re now at the end of 2024 and still nothing…. zilch nada.

2025 will mark the 10 year anniversary since the announcement of Shenmue 3. And we all know (deep down) that nothing will change by then.

By this summer of 2025 I call upon all Shenmue fans to just accept the reality that Shenmue will NEVER continue in game form at least nothing more than a cheap mobile game at best.

We can continue to hope for Shenmue 4 but it’s nothing more than a pipe dream.

We’ve been waiting or Shenmue for a quarter century not and if we choose to wait another 25 years we’ll be Senior Citizens.

Does anyone here want their epitaph to read”This poor bastard wasted his whole live waiting for Shenmue.”

I propose that we mark the 10 year anniversary of Shenmue 3 being announced by going to YS and demanding that he release the story.

We’re tired of waiting for something that is little more than the pipe dream of an old man nearing retirement.

Whose with me?
Click to expand...
To me is this year for announcing something. At least the apparently unrelated VF6/Reboot. The tweetathlon is great but at the same time I'm seeing Sega Official just addressing Sonic and RGG while ignoring every single Shenmue petition. Even quickly replying random users who are just asking for "more Shadow, more Sonic, more Majima" and continously pleasing them.
Is the RGG vs Shenmue rivalry a stupid thing? Yes, but it is what it is. The rivalry is there and boosted by Sega themselves it seems. It has been 8 main titles and many spinoffs... and now is just even Pirates of the Hawaii before Shenmue. To each its own ofc, but personally I can't with RGG, I don't like it.
 
For me, it's the same. If we don't get anything announced this year, we'll hit rock bottom again, basically.
November will mark the 5th anniversary of S3's release. If YS Net have to wait another year or two before even starting work on S3, all the groundwork laid in S3 will be rendered more or less worthless, I'm afraid. The PS4 has long been outdated, as has Unreal 4. They might as well use Dreamcast assets to build S4 by now.

The iron needs to be struck while hot and I don't really see how S4 is supposed to be a "hot iron", six, seven or eight years after S3.
 
The good part about all of this is that Unreal 4 is still up to date. One of the best game of the year - Stellar Blade and FF7 Rebirth are running on it. From what I've heard, there isn't that much of a difference between Unreal 4 and 5. Unreal 5 is just an upgrade of the older one with things added.

If there is tension between Shenmue and Yakuza fans, it's 100% because of SEGA. The way they treat Shenmue series is not OK. All this attitude will backfire on them like a boomerang.
 
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