Shenmue IV Will Happen - Here's Why!

SMDzero said:
Have we heard any more news from Ryan Peyton? There would have been no Shenmue 3 had it not been for him and his Kickstarter idea.

The only thing I agree with Super Eye Patch Wolf on is that Shenmue 3 does seem like a prequel to a higher budget Shenmue 4.

Does Peyton think he can pull another rabbit out of his hat and get us S4?

Shenmue 3 was just the promise… Shenmue 4 will be the fulfillment. (Just like S1 to S2)
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Ryan Payton I've not spoken to barring some Twitter interactions on his new game for a while. He's been tied down with this Batman VR game so not sure how much time he's had to think about Shenmue.
 
I think this is a really bad time frame for Shenmue 4 right now.
Look whats going on in the gaming industry with Embracer closing studios left and right
(Shenmue 3 publisher Deep Silver is a part of Embracer), Microsoft closing their only japanese studio and more,
lots of layoffs all over the place. And its not about the really really big studios / IPs or the really really small ones,
no, all of these closings are about AA games.

Microsofts Tango Gameworks literally released a award winning game last year, a studio that was founded
by the original Resident Evil creator and in the end it was still not good enough for Microsoft
because they want to focus more on the really big projects. And thats not was Tango Gameworks was about.

Which means at the moment theres even less space or requests for AA games by the publisher / investor side.
But thats exactly the budget range that Shenmue needs.
So i think its going to be even harder than before to get a decent budget
because you probably cant count on support by Sony, Microsoft, Embracer etc.
They arent looking for these types of products. They literally got rid of them because they had too many.
 
On the contrary, I believe Shenmue 3 proved the game can be made as AA, rather than AAA, no matter what Suzuki has ruminated about a more robust Shenmue 4

6th gen AAA are today's AA, no need to try being RDR or even Yakuza. Only hoping YSNet take an opportunity for AA budget and use existing Shenmue 3 assets if given the opportunity...

Also been saying since way back in Shenmue 2x days; NINTENDO! Look at how they've always been good for unique games--especially now with Switch. Port the whole damn trilogy, plus develop Shenmue 4+5 on PS4/PS5/Switch/Switch 2
 
Tosh said:
I think this is a really bad time frame for Shenmue 4 right now.
Look whats going on in the gaming industry with Embracer closing studios left and right
(Shenmue 3 publisher Deep Silver is a part of Embracer), Microsoft closing their only japanese studio and more,
lots of layoffs all over the place. And its not about the really really big studios / IPs or the really really small ones,
no, all of these closings are about AA games.

Microsofts Tango Gameworks literally released a award winning game last year, a studio that was founded
by the original Resident Evil creator and in the end it was still not good enough for Microsoft
because they want to focus more on the really big projects. And thats not was Tango Gameworks was about.

Which means at the moment theres even less space or requests for AA games by the publisher / investor side.
But thats exactly the budget range that Shenmue needs.
So i think its going to be even harder than before to get a decent budget
because you probably cant count on support by Sony, Microsoft, Embracer etc.
They arent looking for these types of products. They literally got rid of them because they had too many.
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Embracer and Microsoft are two peas in the same pod and a shining, prominent example of why massive buyouts shouldn't be allowed.

Microsoft has utterly destroyed any trust they had with their fanbase over the last 2 or 3 months.

Embracer cost several jobs and arguably the demise of several beloved IPs that could've been resurrected.

Everyone warned that massive consolidation via publisher purchases was horrible for the industry, so this happening isn't surprising in the least. The FTC and CMA tried to stop this for *this very reason happening*.

A great many also realized that Game Pass(or Netflix model) isn't sustainable with current game budgets, or for profitability.

But Microsoft has promised Day 1 Game Pass for their titles. You can't back down on that, because then you just further damage an already struggling business and fanbase.

Conversely, you now have those said games costing hundreds of millions to go on Game Pass, where subs have flatlined or they'll slightly spike as people "play then unsub". Even the AA titles have fallen victim to this.

There's a reason that games such as Hi-Fi Rush, etc went third-party. Microsoft literally has no choice if they want any kind of ROI for their products.

And I don't believe those titles will be the end of what Microsoft ends up bringing over.

If rumors are to believed, they'll have a system again, but it will be high-end but hardware isn't their priority anymore. It's ecosystem and generating more money foe their games, even if that means their games end up on rival consoles.
 
I've been thinking about the Microsoft shit-show the last couple of days and how it relates to the lack of Shenmue IV related news. I'm really undecided on whether the lack of news is a good thing or not. It beggars belief that studios with games that have sold reasonably well such as Olli Olli and Hi-Fi Rush have been shut down and i've no doubt that if YsNet were owned by Microsoft or Take Two that it would suffer a similar fate.

But as YsNet is independent and relies on a publisher, it makes me anxious not hearing anything. I'm not sure where i'm going with this, but the gaming industry is in a sick state right now. It's either ginormous hits or nothing and that's not healthy. Shenmue sits somewhere between the two which probably complicates things.

I fear that as Shenmue is a 'core niche product' that it doesn't sound attractive to some publishers. However, surely there must be SOMEONE out there who is happy for a reasonable return. I just wish Sega would stick their thumbs out of their arses and bring Shenmue back. Shenmue is a known IP and that carries currency surely?

Sorry; my post is a bit all over the place, but it matches the strange way the industry is acting at the moment. I still believe Shenmue IV will happen (or at worst, I'm not giving up), but the silence is deafening.
 
bcdcdude said:
I fear that as Shenmue is a 'core niche product' that it doesn't sound attractive to some publishers. However, surely there must be SOMEONE out there who is happy for a reasonable return. I just wish Sega would stick their thumbs out of their arses and bring Shenmue back. Shenmue is a known IP and that carries currency surely?
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I mean-- who knows. Maybe what Sega is doing is the best business decision for them at the moment and that's why they are rich people who run businesses and we're just jerks on a forum, lol. We all love Shenmue but the reality may be that it isn't a viable IP.

I'm with you though, I feel confident that we'll see it someday.
 
Limited Run Games is the new in company to hate, so I almost think the Shenmue rumor could be true based on that alone. Folks are steaming mad about some garbage 3DO reissue that was pressed to CD-Rs.
 
Ys Net under Embracer would be probably be dead by now. I mean Embracer even killed the original
Gothic studio Piranha Bytes. Same thing for Microsoft. I mean when they are fine with
killing whole award winning studios and studios who failed like one time ... how would Ys Net survive there?

Its for the better that Ys Net is independent in this case but
at the same time it means we are back to the same old problem again
where we need someone whos willing to give it a go and its gonna be tough.

I mean even PS exclusive games like FF7 Rebirth are kind of in trouble
because they are kind of falling behind in terms of sales.
 
mjqjazzbar said:
Limited Run Games is the new in company to hate, so I almost think the Shenmue rumor could be true based on that alone. Folks are steaming mad about some garbage 3DO reissue that was pressed to CD-Rs.
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Wasn't that last week's outrage 🤣
 
spud1897 said:
Wasn't that last week's outrage 🤣
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Aye, but I think this week's outrage was entirely justified.

I forget who it was, maybe one of the directors of Hi-Fi Rush, today, posted an entire shelf full of awards garnered by the game across so many things(TGAs, etc.) and his Tweet simply said "Not enough?"

Heartbreaking stuff and Microsoft deserves every bit of the ire they've gotten. When even Microsofts former big finance guy comes out and says "Yeah, Game Pass is and is going to keep killing AA games", that's a bad omen and I'm glad they didn't snake YsNet.

Imagine them doing that to Yu.
 
Valascaziel said:
Aye, but I think this week's outrage was entirely justified.

I forget who it was, maybe one of the directors of Hi-Fi Rush, today, posted an entire shelf full of awards garnered by the game across so many things(TGAs, etc.) and his Tweet simply said "Not enough?"

Heartbreaking stuff and Microsoft deserves every bit of the ire they've gotten. When even Microsofts former big finance guy comes out and says "Yeah, Game Pass is and is going to keep killing AA games", that's a bad omen and I'm glad they didn't snake YsNet.

Imagine them doing that to Yu.
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Oh absolutely justified. The epitome of what's wrong with the industry at the moment.
 
spud1897 said:
Oh absolutely justified. The epitome of what's wrong with the industry at the moment.
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What needs to happen is the price of games needs to go up. AAA Games should be $100 and AA $60. That way people would be more likely to buy AA games and they would save up for the more costly AAA releases.

Games are too cheap and too many people have too many games… buying a game should feel like luxury instead people have shelves and shelves of games with a huge backlog. People buy AAA games (that cost half a billion to make) for a measly $60 play it once and then never play it again.

If AAA games cost more people would buy fewer of them and get more value (playtime) out of them and lest costly AA games would sell more.
 
Sega president: "So tell me, Mr. Microsoft games division... Who's gonna hostile takeover on who now, huh? Who's gonna? Hawr ahahawr"
M$ dude: "oh no please... Don't rub your genitalia all over my face... Gggg"
 
spud1897 said:
Oh absolutely justified. The epitome of what's wrong with the industry at the moment.
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Very much so. I think that the only solace that could potentially be taken is I think a lot of developers, especially Japanese, will be much more wary of Microsoft, no matter how big the sack of money is.

I also think any major purchases akin to Activision or Bethesda will be far, FAR more difficult for them to do. The evidence of what they've done or will do to peoples jobs is damning. And the CMA and FTC now irrefutably know it.
 
My biggest issue with all of these takeovers is all of the fantastic IP that ends up stagnating because the likes of Microsoft, Sony, and Embracer are too busy focusing on just a handful of AAA franchises.

They should be forced to relinquish the rights to any IP created by a studio they choose to shut down, especially if they have no plans to do anything with them. I dare say Tango could probably keep the lights on if they could do a Kickstarter for a new Evil Within game.
 
After reading the new Suzuki interview, I honestly have lost hope of ever seeing a 4th game, let alone an end. He says he'd want to have a 5th game to finish it and that a 4th and 5th game would each take 5 years of dev time with which he hasn't even started developing the 4th. That's another decade minimum and the man is nearing 70 years old.

He says he has a novel he's been using as the template for the games. I think at this point he should polish the novel and release it so we get the full story.
 
Telekill said:
After reading the new Suzuki interview, I honestly have lost hope of ever seeing a 4th game, let alone an end. He says he'd want to have a 5th game to finish it and that a 4th and 5th game would each take 5 years of dev time with which he hasn't even started developing the 4th. That's another decade minimum and the man is nearing 70 years old.

He says he has a novel he's been using as the template for the games. I think at this point he should polish the novel and release it so we get the full story.
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I'm glad someone else said it. I admire the endless optimism on Shenmue Dojo but for me, personally, the interview made me feel less hopeful for another entry. It reads as a sweet old man who would love to complete his life's work, but is unable to secure the means to do so. Shenmue 3 came out five years ago. If Yu Suzuki still doesn't have anyone backing the development of the next entry, and they aren't actively working on anything for it, what will it take for someone to back it? If no one has by this point, what would cause them to suddenly do it now, after all these years?

Perhaps someday we'll have the novel and then our community can make our own Shenmue sequels that adapt it in game form. We've proven how dedicated and resourceful we can be.
 
SMDzero said:
What needs to happen is the price of games needs to go up. AAA Games should be $100 and AA $60. That way people would be more likely to buy AA games and they would save up for the more costly AAA releases.

Games are too cheap and too many people have too many games… buying a game should feel like luxury instead people have shelves and shelves of games with a huge backlog. People buy AAA games (that cost half a billion to make) for a measly $60 play it once and then never play it again.

If AAA games cost more people would buy fewer of them and get more value (playtime) out of them and lest costly AA games would sell more.
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After the first week/month, most games make their money on sale or through microtransactions. The industry is built around the current pricing model and AAA games have been pushing their prices up with all kinds of crazy "special editions". What needs to happen is the audience needs to expand: the games industry is certainly worth a lot of money, but there actually aren't that many gamers, especially when you exclude mobile/casual games. Certainly not compared to the likes of the film/TV industry.
WuyingRen said:
They should be forced to relinquish the rights to any IP created by a studio they choose to shut down, especially if they have no plans to do anything with them.
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IP laws in general should be reworked. Predatory contracts have been a staple of the entertainment industry since its inception.
Testament said:
Shenmue 3 came out five years ago.
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Not only that, S3 was announced 9 years ago. There was only a 13 year wait for the announcement of S3 after S2X.
 
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