Shenmue IV Will Happen - Here's Why!

ShenSun said:
Since the build up to Shenmue 3's release until now, there have been a ton of clues for Shenmue 4's existence. I thought id cover them in this thread and give my own commentary. Feel free to add your own in the following posts

Shenmue 4 Clues In Shenmue 3

Shenmue 4 Book

During the last quest in the castle, Yu Suzuki left a book on the self which says "Shenmue 4". There are also Shenmue 1,2 and 3 books displayed here.

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Shenmue 4 Trainers

At one point in the game, you have to option to buy Shenmue 4 trainers.

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Yu Suzuki's Letter At The End of Shenmue 3

Suzuki continues to make it well known that he wants to make Shenmue 4 and continue the series at the end of the game.

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Yu Suzuki Doing Research In Shanghai For "Work"........(After Shenmue 3's Release) .... ;)

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Taking a close up picture of a sign, a girl in a Chinese dress, a boat and a shop. These are all assets that are displayed in Shenmue. Pressumbly the close up shots can help with design, importing textures into unreal engine and concept art, etc.

Yu Suzuki's Plans For 2020

Yu Suzuki told Famitsu the following when questioned

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This is probably the most obvious hint at Shenmue 4. I can't imagine Suzuki making a completely different open world game. That would make no sense.

Cedric Tweets & Comments

Cedric recently commented that he is happy with Shenmue 3 and we should move on to the next steps with a winky face

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Its obvious to me what he's referring to. And its not his new manga. Although, i do encourage everyone to pick up a copy of Blitz to show support for our favorite hypeman, Cedric.

Cedric also has stated that there is a 50/50 chance for Shenmue 4 even if Shenmue 3 bombed.

Also, in an interview with Sega Satuno, Cedric gives a very indirect, direct, common sense answer to Shenmue 4


Sega Saturno " Would it be more appropriate to develop Shenmue 4 right after the 3rd chapter is released? You have the team already assembled and the necessary experience, along with assets. So maybe it would be best to start the next installment as soon as possible right?""

Cedric "if you plan on doing a 4th installment of a game, you have to keep your team, so you need to start as soon as possible. Otherwise the team would leave and you'd miss your opportunity to make the new game "

All of us have already speculated that if you have the assets, team etc in place, making another installment would be much easier and cheaper, and the most logical thing to do. Cedric confirms this theory.

Lakshya Digital Facebook Post

Lakshya digital (The team who made the Shenmue 3 models) posted the following on December 14th. It could just be a good will message, but when you put it next to all the other evidence we have, I think its obvious what's going on.

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Koch Media Tweets

Koch media posted a very cryptic message the other day. Granted, this could be referring to the DLC as Shenmue 3 is still their game. Time will tell.

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Epic Games Deal, Budget & Sales

Epic Games presumably gave 9 million+ to Deep Silver for Shenmue 3. This is going off how much they paid for the game "Control", an entire new ip. Shenmue 3's total budget was 12 million. If 7 million came from backers and 5 million from investors, then investors would have already made back their money back from the Epic deal. Assuming it was 9 million for exclusive rights, every copy Shenmue 3 sells from release onwards would presumably be profit?

Shenmue 3 appears to be selling decently. When you take into account the limit information we have, along with the total number of backers who purchased a copy in the kickstarter, we can certainly see there is an audience for the game. If it wasn't making any money, you'd have to wonder why they would keep teasing Shenmue 4 so much. The Shenmue HD collection also continues to sell.

Shenmue 3's Story

Shenmue 3's story was incredibly rushed towards the end. Given the perfectionist Yu Suzuki is, i can't imagine him ending his franchise like that, without knowing that a sequel would follow. If he knew Shenmue 3 would be the final game, I'm sure he would have made the ending much more Epic as he did with Shenmue 2. I believe at the time of Shenmue 2, he was told by Sega, that Shenmue 2 would be the last game in the series, hence he went out with a bang.

It also seems odd that Shenmue 3 is a massive build up chapter, with the big payoff yet to come. Its almost like Suzuki is following the same formula as Shenmue 1 and 2.

Shenmue 1 and 3 = Build up chapters
Shnemue 2 and 4 - Bash!t crazy over the top chapters.

Cut Content

There is a ton of cut content from Shenmue 3, mainly Baisha

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In the "A Gamer's Journey" Shenmue teaser trailer, we see Ryo running around a circular building similar to the ones in Baisha. Notice the design of the building and placement of the door in the game, and then compare it to the concept art.

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We also have Ryo jumping off mountains, being chased by rocks and doing some intense QTEs across rocks

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We also have the great wall of China which was only seen at the end of Shenmue 3. In the teaser trailer though, Mr Muscles (First name = Mr, last name - Muscles) and Ryo do battle on this structure. Perhaps its a similar set up to Chai in Chapter 2. Mr Muscles chases Ryo and friends onto the great wall and they have one final battle.

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You can also see the Ryo model in the middle structure of the great wall if you zoom in close. I assume this means the great wall was playable at one point.

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The boat cutscene below is nowhere to be seen in Shenmue 3? You would assume its the boat that takes Ryo and Shenhua to Niaowu, but then i have to wonder why this scene was cut? Perhaps this is the boat that takes our heroes to Baisha? Since Baisha is not in the game, it was cut. Then again, maybe Suzuki thought the scene wasn't appropriate for Niaowu, so he cut it. The boat does look different to the one used in the game, so who knows at this point.

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The point being, there is a ton of content cut from Shenmue 3. I'd be willing to bet we'll see these scenes show up in Shenmue 4, similar to how we saw Shenmue 2 footage in Shenmue 1's promotion. It also seems as if a fair portion of Shenmue 4 already exists, be it concept art, research, beta environments, etc.

We have tons of teases and clues from Suzuki and Cedric. Cut content. Epic's money to secure the publishers investment. Assets, engine and the team already in place. I can't see how Shenmue 4 wont exist. Everything is set up almost perfectly for a sequel to take place.

Thoughts?

Note: Will proofread and edit when i get home.
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For me Shenmue IV is a reality.

Combine the spam of Mario&Sonic Olympic Games (I know YS has a charge as a consultor in SEGA but it is a symbolic one, the spam feels really akward) and the trip to Shanghai (I feel there has been a resonable profit from III).

I am completely sure that SEGA is already behind IV. There were bad sales but you have to also count on the backers and the target audience that may try IV if the budget was similar to a Yakuza game.
 
I don’t see how any of that implies Shenmue 4 is being made......actually, reading a confirmation from those “clues” seem pretty delusional.

The shoes, the book and the message at the end just show that....*drumroll* Yu wants to make it.

And the same goes for Cedric’s tweet, because....you know... he too wants Shenmue 4 to happen.

The closest thing to a confirmation is Lakhsya’s post, which seems pretty clearly just a standard wishful message.
 
Shenhua-Nani? said:
I don’t see how any of that implies Shenmue 4 is being made......actually, reading a confirmation from those “clues” seem pretty delusional.

The shoes, the book and the message at the end just show that....*drumroll* Yu wants to make it.

And the same goes for Cedric’s tweet, because....you know... he too wants Shenmue 4 to happen.

The closest thing to a confirmation is Lakhsya’s post, which seems pretty clearly just a standard wishful message.
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Delusional is pretty strong- it's a collation of positive signs that show a desire to continue the series at least. Of course none of it is confirmation but it's certainly not delusional to be optimistic.
 
Shenhua-Nani? said:
I don’t see how any of that implies Shenmue 4 is being made......actually, reading a confirmation from those “clues” seem pretty delusional.

The shoes, the book and the message at the end just show that....*drumroll* Yu wants to make it.

And the same goes for Cedric’s tweet, because....you know... he too wants Shenmue 4 to happen.

The closest thing to a confirmation is Lakhsya’s post, which seems pretty clearly just a standard wishful message.
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I bet you're fun at parties.

Only kidding. I get your point of view and its sensible but it's still exciting.
 
That tiny rumor proved people are still interested in Shenmue. Multiple sites published articles and the idea Shenmue 4 is possible, an idea many people have been sneering at, is stronger than it was a week ago. Keep the hope alive, I say!
 
If I remember correcly, Yu Suzuki went to Shanghai because there was a chinese Shnemue 3 event there.

Of course Yu taken advantage of the trip to make reasearch and photos, but that wasn't the reason of the travel.
 
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