An HD port of Shenmue is indeed heading to Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, and development on the title has been “finished for well over a year”, according to an industry source speaking to GamerZines.
Our source, who wishes to remain anonymous but does have ties to SEGA, told us that “Shenmue HD is real [and has been] finished for well over a year.
“As is Shenmue II HD”.
So, if true, why has SEGA held off on releasing them?
According to our insider, SEGA chose to sit on their release until it had a clearer picture of the future for the Shenmue franchise, namely, whether or not Shenmue III would ever see the light of day.
SEGA teased earlier this week that it “may be working on” an HD port of Shenmue.
An XBLA release has been rumoured since April 2010 when the game allegedly turned up on a secret developer test network.
I know who this is, too. It is indeed real, and it'll be announced after JSR releases.
Here's hoping a decent amount of work went into it. Shemue, while amazing at the time, hasn't aged very well, especially compared to something like Jet Set Radio, that utilized the cel shading technique.
According to our insider, SEGA chose to sit on their release until it had a clearer picture of the future for the Shenmue franchise, namely, whether or not Shenmue III would ever see the light of day.
Will it have the extra stuff that came on the Passport disc?
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Linespider5ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGERRegistered Userregular
This ongoing, it's-not-dead, returning dedication thing Sega's had going for Shenmue is kinda starting to creep me out. I know the original only came out in 2000, but given the original intended scope for this game and the ambition behind it, every time I hear about it coming around again, I begin thinking it's been like 20 goddamn years since the original.
It's like Shenmue is some kind of Haley's Comet of gaming.
I actually think the jaggies are part of the experience. Like the Halo Anniversary Edition, you can't divorce the technical faults from the game itself. It's the flavour.
My question is: English voices or Japanese voices? I would hope both.
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anoffdayTo be changed whenever Anoffday gets around to it.Registered Userregular
I've never played Shenmue. Hopefully I get that chance soon.
I have a dreamcast and it's always been a system I've been interested in, but for whatever reason I haven't put much time into it. I really need to start a collection of some of the best games.
I remember that I was so looking forward to Shenmue back in the day. When it released, though, I just never bought it for reasons I cannot recall. Then I heard the rumor about Sega dropping support for the Dreamcast and promptly sold it and all the games I had.
Since I'd never played the first, I had no reason to be interested when Shenmue II came along, so I figured it was just a game series I'd never play... which didn't bother me since it seemed the third game was never going to be made anyhow.
Maybe I'll finally get to play this, however! Here's hoping anyway.
We've already been through this with the xbox versions...hopefully more people will buy it but without a damned CONFIRMATION that III is being worked on and has a full maximal Shenmue budget then I will be passing. If you want us to invest in it a third time, you are going to have to bring the real deal this time. Or port JSR HD to vita, and I'll get both for some DC handheld gaming.
If it doesn't come following the HD ports then I'm convinced they will just torture future generations with I & II remakes, making sales from rumour and legend.
Nobody said there won't be a PC version, though. There are 5 Dreamcast games in this re-release series so far (including JSR) and all of them are on PC as well, so it seems likely to me.
Now I want to play Shenmue again, but I can't remember if the kitten ever gets a home and I remember spending most of the time on my first play-through worrying about that damn kitten.
If it turns out it stays homeless, I think it'd be really depressing to play it again.
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NocrenLt Futz, Back in ActionNorth CarolinaRegistered Userregular
Now I want to play Shenmue again, but I can't remember if the kitten ever gets a home and I remember spending most of the time on my first play-through worrying about that damn kitten.
If it turns out it stays homeless, I think it'd be really depressing to play it again.
It turns out
that little girl eventually takes it home, much to her (the girl's) mother's dismay (think the mother either didn't like or was allergic to cats.
I KNOW I read this somewhere on disc or in some sort of supplemental, either on disc/in journal material somewhere, but I can't remember where.
I adored this game when I played it. It left such a lasting impression on me.
That being said, I'm not sure I want to play it again. I'm afraid that I've viewing it through a nostalgic lense, I don't want to be disappointed if I play the HD release.
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Liquid GhostDO YOU HEAR THE VOICES, TOO?!Registered Userregular
I want to punch dudes in the face and send them flying over tables covered in piles of fruit.
I want to wander around the street for a while before purchasing a small action figure from a vending machine.
I want to get into a fight with six guys on a boat. With my shirt off. In the rain.
I want to do all of this in HD. I will spend real money in order to make this happen. Give me all of the copies except for four.
What's wild about Shenmue is that we got really the normal parts of the story. Everyone thinks of Shenmue as a reality based, realistic game... but from absolutely everything we know about the series, it's pretty obvious that it was going to go way, way sci-fi, with fireballs and shit. Shenmue II ends right before the wild, crazy shit happens.
What's wild about Shenmue is that we got really the normal parts of the story. Everyone thinks of Shenmue as a reality based, realistic game... but from absolutely everything we know about the series, it's pretty obvious that it was going to go way, way sci-fi, with fireballs and shit. Shenmue II ends right before the wild, crazy shit happens.
I adored this game when I played it. It left such a lasting impression on me.
That being said, I'm not sure I want to play it again. I'm afraid that I've viewing it through a nostalgic lense, I don't want to be disappointed if I play the HD release.
I'm sure we all are in some ways. Some of it was tedious, and there were a lot of QTE's. And part of the nostalgia is how game breaking this game was. It was 2 or 3 years before GTA, and was one of the first games to have this huge, interactive, open world.
I'm curious if they'll change much about the game/gameplay. But as long as I can forklift race im good.
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Linespider5ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGERRegistered Userregular
Yakuza really isn't anything like Shenmue. I don't get why people say that.
The only people who make this comparison are people who've never played either of them, and think, 'Asian guy walking around a city, occasionally beating people up. Must be the same game since it's the same publisher.'
I'd expect this to be, essentially, the Xbox version of Shenmue II in HD, probably with Shenmue the Movie included.
But who knows, Sega has been kicking ass with DD. They changed a bit of the controls in JSR. If there was one game whose controls could really use some rejiggering, it's Shenmue.
Yakuza really isn't anything like Shenmue. I don't get why people say that.
The only people who make this comparison are people who've never played either of them, and think, 'Asian guy walking around a city, occasionally beating people up. Must be the same game since it's the same publisher.'
That said, I would buy a Shenmue III styled after Yakuza that continued the story. Since a bunch of sci-fi shit was about to start happening, and considering the changes in Shenmue II, I think the whole "hyper open world with every bookshelf containing books you can pick up" stuff was going to be minimized. I mean, the achieved their goal of creating a living, breathing city in Shenmue I. When they got to Shenmue II, they didn't need to do that again, and instead concentrated on story, action, and progression.
Which is why I think Shenmue II is much better than Shenmue I. Shenmue ultimately began as Virtua Fighter RPG. I think people get too caught up in the hyper detail of the first to remember that there is a linear story being told.
And personally, the QTE sequences in Shenmue II are probably the best part of the series. The modern day equivalent of those scenes would be something like Uncharted. They were full of awesome cinematic fighting or action sequences. The one where you're handcuffed to Ren of Heavens and are escaping from Dou Niu is the best part in the entire series for me.
This might be a dumb question but I just want to ask before I get too excited. Assuming Shenmue II HD is a thing and assuming it'll be released as the rest of the Dreamcast titles have been, is there a chance it'll be released for both PS3 and 360? I mean, Shenmue II was published by Microsoft in NA which makes me think that 360 might get dibs. I would be super sad about that. (Not being console warz or anything, just would be annoyed if I could buy the first but not the second.)
This might be a dumb question but I just want to ask before I get too excited. Assuming Shenmue II HD is a thing and assuming it'll be released as the rest of the Dreamcast titles have been, is there a chance it'll be released for both PS3 and 360? I mean, Shenmue II was published by Microsoft in NA which makes me think that 360 might get dibs. I would be super sad about that. (Not being console warz or anything, just would be annoyed if I could buy the first but not the second.)
Why wouldn't it be released on PS3?
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Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
edited March 2012
What are the chances of Sonic Adventure 2 and a volume 2 of the Dreamcast Collection on disc?
For the record, I've never played Shenmue, so I'm looking forward to this.
This might be a dumb question but I just want to ask before I get too excited. Assuming Shenmue II HD is a thing and assuming it'll be released as the rest of the Dreamcast titles have been, is there a chance it'll be released for both PS3 and 360? I mean, Shenmue II was published by Microsoft in NA which makes me think that 360 might get dibs. I would be super sad about that. (Not being console warz or anything, just would be annoyed if I could buy the first but not the second.)
Why wouldn't it be released on PS3?
Just because what I said. Microsoft got exclusive publishing rights for Shenmue II in NA for the OXBox, so I don't know if that would matter for now for a re-release, or not. I'm leaning towards figuring that it wouldn't matter, but I would just kind of like to know. I -did- say it might be a dumb question. >.>
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For the record, I don't believe that BTW.
It's like Shenmue is some kind of Haley's Comet of gaming.
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I have a dreamcast and it's always been a system I've been interested in, but for whatever reason I haven't put much time into it. I really need to start a collection of some of the best games.
About Shenmue 3: Aren't the Yakuza games pretty much the spiritual successors?
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Since I'd never played the first, I had no reason to be interested when Shenmue II came along, so I figured it was just a game series I'd never play... which didn't bother me since it seemed the third game was never going to be made anyhow.
Maybe I'll finally get to play this, however! Here's hoping anyway.
Yakuza has the goof off plus is actually fun to play the main game.
If it doesn't come following the HD ports then I'm convinced they will just torture future generations with I & II remakes, making sales from rumour and legend.
Majorish
Boy you sure told us. Look how cool you are right now.
Nobody said there won't be a PC version, though. There are 5 Dreamcast games in this re-release series so far (including JSR) and all of them are on PC as well, so it seems likely to me.
...Hell, even if it doesn't come to PC, I'll probably buy it. I'm pretty easy.
I'm not even joking.
If it turns out it stays homeless, I think it'd be really depressing to play it again.
It turns out
I KNOW I read this somewhere on disc or in some sort of supplemental, either on disc/in journal material somewhere, but I can't remember where.
Man, the hype for this game, back in the day...
Judging by Sega's online pricing, too, this will be reasonable. Probably $10 or less given most of their releases.
That being said, I'm not sure I want to play it again. I'm afraid that I've viewing it through a nostalgic lense, I don't want to be disappointed if I play the HD release.
I want to wander around the street for a while before purchasing a small action figure from a vending machine.
I want to get into a fight with six guys on a boat. With my shirt off. In the rain.
I want to do all of this in HD. I will spend real money in order to make this happen. Give me all of the copies except for four.
Shenmue 3?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw2pnkmYIhI
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I'm sure we all are in some ways. Some of it was tedious, and there were a lot of QTE's. And part of the nostalgia is how game breaking this game was. It was 2 or 3 years before GTA, and was one of the first games to have this huge, interactive, open world.
I'm curious if they'll change much about the game/gameplay. But as long as I can forklift race im good.
The only people who make this comparison are people who've never played either of them, and think, 'Asian guy walking around a city, occasionally beating people up. Must be the same game since it's the same publisher.'
But who knows, Sega has been kicking ass with DD. They changed a bit of the controls in JSR. If there was one game whose controls could really use some rejiggering, it's Shenmue.
That said, I would buy a Shenmue III styled after Yakuza that continued the story. Since a bunch of sci-fi shit was about to start happening, and considering the changes in Shenmue II, I think the whole "hyper open world with every bookshelf containing books you can pick up" stuff was going to be minimized. I mean, the achieved their goal of creating a living, breathing city in Shenmue I. When they got to Shenmue II, they didn't need to do that again, and instead concentrated on story, action, and progression.
Which is why I think Shenmue II is much better than Shenmue I. Shenmue ultimately began as Virtua Fighter RPG. I think people get too caught up in the hyper detail of the first to remember that there is a linear story being told.
And personally, the QTE sequences in Shenmue II are probably the best part of the series. The modern day equivalent of those scenes would be something like Uncharted. They were full of awesome cinematic fighting or action sequences. The one where you're handcuffed to Ren of Heavens and are escaping from Dou Niu is the best part in the entire series for me.
Why wouldn't it be released on PS3?
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For the record, I've never played Shenmue, so I'm looking forward to this.
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I'm far more interested in Skies of Arcadia though.
Just because what I said. Microsoft got exclusive publishing rights for Shenmue II in NA for the OXBox, so I don't know if that would matter for now for a re-release, or not. I'm leaning towards figuring that it wouldn't matter, but I would just kind of like to know. I -did- say it might be a dumb question. >.>