110 Industries & Yu Suzuki

[Seaman]

They’re definitely a bunch of trolls….but I’m still willing to wait a bit more and see if they have an ace up their sleeve. Call me old-fashioned (ie desperate).

No, you're cheating here: trolls or ace up sleeve. It can't be both. That's two faces. A coin. Harvey Dent.

It shouldn't be a problem to call 110 Industries trolls when its done with this limits and without calling for "actions". Moreover, I "defended" this publisher many times but they effort into the trolling every time. Now they edit the About section, reviving IPs, huge announce... Right, where are the small announces you already did (Red Goes Faster) which by the way it passed as a Yu Suzuki game and by my research, it does nothing to do with Him. Which IPs did they re emerged? First they should bring back Bubble Bobble or Road Rash or anything smaller than Shenmue before start braggin about.

My eye for S4 has been out of 110 Industries since long time, more on the side of this new venture along Sega, Square Enix, Bandai Namco, etc. called Oasyx. As you probably already heard now Rovio adds to Sega assets, for nothing just a bit of cash...$700k
These should be our lighthouse now.
By the way, speaking of YS AI research: Did you people heard about Sony filing a patent for their own AI and Square showcasing theirs?

By the way, I think season 2 of Shenmue animation wass cancelled, in part because Ysnet plan to release S4, and they want to unveil shenmue story with games in prior, what do you guys think about it ?

He definetly liked the treatment given by the anime team and saw potential for possible changes in story and visual telling. When S4 gets out, there will be shared credits with the anime series.

 

[thedemon1238]

I don't have official sales figures for Wanted Dead of course, but based on various indications, I think the game sold very little for now. Hopefully 110 aren't relying on the sales of one game to fund the next and have some sort of plan for at least 2-3 years ahead.

This is a shame because I personally had a lot of fun with the game. There's something special about making a 6th gen game with modern controls and camera. It turns out that gamers these days aren't that keen on 6th gen style gaming and outside of a handful of hardcore old school gamers, very few people are interested. We've said it before. It's very hard to get the new mainstream audience interested in Shenmue games. There are some new people here and there, but apparently it's not enough. It is also very difficult to restart (remake) the series without finishing it first. Whoever sets out to complete Shenmue should do it with prestige in mind, not big profits. The positive in this case is that Shenmue has a solid fanbase and a major failure is not expected. Whoever does the calculations well and knows what he can gain from the game can only win in the end.

 

[punkmanced]

I don't have official sales figures for Wanted Dead of course, but based on various indications, I think the game sold very little for now. Hopefully 110 aren't relying on the sales of one game to fund the next and have some sort of plan for at least 2-3 years ahead.

In all fairness, I considered purchasing the game after some of the positive, context-based, word of mouth reviews....but was caught off guard by the steep price tag. The game is basically being sold at full retail price, meaning $60-$80 depending on the edition. That seems insane.
Wanted: Increased Sales....probably means don't charge Jedi Survivor money for your throwback title. I'll wait on this one.

 

[Reprise]

In all fairness, I considered purchasing the game after some of the positive, context-based, word of mouth reviews....but was caught off guard by the steep price tag. The game is basically being sold at full retail price, meaning $60-$80 depending on the edition. That seems insane.
Wanted: Increased Sales....probably means don't charge Jedi Survivor money for your throwback title. I'll wait on this one.

I'd argue Shenmue 3 suffered from the same thing. You need to price these things at a more standard AA/indie price tag.

I bought Wanted: Dead at full retail price and it's not a bad game at all, but it definitely feels like more of a £30-35 game. They needed to target impulse buyers and those kinds of people aren't going to drop £50-60 on a game like that.

 

[Jobi14119]

I honestly still think the anime being cancelled after it's undeniable success remains suspicious. Shenmue 3's story wouldn't of been enough for at the time a potential season 2...I still think it's more in limbo than cancelled because yu wants to finish it in game media first before having it adapted. There are a few things that just don't add up to me.

 

[Sput Vas Normandy]

Could be Sony if they choose to invest in the marketing again. Could also be referring to YsNet or Sega.

With the Microsoft/ABK buyout essentially dead with the CMA's rejection, I expect Sony to shift focus to doing what they do best with marketing, exclusivity and solid titles.

They know Shenmue has a big following, so I wouldn't be surprised if they capitalize on that fanbase again, regardless of how divisive Shenmue III ended up.

They do a lot to ensure PlayStation remains the place for niche or familiar titles, JRPGs, etc.

I *like* Xbox, but I want to see them do more with the parties they already have, not just bust out the checkbook because they're not market leader in this area and are mad about it.

So If Microsoft comes with 30 million to Yu, would that be alright or only is good when Sony does it?

 

[Valascaziel]

So If Microsoft comes with 30 million to Yu, would that be alright or only is good when Sony does it?

Don't play that card, bud come on.

If Microsoft wishes to buy YsNet, that is a reasonable thing or any other *developer*, provided they give them the tools to grow organically within.

Microsoft has grabbed many good development studios, none of which I have a problem with. Hell, they bought the rights for Shenmue II and I got an Xbox way back then.

The issue is they haven't done enough *with* them that I've seen yet.

"It's only good when Sony does it" is a barbed take on what I said and I should've clarified more.

It sets a very dangerous market when a company starts buying up entire *PUBLISHERS* and their respective IPs, one of which is one of the largest franchises in ALL of gaming, whether you like the game series or not.

 

[Sput Vas Normandy]

It sets a very dangerous market when a company starts buying up entire *PUBLISHERS* and their respective IPs, one of which is one of the largest franchises in ALL of gaming, whether you like the game series or not.

Why? What's the problem?

 

[spud1897]

I honestly still think the anime being cancelled after it's undeniable success remains suspicious. Shenmue 3's story wouldn't of been enough for at the time a potential season 2...I still think it's more in limbo than cancelled because yu wants to finish it in game media first before having it adapted. There are a few things that just don't add up to me.

Shenmue 3 was going to cover half of a season 2 with new story (Shenmue 4 etc) the other half.

All covered in this interview: https://www.youtube.com/live/qPv5q04MxSo?feature=share

All go from about 15 mins in. Should be timestamped.

 

[Tosh]

Heres a pretty interesting new Kotaku article about the budget of modern big games.

Blockbuster Game Development Costs Are Out Of Control

Microsoft’s fight over the Activision deal reveals ballooning game budgets

kotaku.com

The recent decision by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to block Microsoft's merger
was accompanied by a 418-page report outlining its research and reasoning,
including a section devoted to ever-rising game development costs (via IGN).
It cites research by market analyst firm IDG projecting blockbuster game budgets
would grow from an average of $50-150 million last console generation to over $200 million
for games released in the next couple years. Back in 2014, it was closer to $60 million.

The regulators then cite testimony from other publishers about their own hit franchises
that reinforces this trend. While some of the ranges differ, they're all going up:

• One publisher said it spends $164 million on pre-launch development costs and $55 million on marketing
• Another publisher said budgets range from $80 million to $350 million, with marketing costs of up to $310 million for the biggest games
• A third publisher reported costs of between $110 million to $350 million for recent releases
• A fourth publisher said budgets ranged from $90 million to $180 million with marketing ranging from $50 million to $150 million. Its most expensive game cost $660 million to develop with a marketing budget of $550 million.

... so you can kind of count up what a official Sega Shenmue game would cost nowadays
if they want to reach the same overall quality as with Shenmue 1 & 2
but everything upgraded to modern standards + a pr campaign to make the game visible to everyone.
And its easy to see that a budget of 10, 15, 20, 25 mil USD is not much at all,
especially not for a long open world game. A lot of publishers have more budget than that
just for the promotion campaign.

This post is not meant as a "its over guys" post,
its just a comparison for people who think that a big company should get Shenmue back on the AAA budget
or people who think that 7 mil USD is a lot of money for a game.
A overall budget below 30 mil USD probably doesnt even count as AA by todays standards
and if you want to push the game to make it more visible to a potential big audience,
its possible that its gonna be more expensive than the game itself.

 

[ShenSun]

We don't need a triple A shenmue 4. All we need is a polished and expanded version of shenmue 3. Better story, better combat, modern mechanics etc. Shenmue 4 should not cost anywhere near the price of a modern triple A game. Marketing on the other hand is needed. So that's certainly a valid point

 

[WuyingRen]

We don't need a triple A shenmue 4. All we need is a polished and expanded version of shenmue 3. Better story, better combat, modern mechanics etc. Shenmue 4 should not cost anywhere near the price of a modern triple A game. Marketing on the other hand is needed. So that's certainly a valid point

Good games market themselves. I read somewhere recently that Human: Fall Flat had sold over 40 million copies and am pretty certain that that game had a marketing budget of next to nothing. If anything, I find that big marketing campaigns these days do nothing but build up hype, which invariably leads to disappointment.

To be clear, I’m not saying that companies don’t spend silly money marketing their games, just that if a game is good enough, positive word of mouth is infinitely more effective.

 

[Valascaziel]

Lots of opportunities coming up for Shenmue IV to reveal itself, if we're keeping hope alive.

There's the rumored(apparently massive) PS Showcase this month and Summer Game Fest with Keighley.

Beyond that, there is also Gamescom and TGS.

 

[Reprise]

I reinstalled Shenmue 3 and started a new game in Shenmue 1, so I can play through the series again ready for the Shenmue 4 announcement.

 

[Catchanysailorshere?]

Will Shenmue IV be finally revealed on the 110th page of this thread?

 

[Kenzo130]

we are almost in the 111 th page

 

[Reprise]

we are almost in the 111 th page

No one post anything and push it onto the 111th page! They are about to announce Shenmue IV any moment now...

 

[Kenzo130]

No one post anything and push it onto the 111th page! They are about to announce Shenmue IV any moment now...

2 more post after this one and we move into the 12th page

 

[Jesse]

Just to push this thread past the 110th page lol does anyone think IV gets announced this year?

 

[Hermit]

Heres a pretty interesting new Kotaku article about the budget of modern big games.

Blockbuster Game Development Costs Are Out Of Control

Microsoft’s fight over the Activision deal reveals ballooning game budgets

kotaku.com

The recent decision by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to block Microsoft's merger
was accompanied by a 418-page report outlining its research and reasoning,
including a section devoted to ever-rising game development costs (via IGN).
It cites research by market analyst firm IDG projecting blockbuster game budgets
would grow from an average of $50-150 million last console generation to over $200 million
for games released in the next couple years. Back in 2014, it was closer to $60 million.

The regulators then cite testimony from other publishers about their own hit franchises
that reinforces this trend. While some of the ranges differ, they're all going up:

• One publisher said it spends $164 million on pre-launch development costs and $55 million on marketing
• Another publisher said budgets range from $80 million to $350 million, with marketing costs of up to $310 million for the biggest games
• A third publisher reported costs of between $110 million to $350 million for recent releases
• A fourth publisher said budgets ranged from $90 million to $180 million with marketing ranging from $50 million to $150 million. Its most expensive game cost $660 million to develop with a marketing budget of $550 million.

... so you can kind of count up what a official Sega Shenmue game would cost nowadays
if they want to reach the same overall quality as with Shenmue 1 & 2
but everything upgraded to modern standards + a pr campaign to make the game visible to everyone.
And its easy to see that a budget of 10, 15, 20, 25 mil USD is not much at all,
especially not for a long open world game. A lot of publishers have more budget than that
just for the promotion campaign.

This post is not meant as a "its over guys" post,
its just a comparison for people who think that a big company should get Shenmue back on the AAA budget
or people who think that 7 mil USD is a lot of money for a game.
A overall budget below 30 mil USD probably doesnt even count as AA by todays standards
and if you want to push the game to make it more visible to a potential big audience,
its possible that its gonna be more expensive than the game itself.

I find the cost of game development to be so ridiculous at this point. The majority of these big budget games are one and done with most people never touching them again. I know I am in the minority here, but I just find these games to be really boring. It's very rare that I find myself buying any of these big budget games. Sony's games, EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Bethesda, I don't care for any of the games these companies put out, and if I do get around to playing them, they almost never leave a lasting mark on me. They are forgotten about.

The best two single player games I have played of late is a Bullet Hell game called Graze Counter GM and Danganronpa. I highly doubt either of these games cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make.

I remember when Shenmue 3 was in development and I said I would have been 100% fine if it looked exactly like Shenmue 1 and 2. I even remember saying I would have prefered it, and not just for financial reasons. Shenmue 3's more modern design is so far away from what Shenmue 1 and 2 was that I couldn't really immerse myself as much as I would have liked, it just felt like familiar faces in a different world. I don't tend to let the negative reactions online play on my mind when it comes to Shenmue 3, but I do wonder if the wider audience would have been more intrigued and more respectful towards it had they tried mimicking Shenmue 1 and 2's aesthetic. I'm not saying I would never want to see a more modern looking Shenmue, but we went almost 20 years without a single piece of game related media of Shenmue, we leaped multiple generations of game and art design in that time......it just felt a bit jarring seeing such a massive switch from one game to the next.