First Shenmue commercial you ever saw?

Jesse

Jesse

Joined
May 21, 2020
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Shenmue
PSN
Jrockstr
I was curious and I thought it would be a good time to reminisce while hearing everyone's different stories about where they were, when it happened, and their thoughts after seeing it?

I've mentioned quite a few times on here but I was 12 back in 2000 and the first commercial that I ever saw about Shenmue is that absolutely horrendous Who's Nozomi commercial. Somehow after seeing that ad I knew in the back of my mind that I needed that game at all costs and I was on for one hell of a adventure. Luckily I got Shenmue for Christmas that year and I've been on this magical journey every since.

What are some of your stories

 
Didnt see any commercials back in the UK and was 13 back in 1999 but i remember seeing the Dreamcast magazine in the store i used to do my paper round from and looking at a feature on Shenmue and being fascinated by the fact it had a Coke vending machine and your house had a Saturn.
 
The very first trailer (or "rolling demo" as they were known back then) for the game that was featured on an Official Dreamcast Magazine demo disc. With the release of each new issue, my older brother and I would pop in the disc and watch all the trailers before touching any of the demos. The two of us watched our very first glimpse of Shenmue in utter awe and total disbelief that this was a video game. About thirty viewings later, we finally got around to trying out some of the games on the disc. Then another few viewings after that.
 
i don't think there is any on live tv now, but back in the late 90s there was short (15-25min) computer game news and review shows. that's where i first heard and saw shenmue 1.

they showed the short classic trailer, while the tv host talked over it, explaining what the game was going to be about and how realistic it was going to be. i was sold. ..after metal gear solid 1 on the ps1, i was hunting for the next, realistic and cinematic game.. shenmue was clearly it.

i had seen a dreamcast display console at blockbusters, which you could try but i wasn't that interest in it, it was only shnmue 1 which made me buy the dreamcast.

..s2 was a little different, while there was information in magazines, i didnt see any clips or trailers on tv, i had to seek them out online ultimately joining the shenmuedojo before its release looking for information.

imo sega did a good job marketing shenmue 1 but were terrible with s2. it was almost like they shadow dropped shenmue 2, i remember even the guys at the computer game shop had heard S2 was meant to be a good game but showed little interest in it, as it was on the dreamcast. (times have changed, people own multiple game consoles now, back then, it seemed they stuck to one)

this is the first clip i saw -
 
I didnt have a Dreamcast but badly wanted one because of Shenmue but wasnt allowed as we already had a N64 and PS1. There used to be a chain of game stores called Jakarta and there was one in Reading town center where they had a playable Dreamcast with Shenmue on it and spent an entire Saturday afternoon completing the first disc.
 
I don't remember ever seeing one! Sure, I've looked a few up on Youtube since but when the game(s) were first out? Unfortunately, no.

The only way to stay updated on Shenmue 2 was to read up on it in gaming magazines. I can remember pictures of the Wise Man's Qr long before the game came to Europe.
 
Never saw any Shenmue commercials until few years ago. Back then in the 90s there were no Shenmue commercials here in Austria.
 
I never saw any commercial, but I was already gaming on a Nintendo 64 when Shenmue was announced as a Dreamcast title and the very impressive screenshots were revealed and showed in my gaming magazines

Although I think I tried it for the first time in 2015 on a used SEGA Dreamcast I purchased, it was only with the HD version (which I purchased at launch day) I kept the game in my backlog and had my first playthrough years after

I guess Shenmue 1 was my Christmas 2020 game, and Shenmue II was my christmas 2022 game , but Ive played 1 again before starting 2

Im glad I lived enough to play them, I guess
 
Hearing all of these stories is truly fascinating to hear I wish I could reply to you all. I'm trying to rack my brain but like I mentioned I think the first time I heard about Shenmue was that Who's Nozomi ad. I didn't have gaming magazines back then though I oddly remember that Dreamcast Magazine clip Red mentioned though I could have seen that later on.

I had the Prima Guide I got around New Years man I wish it didn't get destroyed it was so awesome.

Also I swear I had a magazine that had a preview inside of Shenmue 2 coming in the Summer for the Dreamcast but no one I have talked to remembers it. Am I going crazy lol?
 
Jesse said:
Hearing all of these stories is truly fascinating to hear I wish I could reply to you all. I'm trying to rack my brain but like I mentioned I think the first time I heard about Shenmue was that Who's Nozomi ad. I didn't have gaming magazines back then though I oddly remember that Dreamcast Magazine clip Red mentioned though I could have seen that later on.

I had the Prima Guide I got around New Years man I wish it didn't get destroyed it was so awesome.

Also I swear I had a magazine that had a preview inside of Shenmue 2 coming in the Summer for the Dreamcast but no one I have talked to remembers it. Am I going crazy lol?
Click to expand...

here the first Shenmue preview I saw when I was 13 years old, this is from January 1999, as you can see from the magazine page, it shows screenshots from Beverly Hills Wharf and Kowloon

Btw, when Shenmue was finally released, Lan Di was the cover of the magazine haha (not Ryo)
And from that magazine we can notice Sony was already playing the dirty game (Squaresoft announced not only Final Fantasy IX, but waited Shenmue to be release to announce IX, X and XI at the same time)
 

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