Random Shenmue IV Thoughts.

I was just thinking it might make the most sense for Sega to develop Shenmue 4 for Sega Saturn.

Think about it, it would be dirt cheap to develop Shenmue with relatively basic 32 bit graphics so the rest of the story could be made as originally conceived and intended.

Plus we already saw Saturn Shenmue and how impressive the game could still look energized by the unholy might of the Saturns dual processors. And if we’re honest the graphics of Saturn Shenmue has aged better than on Dreamcast. On Saturn Shenmue looked just as detailed but gritty and lived-in while on DC everything looked overly smooth and plasticy making everyone look like toy action figures.

They’re are still plenty of Saturn consoles out there and the disc laser reader was well built and still works well today fans would get a Saturn and buy the game.
 
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In the past, one in a hundred programmers could write optimized code for 3D games on Sega saturn. Right now they will be 1 in 1,000 or 1 in 10,000. They will be some of the highest paid employees. Ysnet need to assemble a dream team of programmers from all over the world. :LOL:
 
Only problem is if Sega decided to make Shenmue 4 where would YS figure in it?

They've enough about them to bring him on in an advisory capacity.

Back when they made all stars racing they told Sumo that they had to get the OK of the respective creators to use their characters in those games. So Sumo asked Suzuki directly.

If they're doing that they know full well he'd need to be involved. I'm not worried about that

They'd be involving Yu out of respect and performance of the series. If Sega were to cut Yu out of Shenmue the series would not sell good. Our community would be in a uproar. No Suzuki-san no Shenmue. Sega has the Dragon engine that's a measure of cutting costs. At best they may be mulling it over about how to possibly get it done but I doubt any development is happening. We gotta think of something our best bet is to get Sega to invest in Shenmue 4 and let the fans Kickstarter Shenmue 5. I don't think we can Kickstarter two more games.
 
In the past, one in a hundred programmers could write optimized code for 3D games on Sega saturn. Right now they will be 1 in 1,000 or 1 in 10,000. They will be some of the highest paid employees. Ysnet need to assemble a dream team of programmers from all over the world. :LOL:
Back in the day no one knew how to effectively utilize multiple processors but developer's learned how during the 7th Gen. There might be some transparency issues when trying to render the Lijang river though...

Plus the Saturns 6 button 3D controller would be perfect for Shenmue's fighting controls.
 
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In general yes, completely agree for the controller. :)

I'm not a programmer, but from what I've heard, to make a good 3D game on the Saturn (running on playable speed), you have to do it in Assembler. Most programmers back then worked with C (especially in the western world). Nowadays it's easier to use Unreal/Unity and make the game with that saturn aesthetic. Ugly 3D, square textures, etc.

If indeed these early shenmue footage ran on a stock Saturn back in the day, they must have programmed a great engine. Shame it was not used for something else. I am convinced that such quality work cannot be thrown away. Someone somewhere is storing it and someday it will see the light of day.
 
It's wild as hell to me that we're actually about to get a Streets of Rage 5 before a new Shenmue game lol.

Speaking of that though...

It's wild to me too that Sega can never just find something that works and stick with it.

I thought Sonic Generations was awesome and most people agreed, so of course it made sense to make Sonic Generations 2 and expand on the concept. What does Sega do? Makes Sonic Forces 🤦‍♂️

Then they struck gold with Sonic Mania, so of course they would make Sonic Mania 2, right? Nope, we get Sonic Superstars 🤦‍♂️

Sonic & Racing Transformed was in some people's eyes even better than Mario Kart, so what does Sega do? Do they build upon that foundation and improve it? Nah, they strip it back and create just a Sonic racing game instead with Team Sonic Racing or whatever it is called 🤦‍♂️

And now they released Streets of Rage 4, which lots of people (including me) thought was an amazing revival, so have they got the same team to work on Streets of Rage 5? Nope, we now have what looks like some weird 3D fan made game 🤦‍♂️

It might end up being good, but it does seem weird to me that they didn't just use the same team and engine that they used for SoR4 and keep it 2D.
 
Sonic Superstars is every bit as good as Mania, though.
 
Yu Suzuki about Shenmue 0: “Yes, I have. I cannot go into detail at this point, but it is something I have been thinking about,”

The part that he said he cannot go into detail at this point to me it means something is happening behind the scenes, i really think is possible that Yu-san is developing Shenmue 0 with SEGA, a Shenmue 0 will really fit into this "New Era New Energy" that SEGA is talking about.

Depeding on how Shenmue 0 is done it can be amazing for the Shenmue series.

1. It will be easier for new players to play Shenmue for the first time, more people giving a chance to Shenmue, more people playing Shenmue.

2. New Shenmue Fans, the popularity of the Shenmue series can grow a lot with a Shenmue 0 depending on how its done.

3. Maybe the game will be a success, if this happens it will probably mean more Shenmue games and products, especially if SEGA is involved.

4. With more Shenmue games it will mean that Yu-san will complete Shenmue.

5. With Shenmue 0 it can be a fresh start for the Shenmue series.

Like i said in another post...I would be okay with some changes in the Shenmue Style, i just don't want Shenmue to lose its essence, what makes Shenmue so unique, different and special, so to me is really important for Yu-san to be involved in some way.

I would love to see a bigger and more detailed Yokosuka in a new game.

If i had to choose between a Shenmue IV and a Shenmue 0... i think i would choose Shenmue IV because is more important to continue the story, but a Shenmue 0 is not a bad idea, it is risky? yes, but depending on how Shenmue 0 is done it can be really good for the Shenmue series.

It is really hard waiting but i still have hope that we will get news about the future of Shenmue next year.
 
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Depending on the translation, "I cannot go into detail at this point" might not necessarily mean that something is in the works, just that there's no news to report or it's not something that got past the "I've been thinking about this" phase.

For the VGA announcement itself, I'm excited for all 5 projects, but of course it's tough to gauge the quality based on how little we got to see. I think if hypothetically Shenmue IV was one of the "and more" games, then it makes sense that they'd be waiting to announce it later. I think this first round of announcements was to build hype that a ton of old IPs were being revived, and Shenmue IV would be its own announcement.

Of course I'm not getting my hopes up that Shenmue IV is in the works, but obviously it would be awesome to get Sega's backing on it.
 
The part that he said he cannot go into detail at this point to me it means something is happening behind the scenes,

It could also mean "I literally can't go into detail, because I haven't yet thought in enough detail about it" or "I can't go into detail, nothing is concrete or happening, but in case I ever did get an opportunity to do it, I don't want anything revealed about it yet"
 
Really? It's not even close imo. I like it, but no where near as much as Mania.
Yeah, it totally clicked for me. I like it as much as Mania and the classics.
 
I agree, but i think is possible that something is happening behind the scenes with Yu-san and SEGA, and depending on how its done it can be really good for the Shenmue series.

I would love to see VF6 with Yu-san involved, Shenmue IV and Shenmue 0.
 
im sort of happy that we finally got a DIRECT answer on S4's status, it's waaayyyy less exhausting than getting trolled by various publishers, overanalyzing twitter posts that we think might be hints, or having false hopes that s4 will be announced in the next gaming event.
I wonder how much money Shibuya even contributed to S3?
 
It's wild as hell to me that we're actually about to get a Streets of Rage 5 before a new Shenmue game lol.

Streets of Rage is low risk, low budget and legacy IP that old school gamers will buy off pure nostalgia. I was Sega would do a Streets of Rage type Shenmue beat em up focused on Shenmue 1&2. It would be a low risk venture, cheap and keeping the brand going.
 
For the record if a concept of Shenmue 0 exist I pray to God its after Shenmue 4&5. We gotta focus on finishing what we started first. Shenmue 0 would also spoil many of the answers we are looking forward to finding out in Shenmue 4&5.
 
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