Shenmue 1 & 2 releasing in Japan?

Ianpm31

Ianpm31

Joined
Jul 27, 2018
The official Shenmue JP website just says "2018" and I see no mention from Sega Japan on any social media. It's not available to preorder on Japanese PSN, playasia, and Amazon. I mean what's going on? If it's still releasing on the 21st in Japan than Sega is doing their best to make sure nobody knows about it.
 
I'm assuming all versions are having both language options on it. So wherever it comes out will have English and Japanese voices and subtitles.

Either way you're correct Sega Japan need to get moving.
 
I’ve checked the usual Japanese online retailers and visited numerous physical stores here in Japan to check for preorder availability. Zero presence outside of people online trying to resell the U.S version for a profit.
Curious.
 
If you search for Shenmue on Play Asia, you can pre order every version (US, EU, Chinese)
but not the Japanese one. It's the only version that is not available.
If you search for Shenmue or シェンム on Amazon Japan ー you will only find the US and EU versions
with the PEGI, USK and ESRB rating label on the cover
but the Japanese version should have the CERO label on the cover - nowhere to be found.

Japanese versions don't have PEGI, USK or ESRB rating labels on their cover.
 
It is curious why SEGA West is so ahead of SEGA Of Japan on information with this collection. They haven't even localized the newest trailer.
 
Nobody is questioning IF the game will come out to Japan, just when. And so far Japan is being left with “2018”.
Sega of Japan seems nonchalant about the series.
Different priorities. Shame the Japanese audience can’t ride the hype train with the rest of the world.
 
I wonder why SEGA JP bothered to announce it at a Japanese fan event if they had no intention of promoting it before release. From the outside it looks like SEGA JP said, "Sure, you can re-release Shenmue I & II, but we're still not convinced it'll sell so we won't spend a yen promoting it".
 
I've preordered the PS4 version from Amazon Japan. They are selling 2 versions, 1 is the US version for a marked up price (to cover the cost of shipping from the US to Japan) at 11,420 JPY (102 USD, 88 EUR, 78 GBP) and the other that seems to be the Japanese version for 4,157 JPY (37 USD, 21 EUR, 28 GBP).
I'm not 100% sure that the cheaper versions is the correct version, as the cover is German and in the description it says (言語: 英語) which means Language: English. Shouldn't it says Langauge: Japanese for Japanese customers.

Anyway, if it does happen to be the German version, I won't be upset and will look for another place to get the proper Japanese version.
 
Last edited:
The tweet above confirms that the release date in Japan is the 21st.
 
Kirino_Matsuyama said:
I've preordered the PS4 version from Amazon Japan. They are selling 2 versions, 1 is the US version for a marked up price (to cover the cost of shipping from the US to Japan) at 11,420 JPY (102 USD, 88 EUR, 78 GBP) and the other that seems to be the Japanese version for 4,157 JPY (37 USD, 21 EUR, 28 GBP).
I'm not 100% sure that the cheaper versions is the correct version, as the cover is German and in the description it says (言語: 英語) which means Language: English. Shouldn't it says Langauge: Japanese for Japanese customers.

Anyway, if it does happen to be the German version, I won't be upset and will look for another place to get the proper Japanese version.
Click to expand...

Actually I checked Amazon yesterday and that German version wasn't available. Now after your post I checked again and now you are right! That E.U/German/English 英語 version is there.
It looks like they just added it recently.
And I am not sure who the seller is unlike the marked up U.S version says Sega of America (World).

Anyway though Kirino, you shouldn't spend so much money on the one from Amazon Japan!
Instead, change your country region on the bottom of the website to U.S and buy it from there! You can pay with your Japanese credit card with PayPal and the shipping cost will be much cheaper!
I live in Fukuoka and use Amazon U.S every time in that way.
もったいないよ!

Jibby said:
The tweet above confirms that the release date in Japan is the 21st.
Click to expand...

Any Tweets from Adam Koralik aside,(who I do usually trust with information) Sega of Japan isn't listing it for sale officially anywhere yet.
Either they will do so right before the launch, we get a stealth launch with no pre-order availability or the real launch date is not the 21st and still "2018" as it's officially advertized.
So officially, the 21st seems very much still in the air. Fingers crossed though.

Will continue to check other physical stores here in Japan as time goes on because as mentioned, not even Geo (the largest game store chain in Japan) or Yodobashi (the largest electronics store in Japan) have it available to preorder yet.
 
Last edited:
AXM said:
Anyway though Mr. Kirino, you shouldn't spend so much money on the one from Amazon Japan! Instead, change your country region on the bottom of the website to U.S and buy it from there! You can pay with your Japanese credit card with PayPal and the shipping cost will be much cheaper!I live in Fukuoka and use Amazon U.S every time in that way.
もったいないよ!
Click to expand...

It's really frustrating as I really want to do my small part in making Shenmue I & II a success in Japan. I'll try to visit an actual game shop next week to see if it is possible to preorder an Xbox and PS4 copy from them.

A bit off topic, but recently my PS4 has been playing up, when I switch it on I get a blue light and beeping sound for a second and then nothing. I've purchased a new power supply, but it didn't change anything. I've also tried stripping it down and having a look to see if the CPU/GPU has burned out but it looks fine. Finally I've tried the fix when you put washers onto the metal bar that forces the pins of the CPU/GPU to connect to the motherboard, but this also didn't work. Has anybody else had a similar issue?

I'm still going to get the PS4 version, just to support Shenmue, but I'm going to be playing it on Steam (if I can get it to work). I've already preorded a European version from Play Asia, and hope that my region trick (VPN Tick) will fool Steam into adding Shenmue to my stream account (I know it's a risk, but one that I am willing to take), as it isn't going to be released in Japan on the PC.

There's an interesting Dutch guy working at IGN Japan called Esra Krabbe who is a big Shenmue fan, and I hope that he will provide some information when the game is about to come out.

Here are some of his posts that you might like if you can read Japanese:

https://jp.ign.com/retrogame-column/21214/opinion/2011
https://jp.ign.com/retrogame-column/21358/opinion/2012
https://jp.ign.com/shenmue12/24069/news/iii

記事作成時は北米版の価格のみが判明していたが、『シェンムーI＆II』公式ウェブサイトにて国内版の価格が正式に発表された。PS4のパッケージ版・ダウンロード版はともに3,990円（税別）で販売される。
Click to expand...

From the last link he mention that the Japanese price should be 3,990 JPY (not including TAX).
 
Ah I've seen some of him before.
でも日本語あまり読めない..まだ勉強.. ;)

Also your PS4 problem seems bad. This is the original PS4 model yes?
I also had problems with my launch model ejecting discs. I ended up buying a PS4 Pro.
I don't know about your problem but good luck to you.
 
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@Kirino_Matsuyama

its not so easy to say what the problem exactly is.

maybe its a power supply problem, maybe its a overheating protection problem
maybe something slipped out of position.

its possible that you can fix it by replacing the PS4 power supply, or by wiping the PS4 power socket with a little bit of alcohol,
or by using another socket in your room,
or by unplugging your PS4 - wait 5 minutes and then tap the base of the console a few times (just some soft knocks),
or you could remove the power cable - wait 30 seconds - turn the PS4 on (wont work of course) - put the cable back in
and hold the boot button till it beeps twice, or try to enter a disc but only half way and pull it back out if your PS4 recognises the disc,
try turning your PS4 on the side or upside down, maybe its just a dust problem, ...

there are a lot of things that you can try - maybe it works, maybe not.
 
@Tosh, thanks for the info, and sorry @Ianpm31 for changing the topic of the post.

I've purchased a new power supply unit, so I don' t think that's the issue. Also tried different sockets, and tried knocking it too.I've tried different power cables and holding the boot button.I haven't tried playing about with the disc tray, so I will see if that does the trick. Thanks for your advice.
 
Update:
Ok I'm a crazy fan and I deeply care about the sales of Shenmue and want it to be given a fair chance in today's market so I decided to e-mail Sega Japan and asked them why I could not pre-order Shenmue 1 & 2 and what is the release date.....this was the response.

Google Translate English:

I'm sorry for your inconvenience this time .
Although details will not be understood from the contents you gave us now , is there any difference in the contents about "Shenmu I & II" that
will be released in Japan
?
If there is no mistake in the above The release date of "Shen Mu I & II" is
scheduled to be released in 2018, but for detailed date and time it will
be information that is not released at the moment.
Sorry, thank you for your understanding.
We will inform you on the
official website below if there is any information that we can guide you in the future, so
we would appreciate it if you could refer to that as well.
<Shenmue I & II official website>
http://shenmue1-2.sega.jp/
Although we are very sorry, the
subject of support of SEGA Customer Support is
a window for products of Japan specifications and usage in Japan .
Therefore, in case of inquiries about overseas version "shenmue I & II",
please consult with the relevant office in the country / region concerned .
I am
sorry that I could not help you because of your time taking the time to contact you.
We look forward to your continued support at SEGA Games.

Japanese version:

平素は株式会社セガゲームスをご愛顧いただき誠にありがとうございます。
このたびは、お問い合わせのお手数をおかけし、
誠に申し訳ございません。
現在お寄せいただいた内容から詳細はわかりかねるものとなりますが、
お問い合わせいただきました件は、日本国内で発売される
「シェンムー I＆II」についての内容で相違ございませんでしょうか。
上記にてお間違え無い場合「シェンムー I＆II」の発売日は
2018年発売予定となっておりますが、詳細な日時については
現在のところ公開されていない情報となります。
恐れ入りますが、ご了承くださいますようお願いいたします。
今後お客様にご案内できる情報がございましたら
下記公式サイトにてお知らせして参りますので、
併せてそちらをご参照いただければ幸いでございます。
＜シェンムー I＆II 公式サイト＞
http://shenmue1-2.sega.jp/
なお、大変恐縮ではございますが、セガ カスタマーサポートの
サポート対象は日本仕様の製品、および国内での
ご利用についての窓口となっております。
そのため、海外版の「shenmue I&II」についてのお問い合わせの場合、
該当の国・地域の担当窓口までご相談いただきますようお願いいたします。
お時間を割いてご連絡ををいただきました中、
お客様のお力になれず、申し訳ございません。
今後とも株式会社セガゲームスをよろしくお願い申し上げます。

I think Adam got it wrong or Sega Japan is waiting until the very last minute to announce pre-orders/release date.
 
Maybe the game is digital only in Japan and they're still too embarrassed to admit it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Kirino_Matsuyama said:
I've preordered the PS4 version from Amazon Japan. They are selling 2 versions, 1 is the US version for a marked up price (to cover the cost of shipping from the US to Japan) at 11,420 JPY (102 USD, 88 EUR, 78 GBP) and the other that seems to be the Japanese version for 4,157 JPY (37 USD, 21 EUR, 28 GBP).
I'm not 100% sure that the cheaper versions is the correct version, as the cover is German and in the description it says (言語: 英語) which means Language: English. Shouldn't it says Langauge: Japanese for Japanese customers.

Anyway, if it does happen to be the German version, I won't be upset and will look for another place to get the proper Japanese version.
Click to expand...
Has anyone had their pre-order mysteriously cancelled? I pre-ordered the Japanese (or German?) version, only to find it's been cancelled for some bizarre reason.
 
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