Yu Suzuki seems to be working on a NFT project

[Sonoshee]

While I certainly appreciate the optimism, YS doing NFTs to finance Shenmue IV seems like wishful thinking to me.

This was more a what-if scenario than a real one.
It'd be interesting to see what people's reactions would be if he *was* trying to bank roll Shenmue 4 with NFTs. Would that suddenly make them okay?

 

[mjqjazzbar]

I’m not sure I’ve seen an NFT project that isn’t some sort of scam or ripoff, so yeah I’d be pretty disappointed. I’d also hate to hear he’s using Shenmue 4 to sell NFTs or that you’d have some sort of “NFT advantages” in game if you spend more. That gives me Kickstarter flashbacks and that’s the last thing this game needs. At that point I’d say maybe it’s time to end Shenmue differently.

Not to mention the hell they’d face once it’s announced. I can’t imagine a less credible sounding Shenmue 4 than one dealing with NFTs.

 

[WuyingRen]

I’m not sure I’ve seen an NFT project that isn’t some sort of scam or ripoff

This. When the people behind an NFT project pay need to pay somebody famous to promote the project it pretty much always ends up being a scam. What’s more, the influencers who are paid to promote it are usually in on it too, though some are just tricked into being the ones who end up taking all of the blame.

This may well be a legitimate project, but the fact that the people behind it also seem to have paid for a bunch of Twitter bots to leave positive comments on many of the Tweets about it does not fill me with confidence. Let’s just hope that Yu doesn’t get burned if and when this all blows up.

As for @Sonoshee ‘s question, I wouldn’t be surprised if Yu was doing this to raise capital to put toward Shenmue 4, but I can’t see the connection going much deeper than that. The Shenmue series gets enough online hate as it is. If one were to add NFTs into the mix, I worry that the Internet might just explode.

 

[You Arcade Clerk]

This was more a what-if scenario than a real one.
It'd be interesting to see what people's reactions would be if he *was* trying to bank roll Shenmue 4 with NFTs. Would that suddenly make them okay?

I think reactions at the dojo would be mixed; while I can't see anyone genuinely applauding the NFT approach, some people would be able to excuse it if it gives us the fourth installment.

Outside of places like this one though? Suzuki would get decimated, pitchforks and all. Like @tomboz said, the internet might explode. I can already see the YouTube thumbnails with Impact font reading "ScAm ArTiSt Yu SuZuKi Is BaCk At It!"

As for me personally, I certainly hope it isn't an actual possibility. I would imagine Yu-san is smart enough not to even mention the words Shenmue and NFT in the same sentence.

 

[renthusiast]

he's back at it💀💀

 

[Sonoshee]

he's back at it💀💀

For reference:

 

[mjqjazzbar]

Hopefully he makes some $$. These things never do much for a person's PR otherwise...and now he's involving a beloved IP.

 

[red]

Yu Suzuki wants to sell you Virtua Fighter JPEGs because NFTs refuse to die

A series of 1,000 VF NFTs will be "incubated and revealed" in April.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[JP_]

Yu Suzuki wants to sell you Virtua Fighter JPEGs because NFTs refuse to die

A series of 1,000 VF NFTs will be "incubated and revealed" in April.

www.pcgamer.com

“Yu Suzuki, the legendary ex-Sega game designer who has yet to be apprehended for his role in creating the Shenmue series”

Why do people write these things? Isn’t this reporter supposed to be someone who likes Shenmue? I am sure he’s joking, but it still doesn’t help when we already have legions of people online who treat Shenmue as a punchline.

 

[Hermit]

“Yu Suzuki, the legendary ex-Sega game designer who has yet to be apprehended for his role in creating the Shenmue series”

Why do people write these things? Isn’t this reporter supposed to be someone who likes Shenmue? I am sure he’s joking, but it still doesn’t help when we already have legions of people online who treat Shenmue as a punchline.

Not the first time he has taken shots at Shenmue in recent times. He made an article defending QTE's the other day, but read closely and you will see he was taking shots at the rest of the game. By the end of it, he basically said that QTE's saved him from the rest of the game.

He doesn't have to like what Yu Suzuki is doing here, but now I just think he wrote the article because he doesn't like Shenmue.

 

[spud1897]

Not the first time he has taken shots at Shenmue in recent times. He made an article defending QTE's the other day, but read closely and you will see he was taking shots at the rest of the game. By the end of it, he basically said that QTE's saved him from the rest of the game.

He doesn't have to like what Yu Suzuki is doing here, but now I just think he wrote the article because he doesn't like Shenmue.

I agree here. The whole NFT thing isn't good. But taking shots at Shenmue? Why?

Someone can like whatever they want or not but at this point it's very deliberate and IMO poor journalism to take a shot to further a personal view. Aren't they supposed to represent facts?

 

[Seaman]

The Virtua Fighter NFT series implies collaborations, same as the Oasyx blockchain which is supported by Sega, Square Enix and Bandai Namco, among others.
Some time ago, a developer from Tekken series called on Twitter for resurrecting/crossover with Virtua. I want that.
Could also these companies, Square and Namco, as being RPG and fighting/arcade titans respectively.. to be helping in one way or another into S4 project? Everyone shares the risks and if succeed, profits for everyone.
Partially, it seems impossible to keep secret in todays world such big names working on something together. But then also only a handful of such big corporations could keep it a secret. This NFT project hasn't been widespread until they decided, marking the times.

 

[Dehone]

I hope this NFT project isn't being developed in the same way he approaches developing games in that he doesn't play or really follow current games. Sounds like he's really out of touch with this. Celebrities and "influencers" can't even get away with that shit. Logan Paul, Snoop, Lana Rhoades, Justin Bieber, Square Enix. All got pushback for pushing NFTs

 

[deathofaninja]

“Yu Suzuki, the legendary ex-Sega game designer who has yet to be apprehended for his role in creating the Shenmue series”

Why do people write these things? Isn’t this reporter supposed to be someone who likes Shenmue? I am sure he’s joking, but it still doesn’t help when we already have legions of people online who treat Shenmue as a punchline.

PC Gamer should have its legs broken and be thrown in a ditch and left for dead. Used to be a great source until the wrong people got hired there. Now they live for click-bait because it has become a social norm to do it.

As far as the NFT VF goes it's another slap to the face from Suzuki, and with VF! I'm really losing respect for the guy because I've been waiting half my life for a new VF and Suzuki brought the franchise into the NFT business in a peril time for the VF community... seemingly gleeful. Right after the headlines of VF5 making it to EVO Japan.

 

[mjqjazzbar]

I don’t even get what they’re selling, what it does or why I should care. That’s my big issue with it.

 

[thedemon1238]

Nobody knows, that's the funny part.

 

[Testament]

I don’t even get what they’re selling, what it does or why I should care. That’s my big issue with it.

It's essentially a JPEG that you "own," much like those radio ads where they sell you a star in the sky, and you get a certificate saying it's your star despite there being no real tangible ownership. Or the Celtic Titles company who will sell you a tiny patch of land in Ireland for less than 100GBP, but you don't actually own anything other than a certificate saying so--you can't go plant a flag on it. It's a novelty and a scam.

 

[Seaman]

It's essentially a JPEG that you "own," much like those radio ads where they sell you a star in the sky, and you get a certificate saying it's your star despite there being no real tangible ownership. Or the Celtic Titles company who will sell you a tiny patch of land in Ireland for less than 100GBP, but you don't actually own anything other than a certificate saying so--you can't go plant a flag on it. It's a novelty and a scam.

That's the case for the speculative use (99% of the times), which lead to scams also with a very high chance. But in cases like this, when the token is backed by big and long-running firms like the ones at Oasyx, there's guarantees granted, in form of rewards, discounts, etc. It doesn't mean that I totally welcome it, as it leans the balance for a casinofication of games but to not give the wrong impression that you're buying just a jpg like downloading from spritersresource. What I wish is that Yu-san gets too much money from one or two of those VF tokens and we choke on Shenmue IV, Virtua Fighter 6 (and beyond) fresh news.

 

[Testament]

That's the case for the speculative use (99% of the times), which lead to scams also with a very high chance. But in cases like this, when the token is backed by big and long-running firms like the ones at Oasyx, there's guarantees granted, in form of rewards, discounts, etc. It doesn't mean that I totally welcome it, as it leans the balance for a casinofication of games but to not give the wrong impression that you're buying just a jpg like downloading from spritersresource. What I wish is that Yu-san gets too much money from one or two of those VF tokens and we choke on Shenmue IV, Virtua Fighter 6 (and beyond) fresh news.

Despite my dislike for ventures like these, I do have to agree that I hope it's successful. Obviously we all love the guy and we hope he can get funding for his various projects. If this leads to Shenmue IV in some way--any way--then that's just fine with me.

Unfortunately, as I predicted a while ago, this is absolutely raking his reputation over the coals. The comments I've been seeing have been quite unkind. I know we live in a comfy bubble here but outside of the Shenmue fandom Yu's becoming something of a joke with the general populace after Shenmue III.

 

[Seaman]

Despite my dislike for ventures like these, I do have to agree that I hope it's successful. Obviously we all love the guy and we hope he can get funding for his various projects. If this leads to Shenmue IV in some way--any way--then that's just fine with me.

Unfortunately, as I predicted a while ago, this is absolutely raking his reputation over the coals. The comments I've been seeing have been quite unkind. I know we live in a comfy bubble here but outside of the Shenmue fandom Yu's becoming something of a joke with the general populace after Shenmue III.

If you ask me my general opinion: I dislike the state of game publishing and Google/Alphabet/Amazon along Valve/Epic dominance.
I see articles and such over japanese media complaining about the west dominance and impositions over creations (which I agree with some points, disagree with others) and demanding a "japanese path", developers there feel they don't have a voice in Steam & alikes.

Is this the best way to step forward? To me, no it's not. They could make their own digital store with their own rules, and more freedom of creation.

About a vast amount of negative comments, I really believe those are people willing to seize the most of VF NFTs at a low price. they wanna hodl.