Yes, that’s right—it’s been 24 years since the Shenmue Dojo first opened its doors on the internet! Over the past 24 years, we’ve experienced some incredible highs and, certainly, some challenging lows. Nothing will ever top the excitement of the E3 2015 Shenmue 3 announcement on Sony’s stage, but we’re continuing to push onwards and upwards, building steady momentum to help ensure a Shenmue 4 announcement happens soon.
Every 4th of the month, the Shenmue community has been out in full force, making sure our voices are heard, with seven consecutive months of trending on X/Twitter during the #LetsGetShenmue4 events. We’re definitely not going anywhere, and we’ll keep fighting the good fight until we achieve our ultimate goal: finishing the Shenmue saga, just as it should be!
LOGO
Starting today, we’ll be using our amazing new 24th Anniversary Shenmue Dojo logo, designed by staff member Jibby. This logo not only reflects our branding with its Shenmue mirror-inspired styling but also proudly features the #LetsGetShenmue4 hashtag! Keep an eye out for news about a limited-edition pin badge featuring this design, which will be released in the coming days as part of our celebrations.
GIVEAWAY
The celebrations at the Dojo are massive today, with an incredible giveaway package that one lucky winner will have the chance to claim!
To win everything shown in the image above, head over to one of our social media platforms, find our 2PM post, and follow the instructions. Best of luck!
HISTORY
In case you’re wondering how the Shenmue Dojo came to be all those 24 years ago, we encourage you to check out the History section, accessible from the top of the page, to reminisce about simpler times. Here’s an extract to get your nostalgia flowing:
Andy Bandos.
Andy is a name that everyone in the Shenmue community should know. It’s so hard to imagine today that all Shenmue fans had during the turn of the millennium, in regards to online Shenmue news and information, was via major news outlets such as IGN, Gamespot, and various general fan sites created to cover video games in general. The internet was still primitive, a wasteland, an exciting frontier where anyone with some coding and design knowledge could pitch their own individual stake, and lay claim to their newly acquired blank canvas within the World Wide Web.
The Shenmue Dojo is the oldest, and longest running Shenmue dedicated site still active on the internet today, and whilst the entire Shenmue community has grown beyond what anyone could ever have imagined, it’s important to us here to go back to the very beginning of where this all began. One person, one game, one small idea that would go on to touch millions of people over the course of time since its creation in 2000.
Thank you, Andy for starting it all.
In the fall of 2000, Shenmue had been available in Japan for around 8 months, and as customary it was back in those days, news began appearing thick and fast in the Western world’s video game magazines. Official Dreamcast Magazine, both UK and US editions, began to grace their issues with mouth-watering screenshots and news articles covering Yu Suzuki’s latest and most ambitious video game ever, and it was these very issues where Chicago based Andy Bandos began to get hooked.
With that, the idea was set in motion, and the birth of a Shenmue centric, online website was born just days after the US release of Shenmue on November 14th, 2000. “Ryo’s Place” was the first incarnation of what would become the “Shenmue Dojo”. Designed with a red and black theme (popular with most new internet sites from that era, due to the desire of wanting to “stand out”) and a bulletin layout, Ryo’s Place demonstrated 2 key principles right at the very beginning; the latest news on all things Shenmue related, and the building of a community.
The first 2 weeks of the sites opening saw Andy begin to add anything and everything Shenmue related to the site, including the history of Shenmue, chart position of the newly released title, and gathering various reviews from both printed and online sources. Along with keeping the site as up to date as possible with Shenmue related content, Andy simultaneously reached out to build connections with other sites on the net at that time. Developing affiliations with other sites was a tactical strategy used to not only grow your own site at the time, but to also help others grow along with your own, and the first site to affiliate with Ryo’s Place was “Outpost Sega”. Whilst other affiliates would be achieved in the future, Outpost Sega was not just influential with being the first affiliate of Ryo’s Place, but on 16th December 2000, they allowed Ryo’s Place to have their defunct ikonboard forums, and thus the first interactive fan community was born. Within a month, Andy had set up one of the world’s first Shenmue fan sites, as well as a community forum where fans could register and share their love for this new Shenmue video game.
Hey, we know that guy! 👀 Even a renowned criminal like Ren needs a burger from time to time. You can find him wandering the streets of Niaowu throughout Shenmue III. 🍔
Here's a short walk through Niaowu to see in your new week, Shenmue fans. 🏮⛩️ Ryo's even got dressed up for the occasion. Soak up that cosy atmosphere and keep it with you today.
Each street corner tells its a story. 🌆 Everything in Shenmue's world design is intentional and handcrafted. The places that Ryo explores are as much a character in his adventure as he is.
Born on this day in 1959, Etsuko tried her luck as a model, before finding her way to Asia Travel Company... where she now runs a perfectly legitimate business and always takes great care of her customers. 😬👀
Friday's here, Shenmue fans! 🎣 It's time to do something you enjoy. Go to the movies, play a game, listen to a favourite album... or go fishing with these dudes! Life's for enjoying, so go have some fun. 💙 ...
For this week's throwback, we've got a lovely old sketch of Fangmei. Her hair is quite different in this early design, but she still gives off that trademark Fangmei energy. And is it just me... or does she kind of look like a cat? 🐈 ...
