Shenmue Campaign steps it up a notch - but will it work?
Posted by Graham. Filed under G, Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Xbox 360, News, Retro. Tagged with Dreamcast, Shenmue, Shenmue III.
Along with their new site design the guys behind Shenmue Campaign have decided to step up their attempts to get Sega to release Shenmue III and complete the saga. Something that pretty much all Sega Nerds want.
Rather than just getting people to sign a petition, which most sites do, Shenmue Campaign is asking every Shenmue fan to write letters, emails, one line sentences to them, and they will send them all off to Sega Japan - in a bid to show that fans still want the game.
Also over at Xbox.com, they are asking people to request what Xbox Original games they would like to see. Naturally Shenmue Campaign wants you to ask for Shenmue II… and to be honest I would agree, not that many Xbox Originals which beat Shenmue II. (Although I can no longer find a link to this).
The site is also selling Shenmue Campaign-related merchandise, like t-shirts, hoodies etc… with the earnings going towards their goal.
Possibly the biggest push is going to happen in about a years time, at Tokyo Game Show 2009. Shenmue Campaign is planning on making up tons of posters, and putting them up outside TGS and also outside the main Sega Japan HQ.Â
The idea is to try and get more gamers, press and developers interested in the campaign (outside TGS 09) and also trying to get all Sega employees to take notice (outside Sega HQ).
Will it work? To be honest I doubt it, not unless Sega really think they could make money from the game.
But, that said, I want to encourage people to get involved. It’s not going to take much to get involved with something like this. And who knows, it might work in the end.
The fansite, Nightsintodreams.com, was campaigning for years, and Sega did take some notice of them - with them being given some inside info, and an early play of Journey of Dreams. These things can work, but they take time.
But unlike NiGHTS, I would say that Shenmue III is a game that Sega fans do really need (not just want). I know it sounds kind of obsessive, but with NiGHTS - fans had a brilliant game and just wanted to see the franchise continue onto later generations. Which is fair enough.
But with Shenmue, Sega stopped the series before it had ended. We were left hanging in Shenmue II, at quite an interesting cliff-hanger in the game’s plot.Â
It’s basically like George Lucas making Star Wars: A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back - and then just leaving us without Return of the Jedi. We would be stuck wondering if Darth Vadar is really Luke’s father, whether Jabba the Hutt has eaten Han Solo, or if he died after being frozen, and we would all be thinking about Luke and Leia hooking up (we would have never found out that they are twins!)… lots of loose ends to tie up.
[Update:] Of course one big difference between Star Wars and Shenmue is that Star Wars was a massive hit from the off. Shenmue was big amongst Sega/Dreamcast lovers - but as the system wasn’t a massive seller in the first place, it meant the game didn’t sell close to what would be needed to justify a sequel (compared to the cost of making it). So I blame all the buggers who dismissed the Dreamcast in the first place, and didn’t buy one of the greatest, and most unique games ever made.
That is why I think Sega fans are more demanding with Shenmue, they need to know what happens! (Me inlcuded).
So good luck to the chaps over at Shenmue Campaign, I wish them all the luck - and can’t wait to see all the posters at TGS next year ;o)
[Source: Shenmue Campaign]
[Image from PennyArcade]
[Special Thanks: Mark Witcher - Via Email]
Comments on this article
There have been 27 responses to this article.
Thanks G!
Ryan
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 6:39 am.
DO IT SEGA
Orta
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 6:44 am.
I support this movement.
kataztrophy
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 7:52 am.
i come to realize sega hates its
loyal fanbase. im the biggest segafan
on earth and this is all we ask for
just a dreamcast replica of shenmue
3. i dont think making it that way
would lose them money at all.sega
is also slowly losing their identity
by not being aggresive toward the competition.i dont know whats with sega america not having japanese
employees here and i really hate soa
developers because they make games
that appeal to americans . i been a sega fan for mostly japanese content.
example you can”t compare creative
assembly”s golden ax to sega of japans valkryia chronicles that title
is handpainted totally and unique wheras
golden ax looks choppy. soa had one
good developer STI and look what happened to those guys they disbanded. team andromeada again
disbanded !!!!! and ofcourse my favorite sega xbox developers Smilebit the guys who perfectly receated panzer dragoon”s spirit
with orta just flushed down the toilet.
sega is responsible for me being a true seganerd because they made and
still can make the best games but
they just need to take the time and listen to us!!!!!!!
dredragoon
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 8:20 am.
I want to see the Yu Suzuki logo again, Sega!
shinneri
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 8:22 am.
Answer: No, it will not work.
Hudson
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 9:45 am.
@dredragoon
I think you’re wrong to say that SEGA hates its fanbase. You need to put yourself in the shoes of a company trying to make money. Would you honestly spend millions making a game for it to make a loss because only the hardcore fanbase brought it? This is the same hardcore fanbase that made the Dreamcast so successful. Companies spend large amounts of money making products (not just videogames), and so they want to sell as many cars, crisps, clothes and computer games (no idea why they all started with C) as possible.
And you’re right, you can’t compare Creative Assembley’s Golden Axe and SEGA’s Valkyria Chronicles as they’re two very different games and also Creative Assembly made Viking, not Golden Axe :)
stinky pete
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 10:05 am.
Well, i’m co-admin of the NiGHTS fanbase and one of the people personaly responsible for ‘Project SEGA 2007′. This was basically me gathering up as many NiGHTS fans as i could from every corner of the planet and send huge project folders to all the main SEGA offices in hopes that they were aware of what the fans had been doing in the last decade that we waited. It was more of an informative pack containing something over 70 to 100 pages. We really didn’t want to see NiGHTS be ruined and me and TRiPPY heard a LOT of leaked information regarding the early stages of NiGHTS: JoD (originally called Bedtime Story) that sounded a bit too ‘out-there’ for something even like NiGHTS.
I put my own money into this project. I didn’t ask anybody to help fund it, it came from my own pocket. It cost quite a bit of money to get the projects together but in the end i feel that our project folders were read by SEGA and that we probably helped shape that final outcome of the game as there were a lot of changes made to what we knew of it and what was in the final release.
These Shenmue guys (i’m presuming it’s the same bunch of people that contacted us asking for advice) are going to go one step beyond what we did and actually try to make an impact in person, face to face with the company themselves. And for that they have my support. They had my support anyway but they’re taking the idea of these ‘Project Folders’ and really making it bigger than what i could have done.
Me and TRiP will certainly be supporting this. It may make a difference in the long run. :)
DiGi Valentine
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 10:35 am.
I think you’re wrong to say that SEGA hates its fanbase. You need to put yourself in the shoes of a company trying to make money -
I understand what you mean Stinky Pete but Sega could of handled Shenmue alot better instead of leaving the fans in the dark. You do know that the first time Sega have mentioned Shenmue since 2002 was about a week ago right? all these people asking about it but nothing not even a reason. Okay we all no why thye haven’t made it cause of money put they could of atleast told us something like Due to changes in the company Shenmue is being put on hold etc.
Tom
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 11:39 am.
DreDragon, Sega doesn’t hate its fanbase. If you want an example of a company that hates its fanbase, look at Nintendo. They refuse to release games that would sell huge in the US because of their ignorant Japanese counterpart (the same reason why Sega didn’t release a ton of JRPGs in the US back in the day). They also ignore core gamers.
Sega’s main need right now is money. If they can’t make a profit, then we can lose them forever. If they make some decent Sonic games to increase profitability, maybe release some compilations (or more downloadable games), then maybe Sega will see it fit to do a very expensive service to their fans.
Gamerschoice
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 2:29 pm.
i heart shenmue, best video game.. my fave ever! hands down!
please
joei
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 3:23 pm.
I think Sega fans hate Sega more than Sega hates its fans.
ratix240sx
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 4:07 pm.
YOU ALL DO NOT UNDERSTAND!!!
Ok guys, sorry for the yelling, but I do not think most of you understand. It’s not that Sega dose not want you to have Shenmue, it’s the fact that Sega can NOT afford to do a project like this , to its high end needs at the moment! In order for Sega to make this possible, they will need a NEW engine because the old one will not suffice in today’s world. 2nd is, that this game is still niche. That means Sega wont profit much and it dose not make no business sense at all considering this would require top $$$$$$$ spending.The 1st Shenmue was one of the greatest and MOST exp games ever made. Sega has fallen hard and is trying to get back up slowly, which is why there going after the shit gamer! which I totally understand. We will be lucky if we can get a new Skies of Arcadia.
We should send letters and ask for something more believable and if that goes through and makes them money, that itself can bring us all 1 step closer to Shenmue 3.
BitMaster
Posted August 18th, 2008 at 4:15 pm.
^ YOU ARE WRONG ON THE MONEY ISSUE
The famous 70 million number was not explained properly and is always misquoted.
While browsing segawebs news archive Zimming came across this news piece dated Dec 26, 1999:
“Sega of Japan has announced its production budget for Shenmue. It might have been more cost-effective to make a motion picture! According to Sega, Shenmue’s budget will tally up in the neighborhood of 7 billion yen! (That’s around $69 million USD to you and me…the budget of a decent action flick, though less than most blockbusters.) Panic not! Of that total, Shenmue Chapter 1: Yokosuka’s share is only 3 billion yes (or $29.5 USD). Of course, a large portion of those costs include the money spent to develop the revolutionary Shenmue game engine which will benefit several of Shenmue’s chapters, so it’ll take less for Sega to break even with each chapter they release. Daily Radar says that the $69 million figure for the series is expected to include all the approved sequels to date (5 so far, though Yu Suzuki plans 16 total) as well as the advertising budget. Still, there is little doubt that every Shenmue chapter needs to do exceptionally well in order for Sega to recoup its investment.”
Shenmue was one of only 6 Dreamcast titles to sell over 1,000,000 copies. Outselling Nights by double….
2nd Opp
Posted August 19th, 2008 at 2:36 am.
SEGA is not having money problems at all.
EA has lost a lot more money than SEGA has, I guess if we do not all go out and buy their sports games they will die forever.
Sega Uranus
Posted August 19th, 2008 at 7:37 am.
@dredragoon
The fact that you said Creative Assembly did Golden Axe just shows you have not researched the subject, furthermore SEGA of America helped in the design of Valkyrie Chronicles.
That being said, I wouldn’t want SEGA making a new Shenmue, unless they find ways to cut the cost of the development, perhaps by using the third Yakuza engine with a bit of odd editing here and there?
If they can reduce the production of the game (Which is a BIG ask, after all, I expect Shenmue to cost roughly the same as GTA4…) then why not, however in the current climate, with the arcades slowly dwindling away even in Japan, now is not the time for massive risks.
Aki-at
Posted August 19th, 2008 at 9:01 am.
well secret level did golden ax my mistake. they are
still terrible anyway. sega should try to acquire treasure
and i hope they could get platinum games in there second party lineup.
dredragoon
Posted August 19th, 2008 at 1:26 pm.
Sega not having money problems??
Wow, I wonder why Sega shut down a shit load of arcades and let go hundreds and hundreds of employees, not to long ago << the fact that Sega merged with Sammy and Snk was a big O SHIT THERE FALLING! THEY NEED MONEY! I guess Sega pulling out of the hardware business, has absolutely NOTHING to do with lack of funds, huh?? ———__________———-
BitMaster
Posted August 19th, 2008 at 3:15 pm.
@BitMaster
WELL WHY DONT THEY JUST REMAKE A NEW SHENMUE 1& 2 INTO ONE FOR NEXT GEN CONSOLE, THEY CAN EDIT OUT THE PARTS THAT CRITICS HATED AND LEAVE THE PARTS THEY LOVED ( i loved all the parts personally, but i do think things such as the job forklift-carrying stuff aspect should be dramatically shortened..) Imagine the next shenmue become a remake.. the it has potential to be a hit.. not blockbuster but very profitable..
joei
Posted August 19th, 2008 at 8:51 pm.
give the shenmue franchise to platinum games and let yu suzuki colab with the platinum team and leads.
joei
Posted August 19th, 2008 at 8:52 pm.
Yeah… still not gonna happen.
Hudson
Posted August 19th, 2008 at 11:37 pm.
Shenmue should not be a cut n paste project! never! it should be what it deserves to be! a high end game that sets the standard. You people are so impatient and its when Sega caters to people like you that we end up with shit.Shenmue 2 still holds some aspects over gta4 and I think the new one should set a new bar.
and whoever said anything about the Yakuza engine?? that games mechanics are no where near Vf, which is what Shenmue is. Another factor is, is Suzuki ready?? look at what dumb as pressure has led some of the greats to…
Kojima=MGS4
Akira toriyama=BDZ GT
Naka=bad..many many bad Sonic games.(even though he is not there I am sure he wasn’t planning on a couple of the last 3d ones he worked on.
I am sure when suzuki is ready to make a new Shenmue, he will convince Sega when they are ready to gamble on a huge risk.
BitMaster
Posted August 20th, 2008 at 12:52 am.
@Joei.
No! You can’t cut out the forklift parts!!!
That was one of my favourite moments in gaming, getting that job at the docks!! Seriously I loved the forklifts.
Althgh Shenmue 2’s choice of working (carrying crates) was effing boring. They should have had like a couple of jobs to choose from rather than forcing people to lift the crates.
We need more forklift driving games!!
Graham
Posted August 20th, 2008 at 3:47 am.
@ Graham
You know what, i can see how most people would hate the crate thing, but to me, it actually help set that real tone for”wow I have to work” that little thing helped me sink more into the atmosphere of the game. You know what a remake of both games would be great, but the priority of the final installment should be dealt with 1st.
BitMaster
Posted August 20th, 2008 at 4:03 pm.
they should have a bigger reward system on the next shenmue. In other words, there should be a reason, an awesome rewarding reason to continue carrying those crates and books. Imagine if those things you bought on shenmue stores with those long hours of work where useable in the fights (trainers) or if we could by clothes or even new bikes. lol the possibilities are endless.
joei
Posted August 20th, 2008 at 6:37 pm.
.. and have an online marketplace to buy-sale-trade all those goodies with other players.
joei
Posted August 20th, 2008 at 6:39 pm.
@joei
Yeah, that’s a good creative idea you have there. It caters to more gamers that way and I would love that. I do have to say that the move you get from Dilyn for helping him is the most effective move in the whole game.
Am I the only one who wants a very very doable, turnbased “new”Phantasy star for portable system?? anybody??anybody???
BitMaster
Posted August 21st, 2008 at 3:03 am.