Shenmue III Gamescom Trailer

Ys Net has released the first teaser trailer for Shenmue III ahead of Gamescom 2017 in Cologne, Germany this week.

The teaser trailer is built from a “small slice” of an in-development build of the game, and provides a sneak peek at the new looks of the main characters, new characters, and the feels of Shenmue world.

Shenmue III is due out for PlayStation 4 and PC in the second half of 2018. It will be published both physically and digitally by Deep Silver.



Official site: https://shenmue.link/order

There it is in all of its glory!! So what do You all think of it?

There are bound to be more announcements regarding Shenmue III in the upcoming days. So I will update the OP as soon as i get wind of some news.

Yu Suzuki's Message:

"Hello PlayStation fans! This is Yu Suzuki, director of Shenmue III.

It’s hard to believe so much time has passed since we debuted the game at Sony’s E3 2015 press conference. Since then, the team has been extremely busy developing the game in Tokyo, but now it’s time to come up for air.

To coincide with Gamescom 2017, we are happy to share the news that we have inked a publishing partnership with Deep Silver! From the early days on the project, the team at Deep Silver really impressed me with their deep passion for the series and their desire to work with us to deliver a proper sequel that all fans will love.

To celebrate the news, I would like to share with you a teaser video built from a small slice of an in-development build of the game. As you will see, the latest chapter in Ryo and Shenhua’s journey begins with a beautiful set piece in China. You’ll also see that we’re aiming to significantly upgrade the game’s visuals, and you may also notice a new character during that quick glimpse of our new battle gameplay…

I’m pleased to be able to offer a small peek into what we’ve been building thus far, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to show you more as we get closer to our 2018 release.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all those who have supported me and the team. I will continue to work hard to deliver the best possible realization of Shenmue III.

Yu Suzuki"


New Screenshots:

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High Resolution models of Ryo and Shenhua:

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Interview 1: Famitsu


Q: To start with, could you tell us about the current state of the development?

YS: When we announced the revision to the release schedule the other day, our discussions with Deep Silver were already advanced. With Deep Silver to become our partner, I realized that we would be able to aim even higher than our initial goals. However, for that additional development time would be needed, so in order for us to adopt these, I set the release timing to the last half of 2018.


The cave where we left Ryo and Shenhua at the end of Shenmue II.
YS: By reproducing the cave from the final scene of Shenmue II using technology that's 15 or 16 years on [from Shenmue II's release], I wanted to show the difference compared to the second game; by increasing the expressiveness, I believe the story's message is heightened. Shenmue III's story starts from the day after the final scene in Shenmue II.

Q: So it really is just after, then. By the way, how do you envisage supporting game fans that have not yet played the first two games?

YS: My thought is to create a visually-based digest that introduces the past story. I haven't yet decided whether this will take the form of a movie or not, however.

Q: Something like the digest movie that accompanied Shenmue II?

YS: I think it will be something simpler than that one.

In addition, Ryo is now following the tracks of his father, so within the story there are times he recalls things from the past, and in the game he can also make international phone calls to characters from the past games. At these times the game may include his reminiscing - "I remember that time with them...".

[When dealing with the story from the past games,] relying on a single movie isn't elegant, so I think it's better to spread it out. I believe we have to make it enjoyable also for people starting from Shenmue III, but at the same time there are parts that will bring a smile to those who have played I and II.

Q: Next, I'd like to ask about the systems [games, jobs etc] in Shenmue III. You have previously talked about Bailu Village, Choubu and Baisha, and stated that there will be different ways to have fun at each. Could you give a little more detail about what those would consist of?

YS: I can't comment in depth yet, since there may be changes during as we tune the game, but at the moment, for example, we're putting a lot of effort creating them in Choubu. They also include some "Shenmue-esque" elements. Such things as tortoises, ducks and frogs will be making an appearance! [laughs]

Q: Meaning there will be some kind of game that uses them?! There was a duck race in Shenmue II, but...

YS: There will also be a race. And I also want to include lure fishing. I have a system planned where various people will tell you about fishing spots, and you can sell the fish you've caught to earn money.

Q: Are there any other ways to make money?

YS: There will be wood-chopping.

Q: Wood-chopping! And how about forklifts...?


A forklift reference contained in the December 2017 Kickstarter Update.
YS: Forklifts... if I don't include them, everyone will be upset with me. [laughs] Forklifts are being readied.

Q: We can't wait to find out more. Speaking of which, we'd also like to find out more about battles...

YS: It's a part that depends on playing skills, and I'd like to incorporate a new system for that. Of course, I'm also considering a new version of QTEs. Moves will become usable through a kind of skill tree, but moves will be gradually accumulated through normal play; I don't plan to make it difficult to learn new moves.

Q: Next, I'd like to ask about the characters. New characters were introduced in the Development Reports, but what kind of roles will these characters have? For a start, there was a girl holding a broom...

YS: She is someone whose existence I would like to make similar to Fang-mei in Shenmue II. I don't know to what extent we will be able to implement that aspect however...

Q: How about the lady who looks like a "Mom"? [see image below]


Character introduced in the end-of-June update.

YS: She's a hotel owner. So you will be able to meet her on a daily basis [laughs]. Having such distinctive qualities in a character is great, isn't it.

Q: Going forward, what kind of schedule do you have planned for releasing new Shenmue III information? Will you be at the Tokyo Games Show?

YS: There's no plan to participate in the Tokyo Games Show this year. I think full-scale promotion will be a little further in the future.

My attendance at this Gamescom event is due to Deep Silver becoming a partner, and because I wanted to let everyone know that development of the game is making good progress. We will be expanding into global marketing going forward, with the year-end likely to be the earliest.

Q: I'm curious about the timing of the scheduled distribution of the trial version [reward] to backers...?

YS: Regarding the trial version, I'd like to spend time considering the best form for it to take. Ideally, I'd like it to be something along the lines of the trial version for Shenmue I.

Q: How were the reward dinners that you held with backers?


Yu Suzuki with backers at the Japan Dinner in 2016

YS: It truly touched my heart. They were attended by passionate fans, and their feedback was "Yu-san, please make a game that you will be happy with".

I really feel a deep sense of responsibility.

Q: Finally, could you give a message to everyone as they look forward to the game's release?

YS: The point I'd most like to communicate is that we have gained a strong partner in Deep Silver, which has allowed us to aim for a "beefed-up" Shenmue III. Thank you to everyone for your support.

Interview 2: Game Watch
  • The released Shenmue III teaser footage is real-time in-game graphics.
  • All charterers models are temporary and subject to change.
  • Facial animations were initially implemented but have been removed about a month ago.
  • The teaser was especially made for Gamescom 2017, no further plans to show more of the game at this year's Gamescom or Tokyo Game Show. However, a full-scale promotion will take place next year.
  • Deep Silver will publish the game internationally, and they'll provide budget and promotional support. A publisher for Japan is to be decided.
  • Suzuki-san would like to continue the series in Shenmue IV if possible.
  • Suzuki-san is not interested in forcing the Shenmue story to complete in Shenmue III.
  • Shenmue III will take around 30 hours of gameplay to complete.
  • The fighting engine in Shenmue III is being built from scratch, and unlike Shenmue II it won't use the Virtua engine.
  • A system that allows phone calls with characters from Shenmue and Shenmue II is planned for Shenmue III.
  • Suzuki-san would like to bring as many voice actors from the previous games as possible, but some are retired now, he will audition a new voice actress for Shenhua.
  • OST from Shenmue and Shenmue II will probably be reused in Shenmue III.
  • The new partnership with Deep Silver is strong and it's aimed to improve the Shenmue III experience beyond what was initially planned on the Kickstarter.
Interview 3: Game*Spark

Q: What shape is the current development status of Shenmue 3 in?

YS: The other day we announced a change to the release date, but at that point talks of a publishing contract with Deep Silver were already advanced.

Working with Deep Silver also means increased stability on the budget front, and since I had been thinking in a scalable manner from the start, we have been able to set our sights a bit higher. Since that brings with it a corresponding increase in things we need to do, I extended the deadline a little.

With this new upward revision to the original plans, the number of developers has also grown slightly.

Currently, we are in full production mode.


Shenmue 3's executive producer, Hideaki Morishita.
Q: I see. With respect to the development, are there any parts you're finding hard?

YS: When I was at SEGA, there were employees who were used to working together. This time, the budget is smaller than when I was at SEGA and the staff I'm working with are people that I have hand-picked one at a time through interviews, so the personnel aspect is pretty tough. I can't just devote my time entirely to development, so the difficult part is getting it done while incorporating management.

HM: There are also things like tuning the game engine.

YS: Right. In order to use the game engine properly, it has to be maintained. In addition, to make it feel like Shenmue, we have to write a lot of shaders and so on.



Q: Quite a while has passed since Shenmue 2. Will there be anything that changes with Shenmue 3?

YS: The biggest change has to be that the game engine has changed. We're using an engine called UE4 [Unreal Engine 4]. Back in our days, the idea of a game engine didn't exist. We wrote our own game libraries and so on [at the time of Shenmue 2], so everything was hand-made.

This time, we have to use a method of creation that fits in with the game engine. Some aspects are very UE4-specific, so it's necessary to work with people who are UE4 experts things for it to go smoothly.

Q: I see. By the way, having the numbering as "Shenmue 3" may make players who haven't played the first games in the series feel a bit hesitant. Do you have any plan to reduce their resistance in that respect?

YS: Maybe I should make release it as "Shenmue 0." [laughs]

HM: I don't think that would work! [laughs]



Q: Do you plan to provide any kind of support for them within the game?

YS: Give it a subtitle: "Shenmue 3 ~ It won't bite you! ~", perhaps. [laughs]

HM: [laughs] There's a lot we're doing inside the game.

YS: I believe we need to include some kind of retrospective of 1 and 2. I don't think it needs to be terribly long. Also, [within the game] you can phone characters from Shenmue 1 and Shenmue 2, and a flashback will play.

This time you'll be starting in a village called Bailu village, where you'll meet various people, and recall things about your father and your friends... in other words, recalling things that happened at the time of the previous games.

Our aim is to use a combination of techniques, which includes doing things like adding in content from the previous titles during game play.

Q: A section of fans are clamoring for a remake of Shenmue and Shenmue 2...

YS: Well, SEGA's IP belongs to them so... we're not really in a position to speak on that.

HM: For Shenmue 3, we have received the license from SEGA on the basis of creating a new game. The license for Shenmue and Shenmue 2 belongs to SEGA, so a remake is something for them to decide.

YS: If everyone tells SEGA, something might happen.

HM: We're aware that there is quite an outcry for it. We would also welcome remakes.



Q: Shenmue has influenced a large number of games, but conversely is there anything, such as games and so on, that has influenced Shenmue 3?

YS: It would have to be the technology. We're using the UE4 engine now, so we have to use methods that make the most of it.

HM: There's not really specific titles that have been an influence.

YS: By observing games that use UE4, you can get an understanding of its characteristics and strengths, so while watching I realized "This is the kind of thing it excels at". However, I don't really know which games are using UE4. I'd comment "As I thought, UE4's great!" only to be met with "That's not UE4." [laughs]

HM: "It's Unity!" [laughs]

Q: Jumping back a little, will players who haven't yet played the previous games, be able to play Shenmue 3 without a problem?

YS: I think we have to make the game so that they can. I'd like to have someone who has never played them to try it and listen to their feedback. I think we will need to fix up any parts that have strong drawbacks.



Q: Yesterday a teaser trailer for Shenmue 3 was released...

HM: Actually, we jumped the gun on it. [laughs]

YS: There's a huge uproar.

HM: It was really planned for today [the first day of Gamescom].

YS: Boy oh boy...

Q: Many of the Game*Spark readers have also viewed it. Among the comments was a concern about the character modeling.

YS: Shenhua, Ryo and the other characters are almost all provisional.

HM: Most of the characters [that appear in it] are provisional, so in that sense there's a risk that we've caused a misunderstanding there.

YS: We still have a lot of work to do on Shenhua. [While pointing at characters] Take this one, it's a character that's close to completion. This one's provisional. This is also provisional. This one too is provisional.





Q: There were quite a number of characters pending modification present in the trailer, weren't there.

HM: That's the case, yes. In a teaser you can't attach that kind of explanation to each and every character.

YS: [Continuing to point at characters] This one's also provisional. Oh, so is this one. We do have characters that have been completed to a pretty high quality level.

HM: But they weren't ready in time for this time's video. I think the showing of the teaser this time, even in a promotional sense, was a little premature of us.

For an extremely long time, since the project was launched in 2015, we hadn't released a video publicly. This time, since a publishing contract with Deep Silver had been reached, we wanted to make an announcement that encompassed a sense of "The project development is moving forward under a new structure; please be reassured, everybody." Discussing among ourselves, there was a general agreement that such an announcement wouldn't work without images, and so our decision came about to release a video this time.

It might sound a bit like making excuses, but even though there were parts that have a long way to go and that we're not fully satisfied with, it was a case of "we can't release nothing, so let's go ahead and release it".



Q: I see. So what are you trying communicate with the video?

YS: It is merely a teaser, so: "We're making Shenmue 3. Please don't forget, OK?"

HM: "Please rest assured that we are working hard on its creation".

Q: Finally, do you have a message to all the fans who are waiting in anticipation for its release?

YS: Having gained a wonderful partner in Deep Silver, Shenmue 3 is now being given a boost. Thanks as always to everyone for continuing to give us your support.

HM: The meaning behind the video released yesterday is that we have formed an alliance with Deep Silver; the [project] structure has been robustly strengthened; and the project is making good progress.

And so, from here on, the game will improve in leaps and bounds. Going forward I think there will be increased opportunities to show the game, so I hope you'll look forward to it.

Thank you very much.


Hideaki Morishita (left) with Yu Suzuki (right).

Interview 4: VG247

I sat down with Suzuki to chat about this dream project, touching on the differences in development, serving nostalgia and Suzuki’s intention to make a Shenmue 4 and beyond. Our chat is in full below.

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VG247: I want to start off by asking about the main difference between now and back when you first created Shenmue. That was one of the biggest game budgets of all time, but now you’re working in a much more constrained setting and with kickstarter money. How are you finding the difference?

Yu Suzuki: First of all, I have to think that the best way… I have to make the characters and the environments with the best of the resources I have at the time. That’s the first thing I started to think. It’s a different budget, a different time period for development, and also the players are quite different from 15 years ago now. Younger players who perhaps didn’t play 15 years ago will be joining up now.

In the previous ones, I created the game engine myself – but now I’m using the Unreal Engine. Right now the thing that’s most important and the thing I’m putting as our highest priority is creating and establishing the sense of the world of Shenmue. That’s most important.

You know, the… unfortunately it’s very difficult to do the very small final details like Shenmue 1 and 2 – that’s very difficult now. As a return, there are many elements in the open world game – but we’re thinking to tighten and connect the elements between the older elements and the open world better.

I was thinking that if you play the various elements of the open world, that it’ll maybe be tied in and connected to the story. I think this is quite a different approach to Shenmue 1 and 2. I think that if I were to take the same approach that I did for Shenmue 1 and 2 now, for a new game, I would fail. So we’re taking a different approach. While if I had 300 employees underneath and 3 years to build, I could do the same thing, but… [laughs] It’s not the reality any more.

A big part of Shenmue 3 for fans is nostalgia. How do you bridge the gap between nostalgic nods and new stuff? The first two games are quite unique in that you really have an all-new cast in each game, but that isn’t so good for nostalgia…

Yeah, this time we will see a lot of new people in the game. But at the same time, you can make a phone call to the characters of Shenmue 1 and 2. When you call those older characters, all of the images come up as your flashback, your memory.

In the form of original screenshots, or new recreations of those scenes?

Movie, a movie from the original.

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One thing that’s happened since Shenmue is the rise in popularity of open world games, and you describe this game as open world. What are you learning from those games and taking and incorporating into Shenmue 3?

Well, I can comment that I am now learning that open world games cost a lot! [laughs] That’s the lesson I’ve learned.

It is very challenging and difficult to make an open world game. Thanks to Unreal Engine – a great game engine – now it’s becoming much easier and a lot of developer can make open world games.
Although I am the originator of the open world, I think so, the later open world games have a budget probably ten times bigger…! So even though I’m the originator, it’s very difficult to compete against such huge budgeted games. Therefore I needed to bring forward new concepts into the game. I don’t know what it might be yet, but perhaps I need to work on a super-closed game rather than an open-world game… something like that.

As to the setting of the world… am I right to expect this game will be more rural than the previous games? The footage so far appears that way.

As you can see, this is sort of a city area [gestures to wall artwork of an old-looking city]. This is actually the second area of the game. As you see the buildings are relatively old, but the town is big. [Suzuki reveals some unreleased images of this area on his laptop] There are a lot of shops you can enter, and it’s quite a large space – but the buildings are very old, and so not necessarily a city in the modern sense.

The environments look fantastic, but there’s been a lot of chatter about the character models this week. What do you have to say to that? Are improvements coming?

You know, to be honest… the faces, they’ve not been properly deployed yet. This is a behind-the-scenes story, but up until a point 2 months ago the face motion has been removed. The developer changed some structure to the bones of the character model, and this caused a problem. Because of the problem, we decided to stop working on face animation for now.

[Suzuki opens his laptop and brings up an internal, unreleased development video showing facial animation tests for Ryo and Shenhua. The animations look fairly decent, and certainly avoid the dead-eyed stares seen in the recent Shenmue footage or Andromeda-style exaggeration.]

This is still the sample model, the older one, but… this is a test. We’re going to make this even better. We’re incorporating about 11 different types of face motion, and we’re working towards that. That will be improved a lot.

shenmue_3_2.jpg

So… I want to ask about the legacy of the series. Where do you see it going from here? Do you see this as… you doing a coda, or do you see it as the start of something new for Shenmue?

Translator: That’s a tough question!

Suzuki: Hmmm…! I’m not sure we can continue the so-called legacy of the series. I know that… of course, there are a lot of Shenmue fans, and I’ve been hearing a lot of requests from people that no matter what the style or no matter what it is, they just want more Shenmue. I’m not sure if I can make a legacy or not, but I will say that it’ll be far better than nothing – I just want to entertain.

I think that probably after we finish this, the next one, Shenmue 4 – it will be coming. I have to do something – I have to start something – so the next one will come.

Back in the day you talked about chapters – about the Shenmue story being a certain number of chapters. Has that structure changed after all this time? How far along that timeline is Shenmue going to take us?

As you know, I wrote an 11-chapter story as Shenmue’s original story. This is a base of the story, obviously. If I make it, we’d need 11 games – and that’s not going to happen! Shenmue 1 was chapter 1. Shenmue 2… around 80 percent came from chapter 2. The remaining 20 percent was sliced from chapter 4, 5 and 6 – pieces of it. And in the case of chapter 3, that was actually totally removed.

You know, originally I thought… maybe with Chapter 2 and Shenmue 2 we’ll make it open world, big, and then next one is going to do a deep, deep dive into a small area – but make it very deep. That’s the concept I was thinking. Think of it as… the world through a telescope is interesting… but also a magnifying glass on a small area would be different, and fun, and most interesting.
I knew that if we made Shenmue 3, people would be mad if I didn’t make an open world [laughs]. I still have a wish where I’d like to make a very closed world game as well. My definition is not an ordinary closed world… it’d be very, very closed… but very deep.

Maybe that’s Shenmue 4, right?

[laughs] Maybe. I certainly have a wish to make that sort of game.

In many ways I think of Shenmue 1 that way, to be honest. It was an enormous world at the time, of course, but when you look at it by modern standards it’s actually quite small – it’s just incredibly detailed.

I guess… well, in Shenmue 3, the first area is probably a similar concept – a Shenmue 1 type. The second area is more of a Shenmue 2 type – more like a bigger open world.

Interview 5: Dengeki Online

Q: How is the current state of development?




YS: Progress on the environments and stages is very good. I would say overall they're at around 70%.

Lighting settings are also in good shape, and we're now adjusting the indoor lighting. We're still at the stage of fine-tuning for dealing with changes over time.

Q: When the release period extension was announced [see our previous post from June], it included the statement "We have been able to discover new possibilities and expressions". What sort of things would these be?

YS: We recently announced our partnership with Deep Silver. I released that video when it was looking likely that we would enter into an agreement. Forming a partnership would give stability to the development, so I wanted to boost the amount of content. The result was this positive announcement that the release period would be extended.

The second area you visit, which can be seen in the teaser video, has approximately tripled in volume compared to what I had been originally thinking, becoming open-world-like. With the original budget I had been thinking that an open world might not be possible, but it's looking like we will be able to give it shape.




Q: That's great news.

YS: There are three top requests for Shenmue: the first is a continuation of the story; the second is an open world; and the third is forklifts. I wonder why "forklifts" ranks alongside the first two. [laughs]

Q: I remember that around the time this title was announced at E3, the picture you tweeted of a forklift caused quite a stir.

YS: Personally, I'd like to evolve to something else in place of a forklift, like a power shovel or that kind of thing... but for the fans, it's forklifts, you see.


Yu Suzuki: "I'd like to evolve to something else... like a power shovel" (Scene from Shenmue I).

Q: Perhaps that single-minded forklift work made a strong impact on people back then, and it has stuck with them.

YS: While we will be showing the next part of the story, realizing the second one - the open world - has been difficult, but it's something that I think we will be able to offer in some form. This answers the question you asked earlier [about "new possibilities"].

Q: I think mini-games, including forklifts, are an integral part of the game. What kinds will there be?




YS: I can't talk about concrete examples. But, there were a lot of minigames in 1 and 2. However, one thing I regretted about them was that their interconnections, and connection with other elements [of the game], was weak.

Even if they are not as fully-fledged, I'd like to improve their integration and extend the connections they have within the world.

In terms of connections with other elements, as well as picking up items, you can also purchase them with money. Money can be obtained by taking prizes won at gambling to an exchange booth and cashing them in, or selling the prizes at a pawn shop.

This will allow you to buy a "move book" and learn new skills to become stronger and defeat boss characters.

In this way, they tie in to the games' progression.

We want to have a running economy within the "Shenmue world". Doing this will give meaning to its open world nature more than the previous games.

Q: Will there be something like a tree for when you learn moves?




YS: The skill tree won't be overly complex, but one is planned. If it's complicated it could be hard to get to grips with, so it will fill itself in automatically as you do various things. However, checking the tree and deliberately building it up I think will be even more enjoyable.

Of course, even if you don't fill the skill tree the game will move forward. Achieving an impressive victory by performing a series of special moves, or barely scraping in with a win - I would like to implement this kind of level of distinction.

Q: Regarding the change of logo, there was an explanation on your official site, but could you tell us about it?



"Shenmue" logo in kanji characters, written by Yu Suzuki's father."

YS: Actually, the kanji version of the "Shenmue" logo was written by my father. I asked my mother to write the characters of "Keep friends, those you love, close to you".


"Keep friends, those you love, close to you": the characters were written by Yu Suzuki's mother."

But I thought I should write this myself.


"Japanese "Shenmue III" logo, created by Yu Suzuki."

One time, although I didn't know how well I could do create one, I thought I would give it a try. After several attempts it began to take shape, and so, thinking that characters drawn by myself would lend it more of a sense of the game's creator and of my own personality, I decided to change it.

Q: Do you have a strategy prepared for people who don't know, or haven't played, Shenmue 1 or 2?

YS: I will create the game so that even people who don't know 1 and 2 will be able to play. However, it's true to say that knowing them will make it more enjoyable. With Shenmue 2, we included a movie of Shenmue 1 of around 5 minutes in length. It won't be something so over-the-top, but I am thinking of providing something based on images and text.

However, something that is too out-of-place would feel clumsy, so I am planning on a scheme where you can make a phone call to the main characters.

Q: Is that a phone call in the real world, or within the game?

YS: It's within the game. For example, if you call Goro he'll say "Yo, bro!" and talk to you about what's going on. If you call Nozomi, who has gone to Canada, she'll tell you about how it is. Through phone conversations and flashbacks, people playing for the first time will be able to get a basic grasp of past events.

Well... I don't know if there were telephones allowing international calls in remote mountain areas, but sticking too much to reality in a game can lessen the fun, so I made a practical decision.

Q: Battles in the prior games included moves from Virtua Fighter, but how about with this game?




YS: Shenmue 1 and 2 contained the Virtua Fighter engine, so we were able to use those moves. This time, there is a completely-new system using a new engine, so that won't be possible. However, I would like to include some main Bajiquan moves.

Q: Last year you walked around Yokohama with backers. What sort of things did you talk about?

YS: Since they had come all the way to Japan, I wanted to show them a town like Kamakura which has a Shenmue feeling.



"Yu Suzuki with the Japanese Dinner reward backers at the Great Buddha in Kamakura."

Also, Yokohama China Town is quite impressive, so we ate dinner there and chatted.

There were some people who talked about the game, while others talked about completely unrelated topics.

With different countries and people, everyone expressed themselves differently. Some weren't very talkative but held a quiet passion, while with others words spilled out non-stop.

I spent a whole day with them all, and each of their sentiments carried through to me. It was a really good experience for me.

Q: What are your feelings to be developing Shenmue again after about 15 years?




YS: Previously when I was developing at SEGA, I managed about 200 people, and from among them I would gather the members I needed or wanted to work with; I was able to work on them as company-wide projects.

This time, as well as having a different development structure, the important thing is how to obtain maximum efficiency from mainly contract workers, within a limited budget. That's what I'm finding difficult.

However, to our advantage is that over these 17 years game engines have evolved considerably, and development efficiency has increased. On the other hand, they have become "black boxes", and it has become more difficult to address fine details. While on the one hand, there are things we can't do the same as Shenmue 1 and 2, on the other hand previously we weren't able to produce such good-looking graphics. Considering both pluses and the minuses... it's a hard call. [smiles wrly]

Under such circumstances, I believe it's important to think about how to make something that will please fans, and how to best structure the game. Although we will be taking a little more time, everyone on the development team is working hard to produce something that people will be happy with. Thank you everyone for your support.

Interview 6: 4Gamer

Q: Thank you for your time today. To get started right away, there was a teaser trailer released to the public for Gamescom. Why Gamescom and not E3?


YS: If the contract with Deep Silver had been completed prior to E3 2017, that might have been an option.

Time was needed for the final signing, so the trailer's release timing ended up being Gamescom.



Q: Oh, that's how it was.

Now, could you tell us afresh the reason for choosing Deep Silver as publisher?

YS: After announcing Shenmue III, we immediately launched a Kickstarter campaign, and that turned out a success.

However, as far as creating an open-world game, even with that the budget wasn't sufficient. So I continued to look for a company we could partner with, and among the several names on my list was Deep Silver.

Q: What was the deciding factor?

YS: Deep Silver had collaborated with SEGA before, and also they were recommended by someone I trust. So I decided to pay a visit to their headquarters, with the end result being that a contract was agreed. I'm feeling relieved we were in time for Gamescom.

Q: After the release date extension was announced there wasn't a lot that seemed to happen, so fans may also be relieved at learning about your partnership with Deep Silver.

YS: In fact, when I announced the change to the release date, the prospect of a contract with Deep Silver was looking promising. Since I made the decision to increase the game's scale and go with an open world, we had more to do and so the extension came about as a result.

Q: I see. So it wasn't due to the negative reason of development running late.

YS: No, the extension is for a pretty positive reason. In an open-world game, a certain quantity of physical things are necessary. When Shenmue III was at a stage prior to forming a contract with Deep Silver, it was slightly too cramped to be called open world.

Q: Through realizing a partnership with Deep Silver, you are "closer to the ideal" then, would you say?

YS: Yes. To demonstrate with a simple example: the number of NPCs in the second town you reach had been planned at 50 ~ 60, but after increasing the game's scale that number will now be around 200.

Q: In our interview with you 2 years ago, you commented regarding the trailer released at Shenmue III's announcement that it had "ended up with a California humidity". Is the new trailer closer to your ideal humidity?

YS: Yes, we've reached the point where you can feel the humidity. Going forward, I'm aiming for graphics you can smell.

Q: Graphics you can smell?


YS: We were able to do it with Shenmue and Shenmue II, so I would like to realize it for Shenmue III as well. Like if some meat has been left out in the blazing sun without being stored in a refrigerator, then just looking at it makes you go "Ew!" - that kind of thing is something I think we'll be able to realize right away.



Q: Would the ideal goal be something like being able to look at scenery that has no characters present and know it's Shenmue III, no matter which part you pick?

YS: Yes, that's how I want to make it.



Q: What's the reason for your focus on humidity?

YS: I'd have to say creating a reality. Just being realistic isn't interesting, so my approach is to embellish it a touch further.

Around the time of the first and second Shenmue games, everyone wanted graphics that were as realistic as possible. However now, we're in an era where achieving that is taken for granted.



Q: Does that mean you're aiming for something that goes beyond "realistic"?

YS: For example, something like a realistic facial expression is something that can be readily realized through face capture.

However, with that you're limited to being able to portray someone who actually exists. If the goal is something that will be interesting as entertainment, then rather than depicting something that exists as-is, I think you have to exaggerate from there, to a certain extent.


Q: Please tell us a bit about the story. How long after the ending of Shenmue II is Shenmue III's story?

YS: A day, or more precisely 6 hours later.

Q: So, that is to say it's set straight after the ending of Shenmue II.

YS: Yes. More than 15 years have passed since the release of II, but in the game only 6 hours have gone by. [laughs]



Q: If that's the case, mightn't it be hard for people who haven't played I and II to follow?

YS: Of course, for new players we have a mechanism in place that so that they can understand the story.

Q: What sort of thing is that, more specifically?

YS: You will be able to telephone characters from I and II, and scenes that you recall will be introduced.

Q: Oh, so rather than forcibly showing a movie partway through, it's a system where those who want to learn more can check it out?

YS: That's right.

However, the content of the conversations you have with the characters will be interesting, so people who have played I and II will also be able to enjoy it.

Q: There are still a heap of things we would like to ask about, but since our time is almost up, could you please give a message to all the fans looking forward to the release?

YS: Through the partnership we have formed with Deep Silver, I believe we will now be able to deliver a game that pursues an open world nature. Thank you for your continued support.
Thank you very much.

Source for Famitsu interview: http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/08/translationinterview-with-yu-suzuki.html
Source for GameWatch Interview: http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/interview/1076791.html / http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/08/game-watch-interview-with-yu-suzuki.html
Source for Game*Spark Interview: http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/08/translation-interview-with-yu-suzuki.html
Source for VG247 Interview: https://www.vg247.com/2017/08/25/shenmue-3-open-world-dead-eyed-characters-shenmue-4/
Source for Dengeki Interview: http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/08/dengeki-online-interview-with-yu-suzuki.html
Source for 4Gamer Interview: http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/08/4gamer-interview-with-yu-suzuki.html
 
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Abu_Senpai

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So i finally watched the trailer

The environments look gorgeous. The models for Ryo and the Master he was training with looks great as does the model for that big buff guy.

Shenhua's model looks really messed up to me though. Also i in some scenes Ryo's face looks dead meaning there is no life to him in some of the scenes from that trailer. Also i still dont like that logo, it looks kinda cheap and i actually preferred the previous one in comparison to it.

But then again were still pretty early on and the game wont be out until next year so i still have high hopes for this game.

Omg the environments looks stunning, especially some of the Chinese related backdrops look just wow, and the scenes of nature as well as the scene of Ryo dueling the martial arts master near that lake looks EPIC!!!

Oh and Shenhuas outfit looks cool but i still prefer the original one. I do hope that her outfit is more than just that one we all saw in the trailer.

Now excuse me whilst i go and watch the trailer 10 more times
 
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RustInPeace

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Chinese democracy? What do you mean?:unsure:

Explaining it takes the fun out of just my simple statement. I mean it will be like the Guns N' Roses album, Chinese Democracy. It will be hyped up and long-delayed (it was announced two years ago, so this part is already happening), and after so many years, it gets released, it's disappointing, and after time's passed, perhaps it will get a critical re-evaluation, now that the hype-tinted glasses are off.
 
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Explaining it takes the fun out of just my simple statement. I mean it will be like the Guns N' Roses album, Chinese Democracy. It will be hyped up and long-delayed (it was announced two years ago, so this part is already happening), and after so many years, it gets released, it's disappointing, and after time's passed, perhaps it will get a critical re-evaluation, now that the hype-tinted glasses are off.

Ahh okay i see. And i get why you would think that. I disagree with your statement of course but i wouldn't be surprised if they delayed it again. So i do agree with you in regards to delaying the game. But regarding its success or un-success. Only time will tell, so until the game is released and i own it. i really dont intend to judge it. But i do get your point and yeah i have seen other games go down that route.
 

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Yu Suzuki is not a mediocre egotistic fat douchebag.

This is one of the reasons as to why i disagree with Rusts statement. I think because it is Yu Suzuki heading up this games development. We should be okay but then again who really nows until we see the final product.:unsure:
 

RustInPeace

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Ahh okay i see. And i get why you would think that. I disagree with your statement of course but i wouldn't be surprised if they delayed it again. So i do agree with you in regards to delaying the game. But regarding its success or un-success. Only time will tell, so until the game is released and i own it. i really dont intend to judge it. But i do get your point and yeah i have seen other games go down that route.

I wouldn't say it's passing judgement, it's just a prediction. Just in general with game trailers, only things I'm personally connected to get me. I'm not personally attached to Shenmue, I am to Sonic the Hedgehog, which is why Sonic Mania's first trailer moved me almost to tears. Watching that trailer, it looks nice, but there's not much more to say, it's such a bare bones trailer anyways.
 
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RustInPeace

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Double post...

Yu Suzuki is not a mediocre egotistic fat douchebag.

You don't have to be to make something underwhelming after many years away, another musical example, Judas Priest's Angel of Retribution, first album with Halford in over a decade, it just falls short of being really good, and I don't think any of the members are egotistical fat douchebags.
 

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You don't have to be to make something underwhelming after many years away, another musical example, Judas Priest's Angel of Retribution, first album with Halford in over a decade, it just falls short of being really good, and I don't think any of the members are egotistical fat douchebags.
Chinese democracy being shit is far from the main reason why he is a medriocre egotistic fat douchebag.
Angel of Retribution was dissapointing because it was the first time Priest didn't try to do something new and fresh, choosing to just rehash Painkiller. But I think they revindicated themselves with Nostradamus.

Shenmue 3 being made has nothing to do with this. Angel of Retribution was made just to earn a quick buck, Chinese Democracy took so long because the douchebag wanted to do something innovative without knowing how, and tried to include whatever trend was going on at the moment to keep "improving" his album. By the time he released it... it was obsolete.

Shenmue 3 is just a game Yu Suzuki couldn't make before because SEGA died so many years ago.
If you want to find the video game analogy of Chinese Democracy... Duke Nukem Forever is your game.
 
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RustInPeace

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Okay then, I'll take out the analogy and stick with the general prediction that this will be delayed, won't do so hot at release, and would need a few years before it possibly gets an re-evaluation. That's from the perspective of someone who isn't attached to Shenmue. If anything, the recent news of Shenmue just confirms it hasn't been cancelled, that it still exists.
 
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Okay then, I'll take out the analogy and stick with the general prediction that this will be delayed, won't do so hot at release, and would need a few years before it possibly gets an re-evaluation. That's from the perspective of someone who isn't attached to Shenmue. If anything, the recent news of Shenmue just confirms it hasn't been cancelled, that it still exists.
That's exactly what happened to the first two Shenmue games.

If you take into consideration the actual state of the video game industry, Shenmue 3 is a game that shouldn't exist... but somehow they are making it.
It will be delayed, it wont sell well, and it will end up being a cult game... but no one is expecting any different.
 

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I don't think the shenmue gameplay style will work in 2017, at least for the majority of people. When Shenmue first arrived it had some many elements we hadn't seen in a video game before but that was 18 years ago and the open world style game play has evolved incredibly. Part of me wants it to be a continuation of SM2, but I think it'll need to dismiss too much of what made SM special (in 1999) in order to be relevant today.

That said, when I heard that music, I couldn't help getting excited.
 
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LightyKD

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That's exactly what happened to the first two Shenmue games.

If you take into consideration the actual state of the video game industry, Shenmue 3 is a game that shouldn't exist... but somehow they are making it.
It will be delayed, it wont sell well, and it will end up being a cult game... but no one is expecting any different.

Who cares about all of that?! We just need it to do one thing, finish the story. If it accomplishes that goal then the game is more than worth it. Shenmue 2 ended with a cliffhanger. I can say that most of us Shenmue fans just want to see this game tie up all loose ends and then say "peace, I'm out."
 
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shenhua looks fucked and the big buff guy looks super cartoony and doesn't fit in at all
 

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