^Aw man, I thought you were just a fan of Yu Suzuki's games n I. Was wondering why you didn't send me any fan mail... :(

lol- I didn't quite understand this until you responded to my pm. I actually thought " Yu Suzuki's games n l " was some kind of Manchester slang for "Yu Suzuki's games and all".

Well I have officially sent you fan mail, and consider you to be one of the many people around here I'd like to actually meet at a pub. I'll be the guy sitting at the special needs table.

^I'll likely pick it up and enjoy it, but I completely agree with you in principle. This game borrows so heavily from Ico it's almost sad.

Devs need to focus on making the next Ico, as it were.

Oh, and if Team Ico could get their act together and release The Last Guardian that would be very nice thankyouverymuch.

So I stopped in the Microsoft booth today and got a look at the Xbox One. These were devkits which I'm pretty sure will be nearly identical to the retail boxes. I played Forza 5 and man, it looks really good. I haven't been particularly amped about the Xbox One before, but seeing the hardware and games in the flesh definitely sparks some excitement. I also took a peek at Killer Instinct and Assassin's Creed.

Some pics:

http://i.imgur.com/WdLQsIe.jpg
The hardware behind glass. Nice.

http://i.imgur.com/b1OkY0o.jpg
Watching the Forza demo while waiting in line.

http://i.imgur.com/9oTd3M7.jpg
Killer Instinct.

http://i.imgur.com/SpL6WHd.jpg
Badge and lanyard

http://i.imgur.com/tCMhxgG.jpg
Achievement shame. What can I say? There's a million things to see and do at Fan Expo.

I'm getting genuinely excited about the new consoles coming out. There's some pretty sweet gaming ahead.

And that's why there's an increase in a sense of hopeless, apathetic disappointment among many. Because we're living in an age where so many of us really don't know what the hell is going on in this world. We're just along for the ride, wherever it takes us.

It's honestly why I have a love/loathe relationship with the movie/television/gaming media we consume. It makes us passive.

Now where's my remote?

A used PSP 1000, and PS Vita wifi/3G bundle with a 1-year PSPlus membership.

The only handheld gaming I've been doing over the last few years has been on an iPad. These are MUCH more fun.

*throws wallet at screen*

Nicely done, SpinDash.

Which image is on the film cell? I have a feeling it's different for every soundtrack.

It's hard to tell from the one I have, but it's a closeup of a face. And since scanning this now, I just noticed the audio waveform that goes with the clip. Sweet!

edit: after taking a look at your enlarged pic, it's clearly a different face on the film cell. I wonder how many unique pieces there are.

http://i.imgur.com/xczBViQ.jpg

I don't think so. The only sample version of Shenmue I've seen is for the first game that you posted above.

Yo Dojo peeps- I'm just about finished a month-visit to China and it's been great. Tomorrow is finalizing packing then the wife and I fly home the following day. If you're interested I can post a thread because I've taken about 5 million pictures here. I didn't think my index finger could press the shutter button that many times.

Miss you all sincerely. Yes, I've been drinking.

Qix wrote:

Mitsuzuki wrote: We're probably about the same.

You shouting at kids to get off your lawn yet?

I don't have a lawn.

Me neither, I'm just using it as an expression.

I can't wait to get to this point:

This is huge. He always deflects answers for Shenmue-related questions, and here he will be talking about it exclusively about it for an hour- translated by the architect of the PS4.

Even if there isn't a word about the potential future of Shenmue, this at the very least will be a fascinating dialogue into what brought this game to light in the first place.

Hype.

Hey Fenix- you'll need to find a proxy site- A company that will purchase items from places like YAJ or Amazon Japan on your behalf. You'll have to spend a fee for their service; usually a percentage of the final auction cost plus whatever shipping cost to send to you.

There are a bunch out there so if you're interested, google away and find one that suits you best.

There's nothing quite like shooting giant bugs with big guns.

Just looked in here now too- wow.

Great work, xhizors92!

Great news, for sure ShenSun. Must feel like a huge relief.

Here are some of the highlights from Suzuki-san's slideshow. So busy in the chat I was, I didn't realize the other window had a bit of overlap on some screens.

http://i.imgur.com/4m1tZQF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0LfLROw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1pb7cUy.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3kxw4hW.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VxQEv5w.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ixgxRrT.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ZceFDrF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ODSk44f.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/MeFQoiJ.jpg

Here is some literature on the two Softimage plugins for Shenmue: Softimage 3D Extreme and Softimage 3D Base.

This piece is from a Japanese company called Born Digital, who are still up and running.

Front
http://i.imgur.com/h5xk90e.jpg

Back
http://i.imgur.com/Zb6Rx2O.jpg

As a funny aside, doing a search for Shenmue (in Japanese) on Born Digital's site yields a single result: Edge Magazine's book called 1001 Videogames You Must Play Before You Die .

This is fascinating stuff.

As soon as I saw images 1 and 3, they immediately reminded me of the 1999 Shenmue calendar. I've taken some snaps of most of the months. The ones missing are familiar pictures of Shenhua so I didn't bother taking them.

As far as I can recall offhand, I haven't seen this artwork in any other Shenmue merchandise. But this stuff is absolutely beautiful to look at.

There's a light directly above so apologies for the shine.

http://i.imgur.com/V1MxfPs.jpg

Ox:
http://i.imgur.com/SXry44A.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/AZvpKyy.jpg

Note the eagle:
http://i.imgur.com/pThQOdU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TQLCYXS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ZM41r2z.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/mATQsoX.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zALR6B1.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/N6PV2DR.jpg

And the cover:
http://i.imgur.com/9dYuGsz.jpg

Yeah Fenix, my Shenmue collection is pretty massive. There's a handful of items I'm looking for, but I will one day post it all in here.

Yeah for sure. There aren't a lot of hi-res pics of some merchandise, so it would be great to update the media section here on the Dojo.

I've been kicking around the idea of creating a document showing all merchandise that's been released, along with whatever information is available; like when the merch was released and where, and in how many quantities. Basically whatever info is known on these items. I'd take pics of things I have, and look to the net for stuff I don't have. Then export the document as a pdf.

Would probably take awhile to do and would need the help of others on here, but it could be fun.

BOOM. Official Timex watch is up for sale on eBay:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Shenmue-Ryo-Hazuki-Timex-Watch-RARE-/201079076381?pt=Wristwatches&hash=item2ed13f361d&_uhb=1

Very nice start price.

Just a note if anyone is bidding- you might want to inquire with the seller to see if the watch includes the booklets and original price tag since there aren't any pictures or mention of them in the listing.

Here are pictures of my watch for reference. My outer sleeve has slight discolouring in the lower-left and overall deformation- my guess is a bit of water got to it. Interestingly, the certificate is numbered, but from what I've read in a previous listing less than 200 were made.

http://i.imgur.com/2cqu5EQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RsBpg8F.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/vlOwysY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RLVgKV9.jpg

To what end? Changing hardware specs mid cycle is very rare. Do Devs just focus on making the high vram variant look kick ass, or do they throw in additional expense to optimize their games twice on the same system?

I'm just talking out of my ass here so I don't know. I just remember being an early adopter with the original 360. Wi-Fi? Nope, buy a $100 adapter to get that. HDMI? Sorry, not on this model. Component will be fine for you. HD-DVD? Sorry, another external attachment that became defunct anyway. I'm really just basing my thought on the history of hardware revisions like this plus the backtracking MS has already done with their initial X1 policies.

Even though the average gamer probably doesn't see much or any of a graphical difference in mulitplats, it's widely considered that the PS4 is a more powerful piece of hardware. I have a feeling this will be something MS will eventually address with future hardware updates.

It's real, apparently:

https://twitter.com/ShenmueFans/status/470128694561095680

It does smack of arrogance, doesn't it? They may as well have titled the slide: Things we won't answer.

So after doing some digging online I found this original shirt at a store, and only for $12. Score!

http://i.imgur.com/pX3SFPV.jpg

I got it in the mail the other day, or rather, I got an empty envelope. Somehow, incomprehensibly, the sender did not seal the envelope. The adhesive on the flap wasn't even pulled back. It was a gaping, empty envelope.

I managed to find out through the postal carrier that it came to the facility like this, and after speaking to his advisor, was told he had to deliver it anyway.

Well, that's a first. And a huge drag because I've never seen this shirt for sale before, especially at such a sweet price.

On a separate note, I never got around to picking up of any of Insert Coin's Shenmue items. Last week I saw a shirt was available from their site which I ordered, only to be notified days later it was a mistake and they're all out of stock.

It's been a bad week for collecting. I guess that makes me (puts on sunglasses), shirt out of luck.

*yeeeeaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!*

Wii U Zelda bundle and Mario Kart 8. Will use the promo to download Pikmin 3.

Super-excited to be on board the Wii U train!

Ubisoft summer sale on Nintendo eshop. ZombiU for only $15. Done.

Peter, it sounds like you're on the right track for investing yourself in new activities to keep you busy.

First thing I'd say is keep yourself healthy. Stick with good eating, sleeping and exercise habits. It doesn't cost anything to go for a run or do some sit ups. Moderate your alcohol intake. Living well like this gives you confidence to take on just about any task.

Second thing, don't shut yourself out of a relationship opportunity just because you feel you're not in the right place for it. The right person will want to know the real you, and to support you and watch you grow. It's through the support of others that you will truly start elevating your game. You will want to be a better man for yourself and for her.

And don't worry about family. That's down the road and will happen naturally when you find the right person. It's not on a predetermined timetable.

Agreed- this comes up less than the Timex watch so it's very hard to find. Still looking to find one myself.

Great pickup.

Installing the Destiny Beta..

Really looking forward to this one. Hype levels rising!

I've started as a Hunter. I'm tempted to try the other two classes, but I'll likely ride this one out until the end of the Beta.

Done the first two missions so far. Overall, I really like the art direction and general scope of the game. It feels ambitious and full of breadth. The level-ups are great and I enjoy scavenging for materials. I also like how you're on a mission and you suddenly find a group of other people whom you can choose to join up with or carry on doing your own thing.

Oh, and the music... dat music. So good.

I also just reached level 8- max for the Beta. I played tonight and last with a friend and it was great.

We played most of the missions on Hard for the extra XP and it was a satisfying challenge. The big bosses require a LOT of work to take down, but somehow it doesn't feel monotonous, even with wave after wave of subordinates that have to be taken down to get ammo. I suppose it's because it is challenging, and my friend and I were constantly chatting about our locations, health, where ammo drops are, enemy locations, and most importantly, should we attempt a revive. We were always kept on our toes.

There are upgrades on everything- armour, weapons, cloaks, ships, you name it.

I particularly like how you can play in story mode, or go at it in team vs. team in the Crucible, trying to get kills and protecting several flag locations. Really it's a lot like Battlefield in that regard.

So now I can choose to either unlock more weapons and equipment by finding more Glimmer (the game's currency), or just choose another class and have a go at it from the start. I'll likely choose the latter.

My friend and I had one really cool moment where a third person somehow joined our fire team (we set it to friends only). In the mission, I was standing in a hallway next to the random while we spotted enemy in a large room in the distance. I trained my sniper rifle and took a few moments to line up the perfect shot. The random guy waited patiently while I did, and once I popped off the enemy's head he and my friend immediately dove in the fight. It was a wonderful little moment of synchronicity.

There's still more I can do in the Beta, but holy cow I can't wait for the full release. It'll be interesting to see if our characters with all their upgrades will transfer over.

The book is 30 pages long and written completely in Japanese. There are bios for the primary voice actors, details about the play mechanics such as FREE, QTE, the weather system and characters, amongst other things.

There's a very interesting Making Of section, with photos of the Japanese voice actors doing their lines, maps and character art which includes images of what look like actual 3D busts of game characters. There is also a production flow chart- perhaps showing character interactions. It finishes with a section of Yu Suzuki talking game concept.

The reason why there's no scans is because someone would need to sacrifice the quality of their art book by either folding the pages fully open (which would give a spine crease) or by tearing the pages out altogether. You would have to do one of those two things to get satisfactory scans as images and text goes right to the inner spine.

I actually have two of them, and can take a few pictures if anyone is interested. I remember Peter had a bunch of images in a thread some time ago.

I would be interested in taking pictures of all the pages if I can enlist the help of someone who can translate Japanese to English. I'd love to know what the book says.

Glad you're enjoying it, Fenix! But I am super-jealous you met the man and got it personally signed.

I have a couple of the games signed, but since I picked them up from eBay there's no way to know if they're actually legit, or whether the seller decided to get creative with a $2 sharpie.

Nice. Have you tried Eternal Darkness? It's a GC classic.

http://i.imgur.com/DoSFjxs.png
Shamelessly grabbed from GAF.

Well, it's been a gaming night to remember. Sony was already dropping bombs starting with TLG, but a PS4/PC Shenmue 3 Kickstarter that will likely be funded by tomorrow is almost beyond comprehension. I'm thrilled to be a $500 backer.

I think I'll wake up tomorrow and run to the internet just to make sure all of this wasn't some kind of dream. And now, finally, the dream will become reality. Incredible. What a time to be a gamer.

'night Dojo.

P.S.- great work on the OP, Peter.

Yes, we are all hyped about the recent news about Shenmue 3 being made though Kickstarter, but the game will not be as good as the first two games. Looking at the screenshots of Shenmue 3, it looks terrible. It does not have any shenmue feeling to it. It just looks plain and generic. I know it's early to judge, but looking at these ingame screen shots, they look pretty bad. At least it's better than nothing.



0/10.

So can we now delete this thread? It's completely incorrect and irrelevant.

I'm older than you, MK and I'm totally stoked about Shenmue 3 coming down the pipe.

That is, I will be stoked once I wake up from my afternoon nap.

Suzuki says tiers will be added between $500 to $3000, which will generate more funding from existing pledgers. I think it's safe to assume we'll hit the $5M with ease. The big question is how close to $10M will it be by the end of the project.

That's a pretty good idea.

Or, if the final version she decides on sells well, perhaps she can make the other ones available for sale as well. If I like the design of the first, I'd happily buy another.

Getting around to watching this now, so thanks for the youtube links, people! I don't want to dogpile on the host, but I can't help it. At about 7 minutes in it's barely watchable. I'm not sure I'll watch the rest.

Awful host, awful set, awful sound and lighting. Mr. Suzuki is being a pro, though- I'm not sure how he can tolerate the quality of this entire format. At least the right questions seem to be getting out there. With respect to his responses from the answers, the host should be embarrassed. I know I am.

It really is such a shame, because Mr. Suzuki and this franchise deserves so much more respect to the Shenmue brand and the marketing needs to reflect this.

There are many voices out there that seem to "demand" all the answers, which I find particularly annoying. First of all, because this is so early in the development process (it's just Kickstarting so it's super-early), ideas and processes are still being formed. And secondly, this is Mr. Yu Suzuki we're talking about here. We know he wants to make the best game Shenmue III can be and we already have the trust in him that he will. It's really that simple.

For people that are new to Shenmue, perhaps the marketing should focus on Yu Suzuki himself. Have it start with a mini-bio on himself and the games he made before Shenmue. Then focus on all the innovations that Shenmue I and II brought to gaming which we all now take for granted. For example:

Open World:
As far as I know, Shenmue was the first game of its kind to have the kind of open-world scale so many games have now. This game came out over a year before GTAIII, which previously was a top-down game.

Magic Weather:
Never seen this before in a game. The seasons changed as you played, and the weather changed accordingly. NPC's brought out umbrellas when it rained. Wasn't the weather modelled after actual weather from Yokosuka in 1986-1987?

NPC's:
Depending on where you are in the story, each NPC Ryo interacts with will say something relevant to that point in time. They have their own daily schedule. Store owners will leave their home in the morning, go to work, then go home at the end of the day. Incredible.

These are just some examples but we all know there's so much more. The piece could finish with what Mr. Suzuki hopes to accomplish with Shenmue III, with our help.

The Shenmue brand needs to be better handled during this critical campaign not only to help make Shenmue III be the best game it can be, but to give the history of the game the respect it deserves.

If I remember correctly, Corey and many of the other English-speaking voice actors were asked to give their lines with a specific delivery which may have come off sounding a bit stiff.

If that was the case, I'm hoping a more natural delivery will be encouraged for Shenmue III. For me, Corey's voice in itself is a natural fit for Ryo.

I'm lucky enough to own two copies of the art book.

Here is another tread where Peter posted images from his:
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=41557&start=350

It's beautiful. It's so cool seeing production images from the voice actors, location sketches, the maps, etc.

The map in the upper-right on the left page is Aberdeen and Wan Chai.

I don't know about the other two since all the text is in Japanese.