Sega jumped on the money train that someone else started.
Well, yes. Any company would look at a chance to make some revenue. They relinquished the rights because they weren't sure of a return on their investment, especially considering Shenmue wasnt very successful all those years ago.
They were even timid to do these, according to Adam's insider info. Shenmue, despite it's cult following and critical acclaim for the time, left quite a burn financially to Sega when Sony crushed the Dreamcast with PS2s hype train.
Yes, Shenmue has a very strong community, but was it really strong enough to fund a sequel outside SEGA? Was it strong enough to justify efforts to port the games nearly 20 years later?
They did quite a lot to these games for this re-release, in all honesty. They could've just shoveled them, but they didn't. Could they have done more? Maybe, but how did they know Shenmue III's success wasnt just hype off the E3 of Dreams or a one-off for nostalgia goggle wearers?
SEGA has been surprised, very surprised by the reactions to this compilation. Shenmue IV will have only one chance to get made and that is back in-house with SEGA themselves, arguably. Another Kickstarter will not have the same success.
Our support for their efforts on this collection is our one shot to vote with our wallet on the continuation of the series. Now that's a money train I'll jump on.