Suzuki said Shenmue 3 would be more character orientated than open world exploration anyway. So I think this will really work in it's favour too.
This is actually what I'm worried about. I know before the Shenmue 3 announcement we all said "I don't care what it is long as Shenmue 3 is made" but we live in a world where it's being made, so now we're less desperate and want to say what it should and shouldn't be. But I can't think of a Shenmue game that isn't an open world. Shenmue was the first truly open world game I'd ever experienced. That was what drew me to the game. I saw a DVD showing how much freedom the player would have and I was hooked. So to think of a more linear Shenmue doesn't seem like Shenmue to me. I'm not expecting GTA V or Just Cause 2 but I'd like an open world similar in scope to Shenmue 1 and 2.
Yeah, I agree, the open world is very important IMHO. I don't care if the graphics aren't as good as modern AAA games, but it must have an open world like the first two games or it just won't be Shenmue.