Just can't help but feel what a missed oppertunity this was. I mean how much would it have taken to actually spend some time on the game and update the graphics? It looks old, probably will play old too and because of that, there is probably a bunch of potential fans that won't bother with the game.
You are entitled to your opinion but consider this..
Many cases rereleasing games as HD reboots have failed.
The first special edition monkey island had a lot of criticism for voice acting and graphical decisions that took away from the original monkey island feel.
Silent Hill rereleases were also controversial to the originals.
Gabriel Knight rerelease, many fans including new players prefer the originals
I can go on, realize the situation here..
1) Shenmue 1 was exclusive to Dreamcast and out of print for some time now, the GDroms will eventually fail. for new players, at some point Dreamcast hardware will dry up.
2) Shenmue II was never released in the US for Dreamcast outside of PAL versions imported, Shenmue IIx was released for xbox but also out of print now, the xbox 360 emulator doesnt load everything properly which also hinders and makes it difficult to obtain the game.
3) Realize that we had literally no news about Shenmue continuing let alone a re release spanning from 2002 to 2015 for shenmue III and a remastered rerelease in 2018. If you date back shenmue 1s release date in 99 thats almost 20 years that have lapsed from the first game. Understand that fans had been pushing for continuations and releases for roughly over a decade.
4)We are getting both games at a cheap price with both Japanese and English dubs and 1080p support. As much as I would love a remaster, I highly doubt SEGA would take the risk on a full retextured game. If sales are good for the game, then perhaps that will send a message that there is demand for a remake of the games similar to what occurred with Yakuza.