http://i.imgur.com/YDMwskX.png

Greetings everyone. Today, I thought id update you all on the Shenmue Gaiden project. Everything is going according to plan and we're making great progress. It's certainly a very ambitious project, but i'm confident we can all make it a reality.

http://i.imgur.com/vJbGkUY.png

http://i.imgur.com/NsmXXW3.png

Shenmue Gaiden currently has two types of models, original and new. The upcoming demo will contain the original models, whilst the full game will contain the new detailed versions. These new renders take time unfortunately. Here's a sample of both types.

http://i.imgur.com/EtlN19o.png

The image on the right is the newer model. It has improved lighting, textures, details and special effects. Esspiral continues to improve and his work is simply amazing. I wish I could show you more :)

http://i.imgur.com/BA0DjKD.png

Fully animated weather has now been implemented into Shenmue Gaiden. Currently, only rain is functional. Expect more in the full game.

http://i.imgur.com/d6JmoEJ.png

Although this is a still image, the rain particles are fully animated when playing. This effect gives the game a more professional a authentic feel.

http://i.imgur.com/9uUtQUX.png

We now have the original Shenmue Modder, LanDC working with us. LanDC will be composing music for the title. I've heard a few sample tracks from him already and they sound GREAT!!!. Check out his latest public Shenmue remix below.

http://i.imgur.com/N0DBZvI.png

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH7gkAC0dQU

In addition to this, we've also been given some other great amazing music for the project. Samples to come in following updates.

http://i.imgur.com/g9XBb1X.png

I'm happy to say that after some testing, Characters will now be able to blink and have their mouths move when speaking in a conversation. Here is a prototype shot of one of the characters.

http://i.imgur.com/BZ4uKDm.png

http://i.imgur.com/PUKK8w2.png

During certain periods of the game, you'll be able to freely explore various areas. To do so, we've implemented a world map containing the playable areas of Guilin. Simply choose an area which you wish Ryo to visit and you'll be taken there instantly. Pick carefully, as each area will have different sub stories.

http://i.imgur.com/7V0h5PV.png

http://i.imgur.com/D15nNTQ.png

Throughout the game, you'll be given the option to spend more time with certain characters. You'll be given a ton of choices to choose from when engaging in conversation. Choose wisely. Each choice will alter the character's response and perception of you.

http://i.imgur.com/GcAENhi.png


http://i.imgur.com/K1N3dpo.png

We now have a sample script for those who wish to do voice acting. Please record as many characters as you'd like and upload your demo reel to youtube or email them directly to [email protected]

DOWNLOAD THE SAMPLE SCRIPT HERE
http://www.filedropper.com/shenmuegaidensamplelines



http://i.imgur.com/432rOpt.png

Finally, we'll be posting a new help thread in the community section. This thread will be use to request specific help from everyone. We can't make this project fully without your input. Please help as much as you can. Link to follow.


That's Novembers update for you. Please give us your feedback, suggestions and questions. If you'd like to help out on the project, please send us an email. [email protected]

Thanks everyone.

Hey guys just read a really good interview with Cedric on Sega Nerds:

http://www.seganerds.com/2015/11/23/interview-biscay-discusses-shenmue-iiis-development-fan-reactions/

He makes some very interesting details, such as thinking that it's extremely important to have a I & II HD remaster before III, and then goes on to say a big update at Monaco Magic in one of the following questions - possibly could we link two and two together :D?

Good read anyways :)

Hi guys,I shared the pictures with you. :P :P :P

The man who gave the gifts to Yu is Xingyunliushui, and the complete video of chinese conference was also conducted by him, and uplaoded by me.

Photo Gallery: http://imgur.com/a/YsVT9


list some of the photoes
http://i.imgur.com/EsV9yEo.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/Oz1Ecrg.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/X5ETWGo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/GL8jMb3.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NpuZggm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/CFlCzaM.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/dGAyLfF.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1OtZJhb.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHwxjwISgKo

Most interesting parts :

(5:10) About MAGIC 2016 in February
There will be a progress statement. Normally, we have the ambition to show a trailer... well rather a teaser I'd like to clarify, with the first true reliable images so we're ambitious. At least, we'll see new things like images, explanations about the game, story, etc.

(16:29) About Yu Suzuki
He's very nice, infact we are basically great pals, that's the reason we work together as well and he's a very humble person ( note : Cédric stresses this point during the video because not all the creators he knows are friendly in the gaming/anime universe and sometimes act like divas ). I think he is humble because he did everything that was possible to do in the sector of gaming. I was always fascinated when he showed me photos of him with Spielberg or Mickael Jackson but with calm, not as someone like a stalker. And you know what, it was those people who were happy to be pictured with Suzuki because his games provided them a lot of fun and they wanted to collaborate with him. So he doesn't boast at all about it, he's really supercool, we get on very well, and above all, we often drink good wine together. He likes wine, so I do. It's generally the common lot of our discussions (laughs).
Question : Which wine is his favorite ?
Cédric : Well it's a bit of expansive wine (laughs). He enjoys the really great wines, the Château Margaux, etc.
Q : And Romanée-Conti, and goes on...
C : So, yeah I admit we didn't reach this level together yet but we drunk some Château Margaux from his own wine cellar.
Q : His Tokyo-based wine cellar, isn't it ?
C : Yeah, a mini wine cellar in his office at his home but I will say nothing because I own a wine cellar in my office too so I refuse to make fun of him (laughs).


(18:35)
C : The production is progressing well, we're not late at all, it's still planned for Christmas 2017 as we decided. You know, a big interest is there, it's a traditional month for the players. Ok there are other moments in the year but it's usually better to release a game at Christmas.

Q : Since when you're working on Shenmue III before the announcement exactly ?
C : I admit we're not talking a lot about things like that, I don't want to be already impolite but (laughs) it's kind of confidential.

(19:51)
Sega is the IP owner. So for us, making Shenmue III is a huge risk because we don't own the IP. If you own the IP, that means you make a big return on investment. In our case for example, our return on investment will only be from the sales, period. We will not see the money generated by the goodies for example.

I think there are 200 000 big fans.

About AAA status
(Shenmue III) will not be Call of Duty but it will be a really good PS4 game and will easily meet the current PS4 standards.

My hidden goal was $5 million (for kickstarter).

(23:45)
What I anticipate is that Sega releases Shenmue I & II HD. Of course I must make clear that's not official but just what I wish. For me, it's the only viable way for selling well Shenmue III, so beyond the fans network. We also thought about doing a little manga or animation based on Shenmue I & II story but that's nothing compared to remake Shenmue in HD version. About the question you ask me about the hype, while it did not influence us, I think it can for others. I have the feeling that now everybody is interested in Shenmue, for example, at the companies level, to release related goodies.

Q : When was your first encounter with Yu Suzuki, how, and around which wine you seduced him ?
C : Basically, I was interested to meet him. I met him in Tokyo thanks a common friend. Then we talked about a lot of things, firstly Shenmue of course as a fan but I'm also fan of Virtua Fighter so we had a lot of common things to talk. I also bring him to an event in the south of France, then the Anime Game Show at Monaco in 2013 where the official discussion about Shenmue seriously started out because before this moment, it was really impossible as Sega didn't want to let the IP at all. So we're become real friends and we met again several times at San Francisco. We also did together the GDC , the Napa Valley as you mentionned wine. So we indeed drunk all the great American wines while discussing about how to find fundings for Shenmue III. Well it looks quite simple but you know, I do my business since almost 15 years in Japan, you can't meet Yu Suzuki so easily but thanks my job, the doors open a little more easily.

Q : Indeed, a bit like the Jet Set. The hardest part is to get in, and you did it.
C : I would say rather the Jet Set of Gaming (laughs)


(40:08)
Q : How many people are working on Shenmue III development, currently and actively ?
C : Well, our friend Suzuki didn't allow me to talk. He said to me "Don't talk about it, they will discuss again, etc". So sorry I can't answer your question (laughs).

Q : But it's a lot of people, isn't it ?
C : Yes of course, it's a video game so there is a minimum. Moreover, since the annoucement in June, we received so many requests from people who want to participate in the developement, that never stops ! There are even developers who want to work FOR FREE, it's insane. Then it smoothed down a little. For the Shibuya Production mail, I receive personally only 3 or 4 emails per week while in June, it was crazy, they were dozens and dozens of people per day, phone calls with "We want to participate in Shenmue III". [...] There were Australians, Japaneses, Ukrainians... they weren't random guys in their garages but true studios !

Q : Can we suppose that the team, although mainly Japanese, is pretty international ?
C : The team is essentially Japanese but with indeed some foreigners who live in Japan, who speak Japanese. You know that if you don't speak Japanese, it's very complicated... well I'm saying but I don't speak Japanese (laughs), but if you're working among a team, it's difficult.


(41:57)
Q : Will the PC version be optimized compared to the PS4 version ?
C : Good question, I would say "Yes".

(56:15)
Q : Outside the kickstarter, will a physical version be available ?
C : Yes absolutely.

(59:10)
Q : Will the PS4 and PC versions cost a different price ?
C : No at the moment but it's something that can change for multiple reasons. But at the moment, no.

And have to keep in mind that Shenmue's story has changed. Like Yu Suzuki loves to say, there's the "original story" and what Shenmue is today.

I'll probably watch trailers etc as I don't really mind spoilers anymore. But I have to agree about the Nico Nico's video spoiler. That one was huge and I wasn't expecting him to reveal it so soon. :mrgreen:

Until which point the story has changed ? If it's just about quests between keys points of the story, it's not a big deal. But if the change concerns the identity or the will of some characters, that would sound really enigmatic.

Shenmue is pretty short if you rush and go from A to Z without taking your time here and there.

Shenmue III could (we don't know) last 7-8 hours if you rush for the first time or 30 hours if you take your time to get all the dialogues etc.

Then people will try to do some speedrun and will end up finishing the game in 2-3 hours so it all depends on how you're looking at it.

First playthrough is what matters the most to me. I'd be happy with a 15-20 hours Shenmue III.

Shenmue 1 takes over 8 hours to speed run even with the skip disc 1 glitch. Those work days and unskippable cutscenes really add up.

Shenmue is pretty short if you rush and go from A to Z without taking your time here and there.


Shenmue II can be speedrun in a lot less than first. Mainly because you can skip cutscenes.

But Shen I has a lot of articial (or semi artificial), ways to make the game longer, while in SII it's mostly on point (without counting "real way" of gathering money in 2 instances).

I quite like the "unespected" ambushes while forklifting, or the "time to waste" in the first one, but that does matter in second (or 20th time).

Shenmue II has a lot of those "random moments" that get rewarded by exploring, while Shenmue I makes you explore by design.

I like Shenmue I more than II (as I've said it enough times here). Hopefully SIII will have a playtime that doesn't try to drag bullshit (like most wrpg jrpgs of our time).

Although this 30-minute VHS video of Shenmue beta footage was released by SEGA back in 1999, as far as I know English subtitles have not been available.

Happily this is no longer the case as I have now completed adding in English subtitles. Even if you have watched it before you may like to enjoy it again!

https://youtu.be/Ju7b5EeZkYU

Ok, thanks to David from Shenmue Master, there was no video. It was more of a slideshow. Just in case people are looking for a video of some sorts, as previously reported from JapanFM.

I am very happy with the images. Always keep in mind that this is still a WIP and by no means the final article. Imagine these were in a gaming magazine with the game over a year from release. I am over the moon infact.

Here is a translation of an article published in the Weekly AM2 online magazine in June 2000, as requested by Giorgio.

Not a necessity at all, but any chance to translate the official recipe (by AM2) of how the young Ryo Hazuki ate his carrots (carefully picked by the farmers one by one)? I think for Shenmue fans it would be enticing to try them cooked that way in real life!

Link to original article


http://i.imgur.com/VlxZCnJ.jpg
6 June 2000

A Meal at the Hazuki Residence

This project was born from our desire to taste that well-known meal that features in Shenmue.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a meal featuring in Shenmue are the carrots that Ryo ate when he was a young boy. We will be recreating exactly the meal that was served that day at the Hazuki residence, specifically the stewed vegetable dish containing those rounded carrots - we'll refer to it as "Simmered Carrots".

Recipe for Simmered Carrots

http://i.imgur.com/78OAOwm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/q90YdoA.jpg
[Left] Our ingredients
[Right] The carrot in question

Ingredients (serves 2)

⋅ Carrots: 1
⋅ Potatoes: 2
⋅ Snow peas: a moderate amount
⋅ Sesame oil: 2 large spoonfuls
⋅ Dashi [Japanese soup stock] : 1.5 cups
⋅ Seasoning: sugar, mirin [cooking sake] , sake, soy sauce

Preparation

Peel the carrots thickly, with broad strokes; this will result in a more angular, polygonal appearance as you slice them into rings. To ensure they cook through properly, make a cross-shaped cut at their centers. Also chop up some of the carrot into chunks.

http://i.imgur.com/5gd1yhj.jpg
Don't forget that polygonal look

Peel the potatoes in the usual way, removing the eyes. Cut into quarters and slice off the sharp edges to help stop them from disintegrating during cooking.

Frying

Heat 2 large spoonfuls of sesame oil in a pot. Fry the carrots and then the potatoes on medium heat, mixing any parts sticking to the base or sides of the pot back with the vegetables. (Once the vegetables have browned somewhat, transferring them to a microwave oven can speed up the process).

http://i.imgur.com/1QqbOpi.jpg
Fry thoroughly

When the surface of the potatoes turns transparent, add the soup stock to the pot.

Simmering and Serving

After the soup stock has been added, heat strongly and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a low flame, add 2 large spoonfuls each of sugar, mirin and sake and simmer.

Simmer slowly while skimming the surface. When the potatoes have softened, add 2 large spoonfuls of soy sauce and put the lid on.

When amount of liquid has halved add 1 large spoonful of soy sauce and the snow peas. Simmer until the liquid has gone and you're done.

http://i.imgur.com/BxhATxx.jpg
Done!

The Meal from "That Day" is Complete!

http://i.imgur.com/MURwShy.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Tl0jxWr.jpg
[Left] The meal at the Hazuki residence
[Right] Remarkably sumptuous!

Aside from the simmered carrots, for a perfect recreation serve with white rice (heaped flatly), miso soup (nothing extraordinary; just containing tofu and wakame seaweed), cold tofu - divided into large pieces. katsuo [dried bonito shavings] topped with ginger, and a slice of grilled salmon. Bon appetit!

The Tasting

And so our "Meal at the Hazuki Residence" is ready, but just at the moment of tasting, [staff member] Takuan stubbornly refuses to eat! His reaction is just like Ryo's as a boy, as if to say "I don't like carrots"!

http://i.imgur.com/x8bERIj.jpg

On hearing this, the chef [author of this article] Nangoku Goro - who loves carrots - gets in a temper.

Nangoku Goro loves to lecture children. He can't let this go without saying a word or two.

"Takuan, while you're still sleeping in bed, farmers are working hard in the fields, carefully picking carrots, one by one. So how can you waste them like that?"

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

With these words, he encourages Takuan to eat his carrots, and...

"OK... I'll eat them."

Gathering his courage, Takuan takes the plunge and faces up to the hated carrots like a true man!

(By the way, carrots are rich in beta carotene, so eating them daily will help ward off old age and cancer).

-------

So, how did you like the "Meal at the Hazuki Residence"?

We checked with one of the Shenmue developers about the "Simmered Carrots", and it turns out that the dish should actually be Niku-jaga [simmered meat and potatoes, a popular Japanese dish] ^_^. From its appearance we weren't able to detect any meat so we didn't include it in the recipe, but when you are making "Simmered Carrots" at home you can turn it into the even more delicious Niku-jaga by adding 100g of thinly-sliced meat, 1 onion and 100g of "shirataki" noodles.

It's here!

https://youtu.be/nOs3FX-29Fg


Media coverage
http://metro.co.uk/2016/06/03/fan-remasters-shenmue-the-movie-into-5-hour-long-epic-5921456/
http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2016/06/03/shenmue-the-movie-gets-fan-made-remaster/209928/
http://agetimes.net/tech/gaming/fan-remasters-shenmue-the-movie-into-5-hour-long-epic/
http://www.gametoppc.com/2016/06/gaming-fan-remasters-shenmue-movie-into.html
http://hu.ign.com/shenmue/13059/news/eld-at-ujra-a-shenmue-filmet
http://www.polygon.com/2016/6/4/11858558/shenmue-the-movie-high-definition-full-version
http://www.gameplane.de/shenmue-remaster-von-shenmue-the-movie-veroeffentlicht/
http://n4g.com/news/1914461/shenmue-remaster-of-shenmue-the-movie-published
http://www.gamecrate.com/shenmue-movie-gets-proper-fan-remake/13744?hootPostID=738c94624bee5a411c809e8cb0751b4b
http://www.rebelgamer.de/2016/06/seht-euch-hier-shenmue-the-movie-in-high-definition-an/53376
http://n4g.com/news/1914461/shenmue-remaster-of-shenmue-the-movie-published?info=true

Old OP contents
I am pleased to present to you the trailer for my recently begun project-

Shenmue: The Movie Remastered


https://youtu.be/jGmwkT-bFLQ


I've always been disappointed by the original, and although I understand that they had run time and disc space limitations to work with, I felt that Shenmue: The Movie wasn't an adequate experience. I decided just a few days ago that with the power of modern emulation, I could remake Shenmue: The Movie the way I felt it should have been done, and in 1080p this time.


I'm happy with how the trailer turned out, but keep in mind that not all of the footage you see here is final. Certain parts of the game have given me some trouble, for example the "microstutter" you probably noticed in the Yokosuka harbor scene. I'm hoping to get every second of the 3-5 hour long finished product as perfect as possible.
Edit: Fixed the stutter in the harbor cutscene and uploaded a new version of the trailer (embedded above).

"Can I help?"

Absolutely! However, I will be doing all of the recording and editing myself to keeps things easier and more consistent. What I will need that I'm not sure I can do myself (not very well, at least), is assets like title and ending cards, a custom thumbnail, and probably a new font too. The one by David Brown that I used is nice, but it doesn't support numbers, so I couldn't use it for the intro text or credits. Besides these sorts of things, I'm completely open to any advice, compliments, or criticisms anyone has. This is about creating the best remake possible, not my ego.


As said in the trailer, I'd like to give a big thanks to BlueMue for his advice while I was recording this; David Brown for the Shenmue font he created which I used at the end of the video; Esppiral , Masterchan777 , and Sappharad for creating the awesome Shenmue I&II Auto Fixer; and the entire Demul team for making such a fantastic emulator.


Thanks for watching and reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

My main task was to help out with the content. We've been working on what should be available during the conf etc. I cannot provide details but everything will be available in 7 days. ;-)
Looking forward to it. Perhaps you could give us the slightest tease of what we might see? Just to keep expectations in check of course.

I'm sorry to say that I finally won't be able to go :(

Ah man no way. What happened?


Hi everyone,

I am very happy to announce that I will be on stage for the Shenmue III Conference that will be held on February 27. I've been working on Shenmue III content and hope you will enjoy what's coming. I am looking forward to meeting you !

Awesome bud! And I remember there was a certain conversation once upon a time about you not going! :P

Will try my best to get in the front row, but due to certain things, I have absolutely no idea how the day is gonna play out lol! :rotflmao:

10.000 Dollar for Shenmue III on Kickstarter ...

You are really a great Shenmue-Fan!!! =D> =D> =D>


Lol thanks Hanzumom. Still having plenty of noodles and water to pay for it, bit there's light at the end of the tunnel now. Almost there.

David confirmed as conference moderator.

"9h25 : Conférence Shenmue III avec Yu Suzuki avec pour modérateur David De ville" (magic-ip.com)

Amazing lol.

Hype is rising!!!

I just wanted to say that it's amazing to come back here after some time, find all the latest info, and see the usual familiar "faces" that discuss/help/work for Shenmue 3, all driven by passion. Thank you guys

Not sure what section I was supposed to start this in but I guess the future of Shenmue is somewhere where you guys might have a better chance of reading it.
During my mid teen 14-16 I studied Kung Fu ( I am 39 now) and was described by my sensei as very talented and amongst the best he has seen for my age. Sadly upon leaving school ( we leave at 16 I the UK unless we choose to stay for further education) I started shift work in a local factory and abandoned my club. Despite this I have always remembered my training and have continued to have an interest in martial arts by being big into beat em ups, esp Neo Geo 2D fighters and Sega 3D fighters.
So after once again completing Shenmue 1 & 2 at Xmas on Dreamcast which I have done every year since about 2008.I also for the first time completed the Xbox Shenmue 2 via my 360 for the first time and was pleasantly surprised how good it was ( apart from Rens voice ). But this time I found myself thinking more deeply about the martial arts side of the game and the training/discipline involved in them. Karate appears to be what Ryo is taught by his father despite him saying Ju Jitsue although both are of Japanese origin.

So after 24 years out the game I decided to join a local Karate club, due to the influence of Shenmue, although I dident tell my instructor I was tak8ng it up because of a videogame. After only a month I am very surprised by the similarities of Wado Ryu Karate and the moves Ryo uses in Shenmue. In fact so much of it makes sense and I feel the Shenmue vibe when training as so much of it seems familiar. My instructor has commented how I seem to be naturally picking up Karate but he doesn't know how I believe it is because of Shenmue. This may sound a little sad or egocentric to some of you but I think it shows just how powerful Shenmue is a game and way of life.

On a different note I have had a Shenmue tattoo this morning and will post a picture next week after the scab/swelling has gone down.

Hi all,

I’m the other guy that attended the dinner yesterday. I don’t know if it was the best day of my life, but definitely one of them! Couldn’t have hoped for a better reception and atmosphere, and everyone there played their part in creating an unforgettable experience. Making many new friends along the way, Amir, Rob and I were very lucky indeed...

(As Amir said, I’m unable to disclose much of the actual details of the meeting or post pictures, at least until I have been given permission by YsNet and Shibuya Productions, so please bear with me. Good things come to those who wait 8) )

Throughout the day Suzuki-san gave me the impression of a father figure - a kind leader who always looks out for others, yet very humble and unassuming himself. You can’t tell by looking that he’s a superstar in any way. He’s also very curious, from inspecting details of the Eze buildings to asking about us (jobs, hobbies etc), and you cannot help but feel inspired by his energy.

Once we got down to business (so to speak), you can see another side of his character: dedication. Shenmue is his legacy, and seeing what we’ve seen (incredible, by the way), there’s no doubt that he’s giving his all to the project. Given his talent, and with passionate comrades like Mr Biscay, we should have a lot of faith about the quality of the finished article, so please be patient!

Thank you Dojo-ers all again to make this project a reality, I know everyone would have jumped at the opportunity to experience what I have, but perhaps different circumstances prevented you from doing so. To be honest I didn't initially choose this reward, but considering how life-changing Shenmue is to me, I felt compelled to sacrifice my savings to help Suzuki-san. It's taught me values which I took for granted, and I think has made me a better person as a result. And what's money worth when compared to one's own values?

If you believe the same way, and do still have some capacity to help (money or otherwise), then please do so. Suzuki-san is grateful already to the contributions you have given to him, but with more support Shenmue III can become even better!

Best regards,

Chao

I got a lot of support on my way to Monaco through reactions on this Twitter Image:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CcHfFfGW0AAST6P.jpg:large

It's not easy to have a trip from the Netherlands to Monaco by plane with a young family at 3:30AM on Friday 26th.

My most valuable moment of MAGIC was during the signing session; My eldest daughter was showing the Ryo Statue to Yu Suzuki (before she had a bad feeling about drawing with a permanent marker on her statue :P )
Yu pushed his Golden iPhone 6Plus to our side of the table and asked to make picture with him and the kids.

The interpreter took some pictures; 1,5hours later we discovered this tweet from Yu himself:

https://twitter.com/yu_suzuki_jp/status/703595764409245697

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CcOsmedVIAAe9ii.jpg:large

Thankful for the support I got from my beloved wife :heart:

Ok, so i am at the airport now, ready to fly back to Ireland and the reality of mundane life. Of course, i don't want this weekend to end! But it must, and since i have quite a bit of time to kill i will try to go through an entire play by play of the weekend. I have no ides where this post will go, how long it will be, or if its even interesting. I just hope it gives you all an insight what it was like to be here in Monaco, and also at such an even like MAGIC, where Shenmue 3 was presented.

So, Thursday morning - 3am. I left Belfast by coach to Dublin where i flew to Nice from. The usual no sleep related fatigue, mixed with adrenaline and excitement! I arrived in Nice airport around... 10 i believe, and David DeVille had messaged me beforehand and we had worked out him and Maki (his wife), would be arriving from Paris around the same time! So i waited outside the terminal and shortly after, David and Maki arrived! It was great to finally meet David aster talking for so long online over the years. We spoke for quite a while, about the conference, and other things. So much so, that they missed their bus to Nice! Oops lol. So we came back inside and sat for a while longer chatting, but we all knew how tired we all were so we said our goodbyes and let him get to Nice to prepare for his bay day on Saturday.

Getting the coach to Monaco was pretty standard, and the Hotel was decent enough. I knew i hadn't splashed out top dollar for a 5 star hotel, so it was fine by my standards. So after getting settled, it was time to do the whole trail run practice, to the Grimaldi Forum, but since i was pretty tired i didnt make it that far on Thursday. Monaco is small, but its very elevated per road and street, so the walking was very demanding, even for 0.5km. I will be the first person to admit that i am not a fitness guy, so my legs are killing me right now in the airport lol. I had researched the quickest way to the Forum, and essentially walked about 3/4 of the way there. Getting lost of course the first time. Monaco is all very hidden, from winding roads, to every shop being underground or inside an unmarked building. Trying to find a place that sold toothpaste or body deodorant was a nightmare!! Plus, Monaco is of course, home of the rich. Its extravagance can be seen visually everywhere, with the same amount of car show rooms on every street corner as much as there is a pub/bar on every street corner in Ireland. Bentley, Ferrari, McLaren. They are all here. As well as property shops, with their ad cards in the windows, escalating from 3 million to 250 million was the most expensive looking in the window i can remember. Think the cheapest place i did see, was an apartment with a monthly rental of 30,000 a month. Alrighty then! You also have the fashion labels at every corner. Prada, St Laurent, Rolex, Gautier, Hillfiger, Vuitton, Armani..... More of these shops, and easily more recognisable than a shop where you can buy a loaf of bread thats for sure.

Anyways on Friday, it was finally time to meet the Grimaldi Forum. Inside the foyer, having my picture taken beside the MAGIC banner out of the corner of my eye i seen someone who looked like Yu Suzuki on the escalator going up to my level. He went past a pillar, and i was like, "nah. I hope thats not him" As i froze on the spot, Yu Suzuki and Cedric Biscay walked towards me and i shat enough bricks to build a house in Monaco. I wasnt ready to meet them! I turned the opposite direction and pretended not to notice them as they walked out of the Forum, behind me lol! After pacing around not knowing what to do, and with the shock of seeing them for both the first time, i decided to visit the Japanese Gardens across the way from the Forum, and as i entered, i seen them again!! They were having their pictures taken for the local press! Fuck that, i just turned around and left lol!

Friday night was when shenmuemaster.fr guys, Remy, Emmanuel, Catherine, David, Arnaud, and Mickael were to arrive and we had arranged to meet. But i knew they would be tired so we arranged to meet up at the Forum in the morning.

Then finally the big day arrived. With little/zero sleep, 6am hit and i was awake and ready. Met up with everyone from Shenmuemaster and it was great! Just being with other Shenmue fans who you have talked to, known of, or seen over so many years of posting online within the Shenmue community was an experience merited of making the trip as awesome as it was already. As we were standing at the door, Rob introduced himself and it was great to finally meet someone who was not only going to one of the Kickstarter dinners, but also the on in Monaco! We also then seen David and Maki arrive so it was great to have a quick chat with them again before letting them get inside before us since he had a lot of work to prepare for.
So skipping over a few details, we get inside, and head downstairs to the Conference Hall. It was great, being greeted by a HUGE projection screen with the MAGIC logo on it. (You can use the instagram pics for reference lol). I completely forgot to get one of those translation earpiece devices, so i legged it quickly outside to grab one. We all sat relatively near the front and before long Sebastian Abdelhamed appeared for the introduction. All of the guests were brought out individually, from Kavinsky, to Peter Cross, as well as Yu Suzuki! Also Cedric have a brief speech. Following that, the stage was set up for the Shenmue presentation, and away we went! You guys probably can remember it all right now, more than i can, because i havent watched any footage i recorded on my phone, or Shenmans posts here yet, and its all a blur. But the emotions felt sitting there listening to Yu and then his translation work by Kenji is as you can imagine. No words. Instead of watching an E3 video, or GDC video.... you are really there. Its insane.

After that, we left and of course were all in shock at what we had just seen. Yu Suzuki, Cedric Biscay, Shenmue 3 HD screens, videos, the music as loud as you could want it bellowing around the auditorium. It was amazing. We walked over to another area where interviews and the signings would be happening later, and as we were hanging around there, Cedric walked past and i gave him a shout. We shook hands, and when i said Peter he knew who i was, probably from annoying him on Twitter all the time lol. We chatted, and i had brought him a gift for all the work he has done for getting Shenmue 3 going. He looked surprised by it, so i hope he liked it. We took a picture and i let him get back to the event, since it was his day and i knew he would be busy lol. But before he left, he said to "make sure" to attend the "Crazy Time" segment he was presenting. It seemed strange, but it was easy to begin to think he was saying that specifically since there may be more Shenmue material to come! After that, i met quite a few Shenmue fans in that area, of course wearing a Shenmue 3 t shirt helped. It was great! So many enthusiastic people just as happy as i was. I wish i was more composed and organised to have taken pictures and get their names written down, but it was so chaotic all day, with conversations jumping from between 3 -10 people in quick succession! I still cant even keep up now!

Skipping some more details again, we went up to ground level and we all chilled out. Grabbed some fresh air etc, and i met Julien from gamerblog.fr. A really nice guy, and we had an in-depth chat about all things Shenmue, the gaming industry, our backgrounds, the dinner, Shenmue 3, his visits to friends in Ireland and e-cigarette advice which we went outside for a while to partake in lol. He gave me his business card and also exchanged details so hope to see him the next time he travels to Ireland!

We then went back downstairs to where Yu was doing the signing, and it was great to stand before him and get a few items signed. Although it was only 2 items per person, i went twice as i had stuff for other people to get signed who couldnt make the trip lol. Suzuki-san still seemed very jolly and laughed as i approached for the second time, and also commented on the specific pen i gave form him to sign something. It was a great interaction.

After some sitting down and relaxing, time came to attend the "crazy time" event Cedric had told us about. When we got in, the results of the Cosplay competition were being held, so it was great to watch that. There were some AMAZING outfits, so hats off to those guys!! The event was running late, and i looked at the manual to see what was going on. Crazy Time was next, so pretty soon, Cedric appeared on stage, and they started off with bringing out Peter Cross (played Spocks Father in the Star Trek remakes) to talk about his directed feature with Shibuya. He seemed like a nice man, and spoke in English which was always appreciated lol. It was confusing sitting there, since we didnt know what was coming! But then, after him, we heard Shenmue being mentioned and the excitement welled up inside! Suzuki-san was brought back on stage by Cedric, along with the interpreter, Kenji, and thats when we seen the Shenmue House trailer in full HD with the music cranked up to the max. I swear, thats when it hit me the most, like a tonne of bricks. This game is really, really going to justify Shenmue. It was unbelievable. I could not get over it, seeing the Shenmue tree, the cows and woks outside the house, then as the camera panned inside thats when my heart pounded and i could feel my eyes well up. Shenmue music is so emotional on its own (i have the soundtrack on right now, blasting in my headphones as i type this), but combined with how faithful, and BETTER Shenhuas home looked was simply astonishing! Yes, its not a full blown trailer, but we are only 7 months into full development, and my expectations were on such a level of what to expect and what not to expect. The new weather trailer, as well as the fishing pond trailer were excellent, and i expected something like that, which i was more than happy with. BUT that second trailer really went above anything i expected to see. Just, no words....

After that ended, the shenmuemaster guys had some things still to do, so we hung around for a little while longer and i seen Suzuki-san with them. David called me over for a picture, and after that i chanced my arm to get a picture of just me and Yu. Wow!!!! Where do i begin? I cant. I cant even speak about it, when i look at that photo each time...... maybe one day i will be able to tell you more lol.

I forgot i had to return the headset and get my passport back, so i went back downstairs and after returning it, Cedric was walking by again, so quickly said goodbyes, shook hands and said thanks for coming! Awesome ending! It wasnt too late, and despite being tired, i took everyone to McCarthy's Irish bar (hey, its what we do!!) and we all had a beer. Mostly everyone had a Guinness which was amazing lol! We then all said our goodbyes, and that was that. Back to the hotel to lie in bed and try to get my head around everything that had taken place that day. Rest assured, there is more information to come about the day, but not quite right now... i just wanted to give you guys an initial update on how the day went, and an insight into some of the thoughts and emotions of attending a live event with Suzuki-san present, and new Shenmue 3 material announced. I am now at the airport and all good things must come to an end. But fortunately we still have a very long road ahead, so enjoy it! Dont get bogged down in Shenmue HD, or wheres a full trailer! Or voice actors, or logos. Try and enjoy it, because one day this will all be over!


Final thoughts, i have to give heaps and heaps of thanks to all of the shenmuemaster gang. Trent was fantastic to chat to, and i hope again we can meet again in the future, and have more time to just sit down and relax instead of it being such a chaotic day! David is so jolly, and great to be around. My go outside for a smoke buddy lol. So passionate and motivating, it was great sitting beside him during the conference, and seeing the fist pumps of excitement and thumbs up when we got good info lol. Kenji and Catherine were a delight, and it was great to finally talk with Kenji after seeing his interview videos over the years! Mickael was great, and like Trent, a great balance to talk total Shenmue on a more intimate level. Last but certainly not least, Shenman (or Arnaud). You guys already know him from the guy having 4G inside the conference and posting the updates to twitter! He did such an amazing job, and it was great to meet him! He was so helpful during the day, taking my photos with Cedric and Yu, as well as being a huge Shenmue collector, and has also been to Tokyo! All of the guys were amazing, and hope to meet them again soon! Next year guys??? ;)

Of course, David DeVille was a pleasure to meet, and of course his wife. I wish them all the best in the upcoming months with their new addition to the family! He did a fantastic job, not just onstage, but the entire conference, working behind the scenes all day helping out Suzuki-san during his schedule. I hope he can get some kind of work in the Shenmue 3 team, and he is as passionate about Shenmue as anyone i have met!

Also have to say good luck, and enjoy, to Amir, Rob and Chao at today's dinner! It was great meeting you guys, and again i wish the day wasnt as chaotic as it was to get a more relaxed chat with you all. Today will possibly be one of the biggest days of your life so enjoy it!! Also to all of the Shenmue fans i met, it was amazing, and hope to do something like this again! E3?? Who knows! But this trip has definitely given me the thirst to attend more gaming events across the world if the money allows it.

Hope you enjoyed the write up. Any questions, i will do my best to answer, and stay tuned for more to come over the coming weeks!

Cédric Biscay interview at MAGIC Monaco 2016 by Gameblog.fr

http://www.gameblog.fr/interview_948_shenmue-3-notre-grande-interview-de-yu-suzuki-et-cedric-bisc
(read Yu Suzuki interview here )
https://i.imgur.com/rkB6NXo.jpg

Julien : Beyond the great spotlight they put on you at the E3, what is the Sony's role?
Cédric Biscay : First of all, they're "facilitators" for the PS4 release, which is a console exclusivity, so it's Sony who will manage the Shenmue III release on that machine.

So is that about marketing means?
CB: Yes. A lot of marketing means.

So that's their financial investment. Is that all?
CB: No but I can't tell you just like that.

But Sony has also a "direct" financial investment there, hasn't it?
CB: I can't tell you neither, sorry! Really, what is certain and what I can confirm is that their marketing investment is true.

https://i.imgur.com/DtYi3gC.png

All right. So since the tremendous hype has been generated by the Shenmue III announcement, are there new publishers or investors who came forward to join you?
CB: There are people who came up yes but anyway, we have already a team in place. There are interests, indeed, because there was a lot of hype but I cannot disclose this kind of information.

So, beyond the media hype, do you confirm there is a business hype too?
CB: On the business side too, yes absolutely.

Do you still receive requests on your side ? Additional financial means? A support in other areas?
CB: No there aren't specially requests. There was a request for a second campaign (Paypal) because that's the wish of the fans but originally, it was not ever planned. We really followed the fans request since they wanted to back more. Yu also said more he gets funds, more he can make a bigger game but really it's the only reason of why this second campaign exists.

Well in any case, Shenmue III is fully funded now, isn't it?
CB: Yes.

Then the release is still planned for December 2017, do you confirm again?
CB: Yes. In any case, that's what is planned at the present time.

https://i.imgur.com/CSuyvCQ.jpg

After 14 years of waiting, all the fans are happy but keeping ask themselves about the following story since Yu stated clearly that Shenmue III will not be the story end, meaning the necessity to make at least Shenmue IV, maybe more... So I ask: Is a new Kickstarter campaign going to be needed or a relative success of Shenmue III might be enough to fund it?
CB: I will talk very personally and independently from the Yu Suzuki's opinion. In my opinion, if the game is a big success, obviously there won't be troubles to get the sequel. Obviously if it's not the case, chances to get that sequel will really grow slimmer...

When you said "big success", do you mean a lot of sales plus the kickstarter ones?
CB: Yes, exactly.

So what is the goal in concrete terms ? Business side, you have obviously an idea of what you need to reach, haven't you?
CB: Yes I've the idea. Obviously, I can't share you the information but we have to sell it as a "normal" hit.

Do you mean like an "AAA"?
CB: Hmmm, I would say like a good game.

Globally, at least one million sales worldwide?
CB: Ah, that would be cool yes. It's a friendly target for us.

Enough to say "it's certain, Shenmue IV is happening"?
CB: No, I can't tell you just like that. But we would really like to reach that one million sales level, that's for sure.

It's clear this adventure represents a risk for you since the IP does not belong to you but Sega. And considering they lend you the IP, they obviously expect some result too. So, are they involved that much?
CB: They're not specially involved. They give us the IP so we are committed to release Shenmue III, and that's all actually. They indeed own the IP but we earn a return from the sales. It's licencing so a part of the sales is intended to them, logically.

By the way, I believe there is a subject that is dear to you. It's the Saturn version of Shenmue which really exists and is partially playable. I was told that you're personally involved to make the Saturn version a kind of bonus...
CB: Infact, what I would really like, it's not specially Shenmue Saturn as a bonus. My real dream - and I'm not saying that's impossible but I'm aware that's complicated - it's to make Shenmue III on Dreamcast. That would be awesome. Can you imagine this, in your collection? It's one of the first things I told to the team, and they stared at me saying "are you crazy ?!". Because obviously it's difficult in regards of the Dreamcast technology, the IP rights. It's really complex but If I would have a dream about Shenmue, that's it. But it's really hard to set up something like that.

Despite what you said, could it be ever possible ?
CB: For now... I don't feel any particular enthusiasm ! (laughs) That's something I want but it's a fan's fantasy I must admit. After all, you can see how we really are. Above all, we are enthusiasts. Look, I organize the MAGIC and I made the entrance free. We really want that people enjoy themselves. Same here, I want people pleased with Shenmue III on Dreamcast. That wouldn't be a question of business, because if we produce a Dreamcast version and sell 3000 copies, no money can be earned, or you would have to sell it as 150 euros per copy.

https://i.imgur.com/vN8d9f4.jpg

To quickly focus back to my question about Shenmue Saturn, it's about the assets owned by Sega. I wonder if they really open their door for you?
CB: Yes of course thanks Yu Suzuki. They opened their door but obviously you cannot make everything you want. You have to negotiate with them to know what can be used or not, and goes on.

So you logically talked to them about Shenmue 1 & 2 HD... What can you tell us about that?
CB: I can't tell you much about this. What is certain is that Sega can make it. They're aware of the Shenmue III campaign success, so I'm telling myself, as an independent businessman, with all the hype, releasing the HD versions would make sense. But again, it's only my opinion. They told us nothing special. It's not like they're showing little enthusiasm, it's just a different topic than Shenmue III. Sibuya Productions is charged of the Shenmue III production and we have no relation with what it remains. We don't have any information with extra Shenmue III stuff neither.

We can also imagine that Sega is awaiting the result of your work on Shenmue III, to note the good sales and finally come forward to say "Ok guys, let's go together!"?
CB: We can imagine everything but we're building castles in the air, really we know nothing.

Did they ever tell you "if you reach some goal, we invest with you about such and such subject"
CB: No, we never have discussions like this.

https://i.imgur.com/JKIPjhy.jpg

We recently have an interview with Phil Spencer. He told us that he met Yu Suzuki before things have been settled with Sony, that some things happen and some other ones not, that all cannot be done. Then you reacted pretty curtly on Twitter . Can you tell more about what happened?
CB : What it made me a bit annoyed is that he was like to say it was our fault. But it's not. Things haven't been made because he didn't have the arguments which would have make this possible. He didn't have the adequate offer to be considered.

So, he made you an offer but you found it inadequate?
CB: Well in any case, the content of the discussions was not enough. At the timing level, they also woke up a bit late.

Then while you're discussing with Sony, you felt a lot more of enthusiasm?
CB: Sony has immediately been a super partner. They wanted to do it. They proposed to do something exceptional at the E3. Like them or not, they really support Shenmue III.

Getting back to Kickstarter, how the backers from the outset are going to chose between the PC and PS4 version? Will the procedure take place shortly before the release of the game?
CB: Sorry I can't ask you because I'm not in charge of this.

https://i.imgur.com/o1Up4mr.png

Concerning the Kickstarter rewards, the figures, etc., do you know when we're going to see them? Are the designs been validated?
CB: Yes of course. All the Kickstarter rewards have been validated before. We can't propose things that are not possible to make.

But concretely, are these prototypes real?
CB: Yes, yes of course.

Did you have a look at the figures yet?
CB: Yes obviously, we have private informations right now.

For instance, why not to share some photos with the backers then?
CB: For now, we don't think it's the right time to do so but the time will come.

What are your next communication plans? Are we supposed to expect a dead time until E3 2016?
CB: We do like to please the fans. For now, nothing definite has been done until the E3. I can't even tell you whether something will happen at E3 but perhaps we'll decide to show something new. We really intend to maintain the contact between us and the fans. They're important for us so the desire is strong. It's like the MAGIC which is specially made for the fans. We really want to show up stuff. Same intention for the big international events like E3. Here it's a very little exhibition but it's ours, so we enjoy ourselves!

By the way, are you happy to see all these people here, who come from everywhere?
CB: Oh yes completely, we have 50 people who come from United States. There are also the media, the great newspapers...

And Gameblog!
CB: Yes, and Gameblog! It is busy and we can feel a real excitement.

Is it the beginning of a great move upmarket for MAGIC?
CB: Yes because last year was the first edition which needed 5 months to be made and we had great guests like Yuji Naka, Yoshitaka Amano, Shinji Hashimoto from Square Enix... Now we're really focusing on Shenmue - and Life Is Strange too - but for the following year, yes, perhaps we'll get even more stars from video game world... Each year we try to upgrade the formula. Anyway, we have already announced great things.

Alright, see you in the next year and thanks you for your time.
CB: Thank you!

Three screenshots have been found in a slightly better resolution (1400x648) :

https://i.imgur.com/Vyarbv6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/sz41zOw.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/4XzNVhS.jpg

Other news (source : Twitter and Gamersflag ) :

- 600 people were present at the conference in the 800-place Salle Prince Pierre.
- Cédric does not know about the alternative logo situation.
- The publishment of the teasers on Youtube is not certain.
- Yu said he's completely busy with Shenmue III and does not have the time to think about making other games.
- Yu views Shenmue Online as a "Gaiden", something apart.
- Yu stated there will be certainly an "alternative form" to end the story if Shenmue III is not a success.

Well hello everyone, As Peter did After the MAGIC 2016, I also did some kind of summary of this... Well "MAGIC" day but in video format. :)
I though it could be interesting for people wanting some backstage information...

I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did when I recorded / edited it ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVoQa0EiH7U

(do not forget to turn english subtitles on as it is a french video)

I don't think it really translate the pleasure I had in participating in that adventure but it is there for your enjoyement ! :D

Enjoy :heart:

The full Magic Monaco Shenmue 3 press conference is now available. Japanese translation by Switch and French translation by Yokosuka. Click here to watch.

Here's the written translation if you need any quotation :
Thank you everyone for coming today. Again, hello everyone and thank you for coming today. I know many of you are awaiting news of Shenmue 3 but before talking about Shenmue 3, I would like to come back to Shenmue 1 & 2 with some questions. My first question is as follows: Yu Suzuki, first of all, could you explain the concept of Shenmue 1 and Shenmue 2 while showing us some images. If possible, could you talk about the concept of Shenmue while showing various concept art. Let me show you several pieces of concept art that I've brought along. You might be able to read the chapter number that each is from... Maybe it's a bit hard to read... Ah, so perhaps not. The one at the far left... Originally... I made Shenmue with Akira from Virtua Fighter. This is the very first concept art. The other ones I've brought along today are... Ah, whoops. The one next to it is from Chapter 1: Yokosuka. And the third illustration is of Hong Kong, which is Chapter 2. The last illustration says "Chapter 5"... This is concept art for Shenmue 3. This shows what kind of town Yokosuka is. These photos are of Yokosuka in around 1986. It has a US army base and the town has an exotic feel to it. From this town, the story moves across to Hong Kong. These pictures are of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is also a place where a strong element of other cultures remains. Chapter 2 was set in Hong Kong because I wanted to portray the mingling of the Japanese and Chinese cultures. Shenmue 3 is set further inland, in the interior of China, in a region called Guilin. I want to portray its unique Chinese culture, which has had very little cultural interaction with countries outside. What are your favorite scenes from Shenmue 1 and 2? Actually I've got a video... I'm sure everyone also likes these scenes. Let's play the clips. Everyone loves the forklifts! A lot of people have been asking for forklifts in Shenmue 3, so... it's something I'm thinking about. It's won't stop. It's not stopping. Sorry about the sound. This is a scene in the bar. I want to stop this one. Oh, now they've all stopped. It's no good, is it. Sorry, the sound's a bit jumbled. From Shenmue 2, I like the scenes where you receive instruction about new moves. Let's just play them all together. Important elements of Shenmue are the cinematic scenes as well as the battles. So these were my favorite scenes. You have stated in a previous interview that you like the character of Niao Sun. What do you think of the other female characters of Shenhua, Joy and Nozomi? For Nozomi... This is a video clip of Nozomi. I like this scene with Nozomi. I wanted to depict a Japanese female who personifies what we call "Yamato Nadeshiko" in Japanese... An ideal Japanese woman: reserved, but with inner fortitude. It is gradually getting harder nowadays to find this type of person though... Joy leads a self-assured life in Hong Kong, in a multi-cultural environment. She's also very strong-willed. I wanted to depict a girl who's full of energy. And finally Shenhua... Shenhua is the heroine of the Shenmue series. Shenhua grew up surrounded by nature. She possesses very mysterious powers and has a unique outlook on life. Here too, I wanted to portray a female who has strength of character. Her character is one that holds the most profound memories for me. She has an abundance of knowledge about things in the forest... I'd like to include a light-hearted or comical scene where she leaves Ryo behind, or something like that. It has now been some months since development started on Shenmue 3... Do you have any comments about Unreal Engine 4? We've been carrying out development with Unreal 4 for just over six months now. Today I've brought along some Shenmue screenshots to show you some of what we are doing with Unreal Engine. These are from Shenmue 3. Some of them were just created yesterday. These are Shenmue 3 images. I really love the hues and coloring of Unreal 4. I think depth of picture and a high contrast are traits of Unreal. That alone is not enough to make it "Shenmue" though. Shenmue has a slightly more humid feel to it, more of a "wet" feel. If we can get to the point where you can almost smell things like uncooked food - that's when we will at last be at the Shenmue level. We're now able to create images such as these ones here, as well as recreating "dampness" - places that are more humid. Evoking a sense of smell in the graphics is something we will be working on going forward. At the moment, we're prototyping so we're experimenting with a lot of different things. Today I'd like to demonstrate the weather... How the clouds and time change dynamically is something we're now in the middle of working on. I've brought along a movie of our current work so let's take a look. From the morning, the sun rises gradually higher and grows brighter. We can also represent things like shadows... This is the first village in Shenmue 3, Bailu village. With software development, there are two common approaches... known as the Waterfall and Agile methodologies. The development methodology that I use is Agile. It is said that currently many developers use the Waterfall methodology but I use the Agile methodology where the software is pieced together from various parts that are worked on simultaneously, in parallel. It might be considered an unusual approach these days. But I think it's a very effective methodology when taking on new challenges. I feel that the Agile methodology is very easy to work with. With Shenmue 3 being currently in development, could you describe where and how the development is being undertaken? We started with a small number of people, and we were located in a part of Tokyo called Ebisu. The office in Ebisu was soon outgrown, so we created a development office, also in Ebisu. That development office also reached full capacity in about a month so now it has moved to the area of Gotanda. Development is being carried out not just here but also together with various partners outside. However this where the principle development team is, who we call the Brain Team. Please tell us about the themes of Shenmue 3. Fundamentally, it is about the universal themes of love, courage and friendship. While at the same time, it is a story that is centered around martial arts, about the growth of a boy on a journey of self-discovery, who crosses the sea to the continent of China to avenge his father's death. That's the overall story and concept. This time, Shenmue 3 will feature your relationship with Shenhua. I want to portray your relationship with Shenhua in a charming manner, through things like your spoken interaction and demeanor towards each other. There will be a lot of scenes together with Shenhua so I'd like to include scenarios that depict things like looking out for the other's well-being or slight changes in attitude. Shenhua feels quite at home going into places like a forest whereas Ryo can't keep up and gets pulled along. There will be some humorous scenes like that. In Shenmue 2 there were various QTEs set in the forest, and this time also... there will be things like ducking under trees through a narrow gap, jumping over trees, crossing rivers, crossing log bridges and so on. I'm considering various others apart from these too. I'm hoping to achieve something even more powerful with the new engine. In Shenmue 2 there was a scene where you jumped from stone to stone, wasn't there. Yes... this time I'd like to be able to enhance that further, if all goes well. We are really looking forward to seeing movie clips of how it turns out. Thank you. Last year you went to China and carried out various research... Was that to gather materials for Shenmue 3? Yes. I gave a presentation in Shanghai and after that took a plane from Shanghai to Fujian province. I carried out various research in Fujian. In Fujian there are donut-shaped buildings called Tulous, which are World Heritage sites. Long ago, when they were observed by US satellites, they were thought to be missile launch bases. There are many, in all sizes, from large to small. As you see, this is a large one and is donut-shaped. The top-left picture. The picture below that shows the inner structure. Some have three floors, some five.... Many have from 3 4 or up to about 5 floors. They have a courtyard in the center. For Shenmue 3 I'm planning to use one as the enemy hideout. While there I gathered materials and took photos of textures and so on. At the top-right is a well, for example. I collected various reference material. The middle picture is interesting. There was such a lot of washing on the line - I thought it seemed very typical of China. In Shenmue 3 I'd like to make objects like these move realistically in the breeze using physics. These pictures are also from my China research trip. The vertical picture in the middle is the door of a Tulou. I think it's a very distinctive door. The picture at the top right is the kitchen. It's a communal kitchen that's shared by everyone who lives there. The kitchen is situated in the inner courtyard. The lower-right picture shows various items like tables and chairs. In Shenmue 3, this is the kind of place where I want to stage a battle. It will get rapidly smashed up as things fly all around... I think it will be fun to hold a battle here. At the left side is a picture of a bike I took because it had "Suzuki" written on it. We're looking forward to seeing Shenmue 3 battles. Please hold on a little longer for battles - we will be experimenting further. In Shenmue 1 and 2, if too much time passes a bad ending occurs. Will a something similar occur in Shenmue 3? There will also be time-limited events in Shenmue 3. If you don't clear them within the time limit, a bad ending will be reached. So yes, there will be both deadlines and bad endings. I think the fans among the audience will be happy to hear that. This is a question about Ryo's face... If possible for Shenmue 3 we'd like his face to remain the same as in Shenmue 1 and 2. I have received a lot of feedback from all the fans about Ryo's face, Shenhua's face and so on. I'm sure those people who have waited patiently for 15 years have been looking at the Shenmue 2 face of Ryo as they've waited. So I believe that we have to properly look after those images from Shenmue 2. This is the Ryo, isn't it! We're currently working on making enhanced versions that will respect this image. It's being worked on at the moment, so I hope to be able to show you the new high-quality Ryo and Shenhua at the next opportunity. How did it come about for there to be a fishing system in Shenmue 3? I remember when we were brainstorming for Shenmue on what part-time jobs would be good to include, someone suggested fishing and everyone thought it was a great idea. There's the type of fishing rod, casting technique, types of lures, the bait... the best time to fish, the best spot to fish and so on. We all got really charged up about it. But there wasn't room to fit it in Shenmue 1 and 2... So it's something I have wanted to do ever since that time and I made the decision to include fishing in Shenmue 3. In Shenmue 3 there's not only one location where you can fish. There are several places. The first area, Bailu village, has a pond where you can fish. I've brought a video clip of it to show you. It's a pretty pond. Here you can, you know... [motions casting] We should be able to achieve an even higher quality for Shenmue 3 than I had been expecting. Of course, this will be rendered in real time, not a movie. Shenmue 3 has been under development for a few months but when you're seeing this kind of result, it already looks promising! Yes absolutely, I can't wait to see the end result. Let's hope it won't be too long. We have to be patient. Of course. We have been waiting for quite a while anyway. After waiting 14 years, I think we should still be able to wait 2 more years. 14 years, really? How time flies... Yes indeed. We're no longer exactly young. We're sure it will be worth the wait. Thank you! In Shenmue 3 will there be any chance to use items obtained in the first two games for example, the Mysterious Scroll? Since it's a series, being able to use items from the past will further strengthen the continuity. So I will plan a way for these kind of items to be used. I think reusing items from the previous episodes would be a great idea too. I think that finding these familiar items again is like going home actually. I was thinking the same indeed. We'll be happy to see familiar items again. It will feel like returning to one's own home. The next question may give nightmares to some here but If I pronounce the name of the following character, it may click. If I say 'Chai', does this sound familiar? The arcade... a pretty hard fight, at least one of the hardest fights of Shenmue. So my question is as follows: Will Chai come back to Shenmue 3? Will Chai make an appearance in Shenmue 3? I also really like the character of Chai. He's easy to incorporate into a scene... By all means I'd like to have him show up here and there. This is his character. Somehow... ...there's a similar-looking character in Lord of the Rings. Very nostalgic... He's a scary character, isn't he He even eats the boat ticket. He's quite a... creepy character. That's true! He's not... exactly beautiful. I'd like to make a key chain of him. Besides, he's really scary! Yes he really is. The voice actor for this character is great, isn't he. Yu said he is impressed with the way the Japanese actor uses his voice. That's not something you hear everyday. I agree, the Japanese voice actors are very talented in general. It's really well done. We were asking people who beat Chai in the arcade to raise their hand. There are a lot of game players who enjoy battles. What sort of battles can we expect in Shenmue 3? The battles in Shenmue 3... will differ a bit from those in Virtua Fighter. Rather than tactics, they will be about employing strategy. For example, positional advantage - making use of the terrain to charge inside or carry out an assault on the enemy. This time I would like to make battles in which this kind of strategy can be employed. Having things break or fall over when knocked into is something many games are now doing. So just doing that is not very exciting. However having one object knocking over another, which knocks over another and so on in a chain reaction - I think that will be fun. Also there will be a system that allows the enemy to discover you. If you are discovered by the enemy, they will chase after you. So if for example 5 enemies see you, then those 5 enemies will keep chasing you. Sounds scary! And so... for example in places like alleyways, if you are familiar with your surroundings then you can purposely draw them over to where you want and overcome them that way. I think it will be fun doing that kind of thing. So to sum up, the environment will play a key role in the Shenmue 3 free battle. So it will be important to make use of geographical knowledge in battles? Yes. Also in Shenmue 1 and 2 the martial arts seen are primarily of the style from the northern region of China. Martial arts from the north tend to involve much larger movements and use showy actions like jumping kicks. With Shenmue 3, I'd like to incorporate some martial arts from the south. With southern martial arts, the actions take place right up close. So in Shenmue 3 I would like to show martial arts that can be used to fight in confined areas. That's a such clear and detailed description There was already a lot of martial arts in the first episodes but I think everybody is looking forward to finding out the new ones. I think so. However I'm not sure whether the boy's position behind us is something we'll see in Shenmue 3. One thing is sure, he's more flexible than me! More than many people among the audience, in my opinion! I don't suppose a scene like this will appear in the game? Ah... I haven't decided about that yet. But for Shenmue 3 I'd like to make fighting possible in confined places. Places like in corridors, or on stairs... In fact, people like us who are used to using specific battle approaches in Shenmue 1 & 2 will have to relearn quite a lot. I think so. There will be quite a lot of changes. So the type of battles will be completely different than in Shenmue 1 and 2? Shenmue is more of a story-oriented, cinematic-style game whereas Virtua Fighter is a game that is specialized for exchanging blows. How can I put it... The movements are much faster than for normal human beings. So it's a bit too fast to be realistic. It's a fun game, but from the point of view of realism it's somewhat unnatural. I'd like to make the movements a little slower, closer to those of real fights. This is the last question. Could we hear a sample of the music? We have a number of pieces of music for use in Shenmue 3 but a decision hasn't yet been made as to which to use where. I've brought several pieces of music so feel free to choose which you'd like to hear. There are a lot! Although, some of these were used in Shenmue 1 and 2. Let's try one from Shenmue 1 and 2. Perhaps we haven't used it yet, it's maybe new music. It's much more likely to be a new one, isn't it? There is a stringed Chinese instrument called an Erhu with a range and pitch that is similar to that of a human voice. It's an instrument that has a nice sound and a very Chinese feel. Using this instrument evokes China. How about choosing another? Might it be possible to listen to a free battle music eventually? Oh wait! There's a problem, the music doesn't stop. I'll just terminate it... This should fix it. We want to prevent your ears from bleeding for those seated in the back. I think it'll be better like that. So what do you propose? Battle music... Yeah why not listen to battle music? That would be cool. If possible could we hear some battle music next? Battle music... it certainly sounds battle-like. That give us a foretaste of what we can expect to hear in Shenmue 3. That's the music we should broadcast in the dressing room... We should have listened to them beforehand, ahead of the presentation. Do you want to listen to something else if we still have time? What about the main theme? There's also one here that's like training music. A group of 30 or so people practicing their moves... I have four variations of the main theme like a music box version, one on a transverse flute... and a jazz one. Pick the one you want. Let's go for '034-12'! Oh it's not a main theme. Ok then '23-20'. OK... this one, the flute. - The flute? - Yes He likes this one. He wants to use it if possible. He imagines Shenhua playing the flute alone. He can see himself implementing cutscenes like this. There's still some time, about 5 minutes isn't it? Yes. While this charming music keeps playing in the background, I suggest we proceed to questions, if you have any. Can I choose? Yes, feel free. Will play be possible on Xbox 3? For the moment, it's PS4 and PC. I'm sorry if I pick randomly. Wait! As you're translating, I will pass the microphone to people so you don't have to move. I'll leave you with Yu Suzuki. Ok, this time I will take the opposite side. Please. Have you any information about Shenmue HD and Sega's situation? Sorry but I'll answer for him as we talked together about this subject yesterday. The IP is owned by Sega so no such project is currently planned. Any other questions? Are you working with composer Yuzo Koshiro, who worked on Shenmue 1? I haven't yet been in contact with him for this project. Another question? In Shenmue 3, will we learn more about the Shenmue tree or likewise about magic such as occurred at the end of Shenmue 2? Well... I wouldn't call it "magic", but rather mystical... like natural phenomena. For example drawing "chi" from the Earth and transforming it into power... Partly it's because I believe this kind of mysterious power exists. I'm not talking about an occult meaning here though. So I'd like to portray these kind of things. I don't want to depict them as being fantasy, but rather as natural phenomena, maybe super-natural. Do we have time for another question? No? Sorry, that was the last question. Thank you very much, Yu Suzuki. ~ Translations from Japanese by Switch, from French by Yokosuka @ Shenmue Dojo ~

Shenmue III music track names
Translation from Japanese to French by Kenji Seang for Shenmue Master

https://i.imgur.com/ziWO7ze.png

Spoilers :
https://i.imgur.com/LsB1I9B.png

Main Theme
Shenhua music box
Shenhua transverse flute
Shenhua Jazz
Shenmue Jazz

Battle
Battle
Battle

Guilin
Lijiang River
Rural village
Rural village
Peasant leading a cow/bull
Woman planting rice
Peaceful village

Misc
Old Master of Nanquan style
Old capital
Enemy departure to the front
Mining location
Narcissuses and fireflies
Peeping into a bathroom
Kung Fu training
Investigating in Choubu
The charcoal burner's shed at dawn

Ah right. I'm just guessing based on the phonetic of the names, which is a bit different between Chinese and Japanese.

I think wing Chun was confirmed some time ago, can't remember in which article?

http://s32.postimg.cc/bislb4slx/Tweetathon51_Dojo.png

The 51st monthly Shenmue Tweetathon takes place this Tuesday, May 3rd, inviting gamers around the world to unite around the hashtag #SaveShenmueHD in support of bringing Yu Suzuki's complete saga onto modern day systems.

For more information, please see TeamYu.net/HD and get involved !

Well, gentlemen, after nearly half a year of work, we can release the first version of our What's Shenmue translation patch.
V1.0.4 Download link - MEGA Mirror

And here's some nifty extras: Covers and manuals - MEGA Mirror

And here's the men and women who have achieved the completion of this project:
ALL VERSIONS
Hacking/Coding: YZB, PacoChan, Indiket, IlDucci
Graphics Editing: BlueMue, IlDucci, Gin
Creation of the ShenTrad Toolset: SiZious, Ayla, Manic, ShenDream

ENGLISH VERSION
Translation: Brett "Switch" Chandler, Rakim
Proofreading: Merlin Fontana

SPANISH VERSION
Translation (Based on the English Version): IlDucci, TheFireRed
Testing: Indiket, Releon
Contains material from the Shenmue I Spanish Fantranslation Project by Ryo Suzuki, IlDucci, el_capo, xulikotony & PacoChan.

GERMAN VERSION
(Based on the English Version)
Main translator: BlueMue

BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE VERSION
(Based on the English Version)
Main translator: LucasPreacherOfHell

See the readme file for the full credit list, including Special Thanks and other information.

http://i.imgur.com/SqpynH8s.jpg http://i.imgur.com/RirMyrQs.jpg http://i.imgur.com/n5znI7Ns.jpg http://i.imgur.com/B8K2gQds.jpg http://i.imgur.com/xSqaXePs.jpg http://i.imgur.com/GQkAYnxs.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Kw336SFs.jpg http://i.imgur.com/eS4K8O2s.jpg http://i.imgur.com/eL1ihY6s.jpg http://i.imgur.com/33UJaCXs.jpg

We are doing the release as a patcher and not as a full image because of, more than legal issues, my personal policy as a romhacker/fantranslator. I'd like to keep things small and manageable. People who have the original GD-ROM and the SD Card Adapter should have no problems dumping their disc into a GDI image (.BIN or .ISO makes no difference), but I know this site doesn't go against releases, so: I know it's a bit hard finding a GDI image online, but it's possible. If you folks are going to do a full release, I know I can't stop you so I'd just ask you to do not make profit out of us.

That said, let's go to the details: The patcher has been tested with the following discs:
- 610-7179-0133A 11M1 o 11MB1 (TOSEC Version)
- 610-7179-0133A H1723E.

Both of those are the Blue Disc versions, any other Blue Disc or the Famitsu releases have not been tested . Should be fine if the data tracks are identical (We're fiddling with the audio tracks, but we're not needing an exact equivalent of them, which seems to be the biggest difference between versions).


And now the specifics. All the menus, texts and subtitles have been fully translated into English, Spanish and German. The patcher is multi-language, so you should be able to select your language there. The process lasts around 10 minutes or so. The patcher could be a great example that, with a little modification, we could have a Shenmue modding tool for small mods (Such as the Forklift one, bigger stuff like Undubs won't have that of a meaning).

The patcher takes a GDI image and turns it into a MDS/MDF image file that should run on a real hardware or in emulator. It has a dummy file for 700MB full size, all the CDDA tracks have been preserved thanks to the previous research by HyKan, and we've got a sortfile for reordering stuff (We've moved towards the inner part beta/unused stuff that's around). It's not the best optimization but it can be improved. Nothing is ripped or downsampled.

We've translated a couple of extra needed graphics here and there, such as the "Closed" signs in the shops that are not available for the demo (like Tomato Convenience Store), Yukawa's Business Card or the poster from the ending scene. There's a couple of things I'd like to improve in a possible future release, but for now, we've done all we could. The rest is like it was in the original game.


Some troubleshooting: We've used Demul 0.5.8.2. for the emulation testing, and so far the only major issue it has is that some graphics show borders instead of being transparent. That doesn't happen in real console. In real console we've seen some delays with the activation of lipsynch or subtitles, which I don't know if it's our fault or if it already happened in the unmodified game.

If the patcher dumps some error, please report it back here, on this topic. The patcher will usually allow you to copy the error to the Clipboard, and also generate a log.txt file in the same folder where the application is. Upload both and send them here.


And... I'm tired as hell, we've been working on the last issues until the last minute. If I'm missing stuff, it's either on the readme or you can ask me here, as I'll be doing the English troubleshooting on this topic. Enjoy.
( EDIT: Original title was "Why What's Shenmue never got a translation attempt?")

I just dissected What's Shenmue for fun, thanks to Sizious tools:
- The subtitles script has (EDITED) 67.748 bytes of japanese text.
- The FACEs part have been directly copypasted from the Passport translation.
- All the graphics are editable.
- The small font is included and working so we have 44x44 characters per line.

Only difficulties:
- Like with the main games, editing the 1ST_READ.BIN.
- Text justification is odd. Mostly justified to the left, but sometimes centered. We can re-center it the ugly way (Adding spaces to the left)
- Any extra hacks needed: Loading screens and other small stuff. There's a presumed Japanese language changer in the game to remove.

I tried to search around this forum but with no results. So, I'm just posing the question here. Sizious made it possible, yes, so, why nobody is interested?

EDIT 2014/04/20: The project has finally started, here's the current team:
- Translation: Rakim, Switch
- Graphics Editing: BlueMue, IlDucci
- Hacking: YZB (When he can), IlDucci
- Main translation tools by the ShenTrad Team: Manic, ShenDream, Sizious

Here is a translation of part of a Japanese magazine interview with Yu Suzuki that was published in the May 9 (2016) edition of the Bessatsu Shonen magazine. The article scan was obtained by Ziming.

(Original scans provided by Japanese Shenmue fan @da34ss on Twitter)

In this part, Suzuki talks specifically about Shenmue III, although it is pretty short.

Note: the rest of the article covers topics like Suzuki's background in designing arcade games, the gaming industry in Japan, and how RPG and text adventure games of the time were influences on his design for Shenmue etc. I selected the part below as a priority for translation since it relates most to Shenmue III and the other topics have been discussed in previous talks & interviews.

We Talk With a Gaming Legend!

Shenmue III, the Game the World Eagerly Awaits, is in Development!

http://i.imgur.com/rT9HyAhm.png

Game Creator Yu Suzuki Envisions
the Future for the Game Industry

Yu Suzuki developed the Shenmue series for the home console from 1999 through to 2001, and is a game developer respected by video game fans and game developers the world over. Reporter Ikeda from the MMR* investigation team has carried out this personal interview as Suzuki works with youthful enthusiasm on his latest game, Shenmue III. Suzuki speaks with passion about Shenmue III and the Japan game industry.

* MMR stands for "Magazine Mystery Reportage", a manga series involving investigation of mysteries and the unknown.

Interviewer Profile
⋅ Name: Ikeda
⋅ Reporter for the Weekly Shonen Magazine “Magazine Mystery Reportage”. During the 1980s he wrote under the pen name “Akira Hibiki” as a game journalist.

Growing Anticipation for Shenmue III

What Lies Behind the Veil of Secrecy?

Q: Getting straight to the point, what kind of game will Shenmue III be?
YS: With Shenmue III, I have taken a different approach compared to Shenmue I and II. Normally, a video game is planned around a pre-determined budget, but with Shenmue III money collected through crowd funding is allotted to the development budget, so I designed it so the design could scale flexibly to match. In addition to the open-world gameplay aspect (which I termed "FREE" at the time of the first game), I also prepared new and attractive features that could be incorporated elsewhere. In saying that, the creation of a video game that can be packed with open-world style elements will always be swayed by the development budget. Rather than there being say 10 mini-games to play in a certain town, an even greater number like 20 or 30 is more enjoyable, right? However, creating a game this way has a direct impact on the cost.

http://i.imgur.com/nuy3QURm.png

Q: The development cost of Grand Theft Auto, a game which popularized the open world concept, is said to have been over 10 billion yen (US$100m).
YS: Trying to compete directly with Grand Theft Auto and its vast difference in budget would be like a puny 10kg guy taking on a 100kg sumo wrestler. In which case, the video game fans may as well just play Grand Theft Auto, wouldn’t you say? (laughs)

Q: Trying to compete in terms of quantity would be a losing proposition, wouldn’t it.
YS: The story for the Shenmue series is made up of the 11 chapters that I planned out, with Shenmue in 1999 being Chapter One, and Shenmue II in 2001 being Chapter Two. Actually, my intention for Chapter Three has always been for a scenario that digs down into a single theme. Across the course of the first two games of the series, the player’s degree of freedom increases, their field of exploration widens and the scale of the game grows to having around 450 NPCs. By comparison, although Chapter Three will give the appearance of growing further in scale, it will focus on digging deeply down into one particular matter, just as I planned out almost 20 years ago. And I’m aiming to do so in a way that the fans will enjoy, placing importance on originality.

Q: What do you have in mind when you say “originality”?
YS: For example, when characters are talking to each other, it would be weird for them to stand almost touching if they’re meeting for the first time, right? In real life, they would maintain a certain distance between each other.

Q: Their personal space... That’s true, if someone you haven’t met before stands too close it’s threatening rather than friendly.
YS: Conversely, when you’re with someone with whom you get on well... when you are with your girlfriend, you’ll be closer together, right? So if we introduce a new “intimacy” parameter setting, for example we could set the distance between characters according its value. If the game contains many of these subtle but natural experiments then I think it will make for a much more believable world. It will give the game a more gentle feeling. Right now I’m working on overlaying these kind of subtleties.

Q: It makes me look forward to Shenmue III even more! And finally, actually there’s something I want to ask personally: I’ve heard that when deciding the name of the hero of Virtua Fighter, Akira Yuki, the “Yu” in his surname was taken from your name. If that is the case, how about “Akira”?
YS: Well, I took it from the pen name you yourself used when you were a gaming journalist: Akira Hibiki.

Q: What... really?!
YS: It’s true. Both “Akira” and “Yuki” sound cool, don’t you think? I think the name of the hero of a game should sound cool. Akira Yuki sounds way better than say “Torao Daimoji” (laughs).

Q: To me, Torao Daimoji sounds pretty cool too though. It sounds like the name of a heavy-set guy with chiseled features (laughs).

<End of article>

High resolution photo from Shibuya's Facebook page. Maybe Switch can translate what's on the whiteboard?

Here's what I can make out. The content is non-spoilerish.

http://i.imgur.com/SkRcFgjl.png

"Dynamic seeds" sounds intriguing. (At least that's what I think the most likely translation is.)

Also the filename displayed here on the monitor suggests that the concept art we saw recently shows Bailu, "Hakka" being what its called in Japanese.
http://i.imgur.com/SLVlEbql.png

Could be :

キャラクターバリエーション？？？？の?そう

Characters variations ????

But without a better picture it's hard to read.
I think you've got it! Yeah, with the blurriness it feels like trying to interpret one of those inkblot tests.
Hey Switch do you think the second slightly blurred kanji could be 我そう (monk), it is a 我僧 as a compound but perhaps the person who wrote it didnt know the second kanji.
Definitely looks on the right track. Based on the suggestions and squinting at the image again, another possibility that looks like it would fit is: 服そう (clothes / costumes).

Edit: grasping at straws a bit now, but with this theme in mind, the word written before this looks like it could be "かみ型" - hairstyles.

I wish we could get a clearer look at the image on the screen. I'm almost 100% certain it's meant to be just above Bailu Village (I think I can see the bell tower), but there's something on the horizon, and a building of some kind on the right.
Here's a composite of the screen image, with slight adjustment to lightness & contrast. Looks like the structure to the right could be a bridge of some sort.
http://i.imgur.com/1FRMY9A.png

http://i.imgur.com/WzctHEF.png

Lead programmer on the postponed Shenmue Gaiden visual novel, ShenSun , has created a Christmas special of the long-awaited point and click adventure.

Shenmue Gaiden: Christmas Event is a 30 minute lighthearted title with multiple outcomes across various playthroughs.

For more information, a synopsis and how to download, please visit ShenSun's topic here .

On a similar note, we'd like to wish a Happy New Year to all Shenmue fans across all communities. Here's to an exciting 2017!

Here's a new article translation from Game*Spark Japan, interviewing Yu Suzuki and executive producer Hideaki Morishita.

I think it contains a lot of interesting insight. They speak about the fuss surrounding the teaser trailer despite the fact that many of the characters in the trailer are nowhere near their finished form.

Read the interview here:
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/08/translation-interview-with-yu-suzuki.html

http://i.imgur.com/1xOO0HZl.jpg

Thanks David & fittersau, it's great to have a team of translators in the community!

I began some work on the new 4Gamer one.. but it's quite a bit of work. But hope you guys get something out of it. Switch etc will do a better job and faster.
Hey, not at all. Really nicely translated, and thanks for picking up the slack!

Here is a full translation of the Dengeki interview.

Link to article:
Dengeki Online Interview with Yu Suzuki @Gamescom

https://68.media.tumblr.com/c76cd8e09ccbe5c284a877f39c982a54/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco1_400.jpg

At the Gamescom 2017 event, we were very lucky to have a quick interview with Shenmue 3 director Yu Suzuki. Unfortunately, over the 3 days available with Suzuki-san, it was very hard to secure an interview with the team due to the general media already having pre-booked all of the time slots available with Suzuki-san through their new publishing partner, Koch Media. But thanks to a few people behind the scenes (especially the community's own Shenmue Ambassador Ali Novin!), we were able to be squeezed in for some quick interviews at the end of the final day, and got to experience the Deep Silver media area! (and rub shoulders with other developers in the area. 5 points to who can guess the developer in the chequed shirt.) Possibly a happy accident, but quite hilarious that Shenmue 3 was allocated Wareho...errr room number .08!

https://68.media.tumblr.com/e10f0bec5012af5650278ed6617f3ea1/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco2_500.jpg

For this interview, we are unbelievably thankful, as both Suzuki-san and Harry-san were understandably extremely tired, and in light of that, our time with them was very short. Despite having upwards of 20+ questions prepared, i only had time to ask a very short number so apologies in advance that i did not get an opportunity to ask a lot of gameplay based questions. I didnt get to that stage, and before i was out of the "introductory" questions stage, it was time to wrap up the interview! Either way, its always an honour to be in the company of Suzuki-san, and we are so grateful for his time at Gamescom. Enjoy :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SD. So hello Suzuki-san. Welcome to Germany! Have you been to Germany before? Have you been to Gamescom before?

YS. It’s my first Gamescom, but however, for Germany, I don’t remember… 2 or 3… around 3 times. I have a feeling the number grows with each interview (laughs)! It’s around 5 times… I think. Although, just before when you asked the question, I said twice! But I think 5 times is the right number.

SD. So we know you are in Cologne for Shenmue, but I know you have a love for art and architecture. Do you have any plans to do any sight-seeing whilst you are here?

YS. On the day we arrived, or maybe the day after, I went to see the Dom (Cathedral). It’s splendid! I also walked around the Old Town. Yes, it was amazing. It was more impressive than the Tokyo Tower (laughs). I am joking! But it was amazing. I could say amazing over and over.


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SD. We are at Gamescom for Shenmue 3. But I have to ask, why Gamescom? We just had E3, and Gamescom is a little bit after, so did it just feel right?

YS. The reason for the timing was that I wanted to make the announcement in conjunction with the forming of the contract with Deep Silver. The agreement, to put it simply, was not ready in time for E3.

SD. Ok, so I just want to bring it back a bit, to the Kickstarter update where you announced that you had to delay the game. How hard was that decision, and were you worried about disappointing the backers?

YS. Hmmm, yes of course. I was most concerned about the backers. At the time, we had already made progress in our partnership talks with Deep Silver. So for us, being able to aim for something above what had been the plan with the original Kickstarter, it would have been extremely difficult to implement an open world with the initial plan we had at the time of the Kickstarter. So I continued to look for a partner after that. I really wanted to create an open world somehow. So I kept searching, and eventually we were able to form a partnership with Deep Silver which enabled us to upwardly revise the plan.
So at that time, I took into account what we would be able to achieve with Deep Silver. I felt positive we would be able to achieve a “scaled-up” Shenmue 3. If conditions improved after forming a partnership with Deep Silver, we would be able to expand our plans. That would bring along with it more tasks to complete, and I hoped to announce the good news to everyone along with the schedule change. But at that point the contract with Deep Silver hasn’t been finalized, so I wasn’t able to mention it. That was the situation.

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SD. In the same video, you mentioned “new technologies, possibilities and new expressions” for Shenmue 3. Could you tell us more about those, and have they changed what you originally thought Shenmue 3 would be like?

YS. We have a complete set of basic shaders, although these need to be tuned for Shenmue. But having a full set of basic shaders is one of its (Unreal 4 Engine) advantages. Also it’s an engine designed for games, so there are all sorts of libraries for 3D games. So when you’re at the prototype/building stage, it’s very quick and efficient. That’s another benefit.
With Shenmue 1 and 2, my program forms the base, so I understand all parts of the program. However this time, the innermost working are a “black box” so I can’t obtain a full understanding of every part, and that can sometimes be a problem. From an overall perspective, it’s a really marvellous engine, especially when it’s used by multiple people. For example, we take the case of 30 or 40 people, or more, are developing the game simultaneously. It can handle management and so on, and do things like analysing the workload, rendering load, CPU usage and various others. Product management has also been made easier too, so overall, I think it’s a superb engine.


SD. I’m glad you mentioned shaders because I remember a conversation we once had about how important the colours of Shenmue were important to you. How difficult has it been to achieve the “look” and “colour” of Shenmue with Unreal 4?

YS. The basic attractive colours in Unreal 4 are formed with High Dynamic Range, and there is a wide range of colours from light to dark which can produce images where you can really feel the light and shade. This was the key deciding factor for my selection of the Unreal Engine. For me, the light and the shade are the most important part. For Shenmue, there are 2 things which are necessary to add. The next stage is there has to be a feeling of humidity. Shenmue has to have a slightly “wet” feeling to it. A damp kind of feeling in the air. I don’t mean actual rain, but the air should have a kind of moist feeling to it.
It’s difficult to achieve this with the standard Unreal 4 shaders, so I think we will have to write our own. The Shenmue teaser we have shown has achieved that look of “wetness” I think. We have now reached the second step. We are not yet at the third stage, but that will be images that you can smell. For example, in China they may chop up a pig like this, and then, without storing it in a refrigerator, sell it under the hot sun. It has that kind of raw stink, and that’s something I think we managed to achieve in Shenmue 2. Shenmue 3 will also be going onto this stage next. A “smell shader”, or a “stinky shader”! (laughs).

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SD. I have a lot of questions to ask, but I know time is very short, so I will ask my final question. With being president of your own company, you have hired new staff members to work on Shenmue 3. How does it feel to pass on all those years of knowledge and experience to young new developers? Have you had any difficulties managing a team like this?

YS. Well not all of our staff are young, there is someone who is 50 years old… all ages really. But management is the most difficult part. They have entered the company going through interviews, and it’s hard to get to know someone properly at the interview stage. So after that process it turns out there are some people who speak extremely little, for example, so yes it can be pretty difficult. Various strategies are needed in order for each person’s performance level to reach 100%, and that’s the part that’s most difficult. I would prefer to lose myself in the creative work, but quite a bit of time is used up on management.

SD. Suzuki-san, thank you.

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...and in the blink of an eye, it was all over! Apologies again that we could not have had more time to ask more questions, but there maybe more inverviews coming out from the Shenmue Online Community in the near future with lots more questions so stay tuned for that! ;-)

But before we left, as always, we had to surprise Suzuki-san with a gift! Thanks to a fantastic idea from 500k owner Aaron Barstow, we decided to try and somehow put Suzuki-san into one of his favourite bands, Van Halen. So working together, we came up with the idea of having an artist design an image of the band members but also insert Yu Suzuki in amongst them! After contacting one of our contributors to the Instagram page, @r_wuying, he understood the concept, and very quickly came though with an awesome piece of work!

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Of course, we couldnt give Suzuki-san an image on a PC, so we had it framed and brought it to Germany to present it to him from all of the Shenmue Community, for which he was extremely surprised and thankful (as always!)

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My Gamescom experience was one i will always remember, and i have to say thank you to so many people including David and Kenji from Shenmue Master, Aaron and James from 500K/Team Yu, Silvia from 500k, Chao from the community and of course Ali Novin for all his hard work behind the scenes to make the interview happen. On a personal note, it was fantastic to meet long time Dojo members YS, Snoopbob, B-Ren and Bluemue at the event too!! Its a shame we couldnt have all spent more time together! Also, of course how could I forget (which I did :oops: ) the amazing Switch for being on point with translating duties as always!

But with that, another event has ended, and the long journey continues! See you all again soon :D

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This Sunday, June 3rd, the monthly #Shenmue Tweetathon enters its final phase: promoting the series to attract new fans for the launch of Shenmue I & II this year and Shenmue III in 2019.

By letting gamers around the world know exactly why you're excited for Shenmue's revival, you can help it achieve the success required to secure a fourth game in the saga, which will not be concluded in next year's sequel.

A pre-loaded AutoTweet can be customized at TeamYu.net to make regular participation even easier - so join in, have fun, and make the most of this new era for the Shenmue fan community! :heart:

Hello Backers!

We know the backer surveys have been a long time in coming and apologize for the wait. The backer surveys are almost ready and will be going out to everyone soon.

The surveys will begin with a soft open for a few randomly selected backers. Those of you selected will receive an email from Fangamer with a link to your survey. The survey will be sent to the email address you have registered with Kickstarter for Kickstarter backers, or either your PayPal or Shenmue.link registered email for Slacker Backers. Please answer the questions and hit that continue button!

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The official survey start and end dates will be announced after backer feedback, system tweaks and a thorough FAQ has been compiled. The survey questions address both physical rewards and in-game content rewards.

The dev team will be eagerly awaiting your responses and would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Good to see the surveys are now starting! Be sure to let us know if you have gotten a link from Fangamer!