Why won't SEGA release a HD version?

[asdfguy]

I'm curious to know why SEGA won't release Shenmue in HD for Xbox One or PS4? I know they released some Dreamcast titles like Jet Set Radio, Sega Bass Fishing, Space Channel 5, Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, etc. I don't see why they can't release Shenmue? The game has much wider fanbase, and it may actually cost less than Jet Set Radio. In Jet Set Radio, Sega has to license soundtracks for the game, which, of course, is costly. This is not the case with Shenmue ,since all the soundtracks were made in-house. The only audio that was recorded by a major artist is the song played when Ryo takes Nozmi home on his motorbike.

Please don't leave comments saying it's because SEGA sucks. I want a honest reasonable discussion about this.

[James Brown]

A.) Time - They likely had a fire lit under them after the success of the Kickstarter, but a HD remaster takes time and effort if you're going to do it right.

B.) Legal complication - There have been mutterings about legal complications stopping SEGA properly making a Shenmue remaster happen. Some say they're related to the branding tie-ins (Timex, etc), and others that middleware used to make the game no longer have identifiable owners due to insolvency and asset stripping of the original owners. Neither of these have been substantiated by fact, but it could be true.

C.) Legacy - Shenmue was wrongly a scapegoat for the death of the Dreamcast. Like a game of telephone, inaccurate and inflated budgets have been passed on as fact, and the true cause of death of the Dreamcast (bungling all hardware from the Megadrive onwards) was disguised by executives. SEGA have recently gone back on this though, especially since the KS success put significant egg on their face. They're acknowledging that Shenmue III is a big deal, and they know Shenmue sells judging by how much they've been farming it out for merchandising and allowing cameo appearances from Ryo.

D.) Tie-In - They want to ride Shenmue III's hype, and likewise Shenmue III wants to ride the wave of renewed interest a Shenmue collection would bring, but Shenmue III isn't due for another 21 months at the earliest, and they want to be released close to each other for maximum effect.

[Peter]

A.) Time - They likely had a fire lit under them after the success of the Kickstarter, but a HD remaster takes time and effort if you're going to do it right.

B.) Legal complication - There have been mutterings about legal complications stopping SEGA properly making a Shenmue remaster happen. Some say they're related to the branding tie-ins (Timex, etc), and others that middleware used to make the game no longer have identifiable owners due to insolvency and asset stripping of the original owners. Neither of these have been substantiated by fact, but it could be true.

C.) Legacy - Shenmue was wrongly a scapegoat for the death of the Dreamcast. Like a game of telephone, inaccurate and inflated budgets have been passed on as fact, and the true cause of death of the Dreamcast (bungling all hardware from the Megadrive onwards) was disguised by executives. SEGA have recently gone back on this though, especially since the KS success put significant egg on their face. They're acknowledging that Shenmue III is a big deal, and they know Shenmue sells judging by how much they've been farming it out for merchandising and allowing cameo appearances from Ryo.

D.) Tie-In - They want to ride Shenmue III's hype, and likewise Shenmue III wants to ride the wave of renewed interest a Shenmue collection would bring, but Shenmue III isn't due for another 21 months at the earliest, and they want to be released close to each other for maximum effect.

Essentially what I was about to start typing a same length of post about. Nothing more to be said or added really. That's the black and white right there.

[shredingskin]

What first said, Also the low sales of JSR hd didn't help.

[Spaghetti]

What first said, Also the low sales of JSR hd didn't help.

I don't think the sales part even matters anymore. Shenmue III broke KS records and revived the series enough that SEGA shouldn't even need to take into account their short lived 'SEGA Heritage' branding. It's just a matter of time now until we hear something about this.

[GYO6161]

The legal stuff worries me if true, makes me nervious. i hope it can all be resolved from in between now and late 2017.

[alexh86]

I don't know if it was in a podcast or news article or exactly where I heard it but I have also heard about licensing issues holding back the HD re-releases. As someone above mentioned, some of the companies who developed graphics engines or video codecs might now be defunct. In fact, I distinctly remember the person being interviewed in the podcast/article saying in some cases they weren't even sure who to contact about licensing some of these things. I certainly hope that's not the case because I'd really love to see an HD re-release on PS4 (and other platforms).

I keep telling myself that the indefinite postponement of the end of the slacker backer campaign is because YS Net has inside information that Sega is planning to announce the re-release. It would be great for people to be able to play those and buy into the slacker backer campaign as a result.

[asdfguy]

Thanks for the reply, guys. If I remember correctly, didn't Shenmue use custom rendering engine made by CRI Middleware? That company is still alive. But SEGA doesn't need to license TIMEX. They could do what they did with Crazy Taxi HD and remove all the brand names. Crazy Taxi had Pizza Hut, Burger King, Filaz Sports, etc and they were all changed to generic names like Pizza Place, Sports centre, etc.

[Kiske]

According to this part of Yu Suzuki's Magic Monaco interview, the use of the original Dreamcast game engine shouldn't be an issue!?!

Let's go on to another topic. Can you give us precisions about the Shenmue I & II flashbacks which will occur in Shenmue 3?
YS : For instance, these flashbacks will occur at moments when Ryo touches objects that make him thinking about some things and memories. The kind of this.

So, will these flashbacks be videos captured from the previous episodes or fresh cutscenes powered by the new engine in order to keep a visual unity?
YS : I'm not sure yet but according the time it would require to make these cutscenes with the new engine, I fear that would take too much time. Once again, the remaining development time might be problematic.

I keep telling myself that the indefinite postponement of the end of the slacker backer campaign is because YS Net has inside information that Sega is planning to announce the re-release.

Oh, I really wish this to be true!

[drunkensailor]

I've said it countless times before. there will never be a shenmue hd release. simply because it's not worth the time and the money to invest in it. they would have to reprogram certain parts as well like the qte's and sponsor things like timex. in general it's quite a bit of work to rerelease a massive game like this. look at square and final fantasy x remake for instance. that cost a lot of money and effort and that is final fantasy 10. square's benchmark rpg

[FlagshipFighter]

I've said it countless times before.

[FlagshipFighter]

Maaaybe, just maaaybe E3 or PS-EXP. Whilst I think Sega doesn't have the willpower/moneypower to see it through, maybe Sony has been encouraging/supporting them like they did with Yakuza.

Also, some of Sega's recent efforts have been promising, specifically what they've been saying publicly, with Valkyria Chronicles success and the recent survey.

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

[Hanzumon]

I still hope, that Sega and / or Sony will announce something on their e3-event in June about the Shenmue-HD-Collection.

To be honest: If Shenmue III will be released in December 2017 then it would make no sense, if the release the HD Collection 18 months before.

Maybe they bring out the collection 6 months before Shenmue III like the Uncharted-Collection last year. If sega and Y´s Net are smart, they will release the Collection of Shenmue 1 and 2 with an exclusive Shenmue 3 Demo for PS4 ...

[Kiske]

I've said it countless times before. there will never be a shenmue hd release. simply because it's not worth the time and the money to invest in it. they would have to reprogram certain parts as well like the qte's and sponsor things like timex. in general it's quite a bit of work to rerelease a massive game like this. look at square and final fantasy x remake for instance. that cost a lot of money and effort and that is final fantasy 10. square's benchmark rpg

What do you mean exactly? Why would they have to reprogram QTE's and sponsor things?

I can understand some sponsors may have to be replaced, but it doesn't seem such a big deal to me.
It's mainly a matter of textures, isn't?

[Shenhua-Nani?]

Honestly, i have no idea. Any manager with half a brain would see that it's easy money as it would sell a shit load on curiosity alone. And the explanations generally "accepted" by the community frankly fail to 100% convince me, i'll quote Spaghetti's post for convenience:

A.) Time - They likely had a fire lit under them after the success of the Kickstarter, but a HD remaster takes time and effort if you're going to do it right.

B.) Legal complication - There have been mutterings about legal complications stopping SEGA properly making a Shenmue remaster happen. Some say they're related to the branding tie-ins (Timex, etc), and others that middleware used to make the game no longer have identifiable owners due to insolvency and asset stripping of the original owners. Neither of these have been substantiated by fact, but it could be true.

C.) Legacy - Shenmue was wrongly a scapegoat for the death of the Dreamcast. Like a game of telephone, inaccurate and inflated budgets have been passed on as fact, and the true cause of death of the Dreamcast (bungling all hardware from the Megadrive onwards) was disguised by executives. SEGA have recently gone back on this though, especially since the KS success put significant egg on their face. They're acknowledging that Shenmue III is a big deal, and they know Shenmue sells judging by how much they've been farming it out for merchandising and allowing cameo appearances from Ryo.

D.) Tie-In - They want to ride Shenmue III's hype, and likewise Shenmue III wants to ride the wave of renewed interest a Shenmue collection would bring, but Shenmue III isn't due for another 21 months at the earliest, and they want to be released close to each other for maximum effect.

A) Sure, i agree, but why not at least announce it then and start building up the hype, if you are serious into the project?

B) This is maybe the only reason that somehow could make sense, but i doubt it's because of stuff like timex and coca cola (all they need is to change the textures). Completely wild guess but maybe they lost the source code? i know it happened to Final Fantasy 9 and that's why it still hasn't gotten a single remaster (it's finally coming tho, and i read somewhere that the devs handling it said development was a nightmare).

C) I agree in theory, but i refuse to believe that after that huge KS success Sega's managers can't see that an HD remaster would make easy millions on hype alone. No one can be that dumb.

D) I don't see how postponing the HD remaster could help Shenmue 3, or how releasing close to Shenmue 3 could generate more hype for the remaster than it would already have. If anything, it would be better to release the remaster as soon as possible so that as much people as possible can get into the series.

My best guess is that for some technical problem the remaster would cost more than Sega is willing to spend on it, there's no other logical explanation.