by shenmue852 » Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:05 am
Shenmue wasn't a flop, Shenmue II was, because of Xbox exclusivity. Microsoft basically killed Shenmue when they made Sega cancel the North American Dreamcast release, although because of the console's discontinuation and launch of PS2, a worldwide Dreamcast release probably would've sold about as much as the Xbox and EU Dreamcast sales combined, which is about 500,000. However, the only sales figures that were consideredin the end were the 320,000 sold on Xbox, which makes it look like a total flop.
If it had been released on the PS2 or Gamecube however, especially if bundled with the first game, it would've sold 1 million at least.
Sega made the mistake of going with Microsoft instead of Sony, and Microsoft made the mistake of being shitty at publishing software exclusives unlike Sony and Nintendo.
Now that being said, the teaser trailer and the character models have alienated most mainstream gamers that don't care enough about Shenmue to follow it. I've seen a lot of people say it looks shitty, and with those character models lacking facial animation it's going to be hard to change those perceptions. it doesn't matter what the reasons are and how we know that it's a work in progress, etc. that teaser shouldn't have been released except on kickstarter for the backers.
the good news is, people that like indie games will like Shenmue III, and i'm confident that once the game properly takes shape it will attract new fans from that demographic.
and that's a different market from people who say they'd rather play Yakuza instead because it looks like "a way better Japanese culture fix" which is literally what I saw someone say in reaction to that teaser trailer.
shenmue852 has received a thanks from: Valascaziel