by Wanderin' » Sun Apr 14, 2013 8:15 pm
As much as I hate to seem as if we were pressuring Mr. Suzuki to say something, I think Shenmue fans the world over at least deserve to have him explain what he meant *specifically* when he told the public that "[he] thinks Sega will let [him] make it".
Has any one yet gotten Yu to elaborate on that yet in any of the recent interviews?
I know we've already speculated endlessly about what that statement of his could possibly mean (ie. sure Suzuki *knows* that Sega would let him make it as long he finds the appropriate funding on his own accord, thus meaning that Sega actually has no problems with letting Suzuki handle what is ostensibly and legally Sega's intellectual property so long as they do not have to invest the principal capital to fund it, and even though Suzuki is no longer an actual Sega employee) - but have we ever had a follow up detailing just *why* he personally thought it was just so important and auspicious then to let the public know that he would be allowed to make Shenmue 3?
Unless there was just *that much* that was lost in translation at that past GDC interview. I have no doubt that his statement of "I think Sega will let me make it," was translated correctly - after all, Mr. Mark Cerny who has an adequate enough of an understanding of the Japanese language, was literally right there to confirm what Suzuki said.
BUT. Did *Suzuki* himself understand what was being asked of him? Is it possible that he thought he was being asked only if 'Sega would actually allow him to make Shenmue 3?', which in and of itself I am sure is a component of his concerns - but entirely separate from the actual question of 'do you have the capacity to make Shenmue 3 within the near future, and how will you proceed with doing so?'
If that is the case, I posit this rather chilling observation. That Suzuki knows, without a doubt, that Sega has never been belligerent or unreasonable about letting him use their IP/franchise even though he is no longer an official Sega employee, but that to use it, he must himself be the one who presents the appropriate business plan for it and gathers the principal funding for it.
Why is that chilling? It's chilling because it suggests that our long-held perceived notion that Sega is being difficult or unreasonable about freely giving Suzuki the opportunity to do with the patented Sega IP of Shenmue as he wishes is *unfounded*. In fact, I surely believe that Sega would easily be willing to let Suzuki do as he wished with the IP that he ultimately conceived of in the first place. But if that's the case, then it doesn't matter one way or another whether or not we 'Give Yu the License'. Because he still needs the legitimate funds necessary to make Shenmue 3 a game of the appropriate calibre that is the standard for contemporary titles. Cheers.