Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

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Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby darksniper » Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:06 am

Now that we know that Sony is involved in funding the Shenmue III project along with our monetary contributions, I'm confused about Sega's involvement with this whole thing. Considering that their IP is still theirs and their property is getting a lot of attention (much warranted), I'd like to think that Sega would be the first to capitalize on this. Given the fact that they're quick to cash in on quick Shenmue merch, they wouldn't have anything to do with the actual Shenmue III game itself? Makes no sense to me.

I'm not a programmer or anything like that, but I would like to ask those with programming knowledge a couple questions

1)How difficult would the process be to port the Virtua Fighter fighting mechanics into the Unreal Engine?

2) Would the development cycle be smoother/quicker if YS got the Yakuza engine from Sega/or the original engine from the DC and starting from there. Or building from the Unreal Engine from scractch?

Personally I feel like that Sega's involvement in this game is extremely important. I can't imagine a Shenmue game without it's likeness or their arcade games.
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby Tomato Convenience Store » Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:38 am

I would imagine that Sega is either 1) Getting paid to license out the Shenmue IP or 2) Are co-publishing the game with Sony. I think #2 would be the best case scenario, as it would be less risk for all parties AND hopefully more overall funding put into the game (and perhaps the use of other SEGA properties!). Of course I'm just speculating, so we'll have to wait and see.

As for your questions, given the size of the team they're working with (I am assuming they'll be a bit smaller than the original team), it's probably overall the easiest to work in the Unreal Engine and modify it as needed. While it's not the same type of combat, the Arkham series is melee heavy and uses the Unreal Engine.

Even if the game was going to be made by Sega, it would take too much effort to try to update the original Shenmue Engine. It's possible the engine used for Yakuza could be sufficient given the similarities to the Shenmue series, but I'm not familiar enough with the games.

Tomato Convenience Store has received a thanks from: darksniper
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby MiTT3NZ » Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:44 am

I see it more along the lines of...

Suzuki: "I wanted to use the Shenmue license again to..."
SEGA: "Yeah, sure, whatever, do what you want with it."
Suzuki: "Okay, great, what we're gonna do is..."
SEGA: "Get out of my office."

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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby harris_t » Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:48 am

MiTT3NZ wrote: I see it more along the lines of...

Suzuki: "I wanted to use the Shenmue license again to..."
SEGA: "Yeah, sure, whatever, do what you want with it."
Suzuki: "Okay, great, what we're gonna do is..."
SEGA: "Get out of my office."


:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby Ninja Trigger » Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:07 am

Well if Sega is involved in anyway I really don't see the Arcade games like Hang-on, Space Harrier, Outrun and Afterburner staying in the game without some from of Paid DLC, which is sad. However I hope that the Capsule toys remain in the game, even if they are no longer remain Sega related.

I'm going to make a strange point here, but if anyone has ever played Animal Crossing on the Nintendo GameCube you will remember being able to unlock actual NES games that you could play and decorate your house with. However once the WII came out with Virtual Console the NES games where removed from all future sequels of Animal Crossing. Nintendo's Reason behind this? "Why include them for free when they could be purchased on the Virtual Console."

I have no idea if a service like this exists for the PS4 since I'm now a member of the PC master Race. But I did a quick steam search and I didn't find any of the games I listed above, so maybe Sega is behind the times on that one, but several of their console games like Streets of Rage, Ecco the Dolphin, and Shining Soul are available on Steam, so although it would be really cool If Ryo could enter a store and find a Sega Master System on display with a small selection of games to try out; I just don't see it happening without some form of paid DLC. Sega first released the Master System in 1985, and I can't remember what year Shenmue 2 left off with, other then it being 1980 something

But even if Sega is out of the Shenmue project altogether and we loose a lot of the arcade games, Sega Capsule toys, and virtual fighter references or even the Virtual On toys, They were my favorite.
I still see the game being great. Because even though Animal Crossing lost the NES games it still continues to be one of my favorite Nintendo series ever.

darksniper wrote:
I'm not a programmer or anything like that, but I would like to ask those with programming knowledge a couple questions

1)How difficult would the process be to port the Virtua Fighter fighting mechanics into the Unreal Engine?

2) Would the development cycle be smoother/quicker if YS got the Yakuza engine from Sega/or the original engine from the DC and starting from there. Or building from the Unreal Engine from scractch?

Personally I feel like that Sega's involvement in this game is extremely important. I can't imagine a Shenmue game without it's likeness or their arcade games.


1) I have no idea I'm not a programmer either :P

2) That Engine is so old I think it would just be better to start from scratch, but having the original engine as a point of reference would, at least the way I see speed up the process.


MiTT3NZ wrote: I see it more along the lines of...

Suzuki: "I wanted to use the Shenmue license again to..."
SEGA: "Yeah, sure, whatever, do what you want with it."
Suzuki: "Okay, great, what we're gonna do is..."
SEGA: "Get out of my office."


Exactly this I would personally prefer not to see Sega's involvement at all with the game, just look at how bad Sonic turned out, when Sonic started to make a come back with Generations, and Colors, Sega gave Sonic over to Big Red Button games and we all know how bad Sonic Boom turned out. Sega would ruin the game with marketing survives and bad suggestions. Also just think about how long they left Ryo stuck in a cave, I mean Shelf while they continued to make mostly sub par games with the occasional rare gem.

EDIT
I just saw that the FAQ for the Kick Starter Page was updated it looks like Sega is out completely.
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby Peter » Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:17 am

Firstly I'd say there was never any real doubt that Sega have been involved in some capacity. Yu has comfortably said over the years that Sega would let him make it. The relationship was always there for that to happen, but I'm sure it still needed to be formally addressed prior to all of this happening, and it's clear that all went well.

I would say, that Sega will come.on board in more of a capacity somewhere down the line. I think they will have seen the outpouring of fan support, lick their would for a bit and then try to get a piece of the action. To be honest, I don't care, if they contribute more funds for any aspect of the development of Shenmue 3 then it doesn't bother me. All I care about is getting Shenmue 3 in my hands. But in terms of the game itself, there are gonna have to be issues worked on with Sony if there are to be Sega related property in the game, ie toy capsule characters, arcade machines etc.
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby Thief » Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:22 am

Peter wrote: But in terms of the game itself, there are gonna have to be issues worked on with Sony if there are to be Sega related property in the game, ie toy capsule characters, arcade machines etc.


I don't see it being much of an issue. If Sega is involved then why would the use of Sega IP's be a problem?
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby Kamikaze Kenny » Wed Jun 17, 2015 4:01 am

In terms of programming, I haven't worked with the Unreal Engine before. Whenever I've done any game programming (some old PC stuff, mobile, GBA, DS, and I messed around a little with the 360 indie stuff/XNA), well, I guess they *could* take some of the old code and adapt it, or copy some of the game mechanics (not just the fighting) over, such as, for example, collision detection when running around a town.

But, to be honest, I don't think they should. It would be a good point of reference, but nothing more. Ideally, these mechanics should be designed from scratch and improved upon. To copy stuff over wholesale isn't really going to lead to a better game because things probably wouldn't be improved.
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby Kentalis » Wed Jun 17, 2015 4:50 am

I think Sega's involvement will be minimal in this. However, I think we could reasonably expect Shenmue 1 and 2 HD, which they hold the rights to, to appear riding the wave of interest that Shenmue 3 is generating.

The HD versions were already made, a few million in Dev and launch is probably what it would take, the community has already shown they are willing to pay, so seems logical.
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby spinksy » Wed Jun 17, 2015 7:05 am

I have been thinking about this - Sega seem very unpredictable in their decisions in recent years so who knows what will happen with this?
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby SelfActualized » Wed Jun 17, 2015 7:33 am

MiTT3NZ wrote: I see it more along the lines of...

Suzuki: "I wanted to use the Shenmue license again to..."
SEGA: "Yeah, sure, whatever, do what you want with it."
Suzuki: "Okay, great, what we're gonna do is..."
SEGA: "Get out of my office."



Legit LOL
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby Riku Rose » Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:17 pm

My guess is that SEGA has some funding in it but it won't be a large amount. It's still their IP so they're going to want a return on some profits no matter how small. They're still a business at the end of the day.
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby BayStone » Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:24 pm

2 pennies...

darksniper wrote:1)How difficult would the process be to port the Virtua Fighter fighting mechanics into the Unreal Engine?

2) Would the development cycle be smoother/quicker if YS got the Yakuza engine from Sega/or the original engine from the DC and starting from there. Or building from the Unreal Engine from scractch?


1) Depends on how it's originally implemented... if it's good C++, quite easy.

2) If the devs know the Yakuza engine inside out and the engine is good, then maybe yes, but it's still questionable. DC engine is a no-no (edit: well... if it's really really good, and well made, which I doubt, then maybe)
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby Hyo Razuki » Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:45 pm

Sega will probably cash in on their IP in some way. Maybe Ys Net will have to give a part of the revenue or of the profit the game makees to Sega?

But given the fact Sega have always been too dumb to market anything, I'm glad Sony is gonna help out. Sega couldn't market water in the middle of the desert. 8)
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Re: Sega's Involvement with Shenmue 3

Postby alexh86 » Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:49 pm

It's being licensed from Sega and their involvement ends there as far as I can tell. I imagine the deal works similarly to the licensing deals that various groups have used over the years to bring us character statues, shirts, vinyl record albums, etc.

Source: FAQ on the official Kickstarter page
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