What if Shenmue 3 wasn't on PS4 and PC...

[Reprise]

What if Shenmue 3 was exclusive to the Dreamcast instead?

How would you have felt if you went onto the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter page back in June and saw the below images?

In this hypothetical scenario, Shenmue 3 would have run on an improved version of the engine used in Shenmue 1 and 2. It would allow you to import your save files from Shenmue 1 and 2. It would be featured on 4 discs and be region free (although Kickstarter backers would have the choice of PAL, NTSC-U and NTSC-J designs in special "backer only" cases. It would contain a consistent 'feel' and translate all of the features Shenmue fans loved from the original two games.

To some of you who have moved on since the Dreamcast, this whole scenario would sound ridiculous. But to those of you who are still keen Dreamcast enthusiasts and retro gamers, you're probably aware that Indie developers are constantly still working on and releasing new Dreamcast games to this day, so you'll know it's not an entirely ridiculous proposal (apart from the fact, a couple of months ago, the idea of Shenmue 3 ever seeing the light of day seemed ridiculous).

So what do you think?

Edit: Please try and forget about financials and sales etc, and just discuss how you would have felt as a fan of the series.

Credit goes to who arranged the original artwork. It was not me, I saw it somewhere else and I just used it to make conceptual Dreamcast case artwork.

[Benwah]

It would have been a terrible idea, but I would have still bought it. I have my DC and both Shenmue games still so playing it wouldn't have been a problem. Financially though it would have been suicidal and there would have been no chance of getting any other Shenmue games in my opinion.

Also, the Kickstarter would have failed miserably if that was the root they took,

[Reprise]

Damn, I forgot to mention, please try and forget about the financial aspect, if you can. And just think about how you would have felt as a fan of the series.

[Sh3ppy]

Not taking logistics into account, & considering up until very recently we thought the series was as good as dead, I would have been over the moon to see this game come out on the DC.

I am however, much happier that it is being updated & will be released on the PS4.

[Benwah]

Another negative would be that it would have meant that it would remain a very niche game. I want everyone to enjoy Shenmue as much as I do, so having Shenmue 3 come out on the Dreamcast would have meant that there would have been very few converts.

[Reprise]

Also, the Kickstarter would have failed miserably if that was the root they took,

I'm not so sure it would have... The Dreamcast fanbase, although niche, is pretty rampant and known to support a lot of new Dreamcast projects, even now. A game as large as the Shenmue branding and name would have pulled a lot of people in. Not just fans either, but also Ebay collectors hoping to make huge profits.

[Sh3ppy]

Also, the Kickstarter would have failed miserably if that was the root they took,

I'm not so sure it would have... The Dreamcast fanbase, although niche, is pretty rampant and known to support a lot of new Dreamcast projects, even now. A game as large as the Shenmue branding and name would have pulled a lot of people in. Not just fans either, but also Ebay collectors hoping to make huge profits.

Not only that, but I imagine the cost of development would have been drastically lower.

[Reprise]

Also, the Kickstarter would have failed miserably if that was the root they took,

I'm not so sure it would have... The Dreamcast fanbase, although niche, is pretty rampant and known to support a lot of new Dreamcast projects, even now. A game as large as the Shenmue branding and name would have pulled a lot of people in. Not just fans either, but also Ebay collectors hoping to make huge profits.

Not only that, but I imagine the cost of development would have been drastically lower.

Yeah, I had that in mind too.

But Benwah is right that it would have made it a very niche avenue to explore. But that's what I'm going for really. I'm wondering how people would have felt if Yu Suzuki took a completely insular approach and made a game JUST for the fans, forgetting about success, attracting new audiences etc.

[Ceej]

I don't have access to a Dreamcast right now, and I can only imagine what a move like this would do to the resale price of the system on Ebay and other websites.

I emulate Shenmue I and II right now, but there's a lot of sound issues and bugs that I deal with that I wouldn't want on my first experience with Shenmue III. They don't bother me for the first two games since I've played them so many times.

I would buy Shenmue III for Dreamcast if it happened, but for my own selfish reasons, I would prefer a modern release so that I could enjoy it in all its glory.

[MiTT3NZ]

Also, the Kickstarter would have failed miserably if that was the root they took,

I'm not so sure it would have... The Dreamcast fanbase, although niche, is pretty rampant and known to support a lot of new Dreamcast projects, even now. A game as large as the Shenmue branding and name would have pulled a lot of people in. Not just fans either, but also Ebay collectors hoping to make huge profits.

Not only that, but I imagine the cost of development would have been drastically lower.

Other than releasing it on a defunct format? And I ain't just talkin about the Dreamcast (ignoring the odd 2D game release), but GDs as well.

Obviously it would've been great, but it would've also been great if Shenmue III came out over a decade ago and SEGA never left the console business or were bought out by Sammy.

[Benwah]

Also, the Kickstarter would have failed miserably if that was the root they took,

I'm not so sure it would have... The Dreamcast fanbase, although niche, is pretty rampant and known to support a lot of new Dreamcast projects, even now. A game as large as the Shenmue branding and name would have pulled a lot of people in. Not just fans either, but also Ebay collectors hoping to make huge profits.

Not only that, but I imagine the cost of development would have been drastically lower.

I'm not so sure, I imagine that it would be far easier and cheaper to hire programmers to work with Unreal Engine 4 than it would have been to try and get people coding for the Dreamcast.

[Sh3ppy]

I don't have access to a Dreamcast right now, and I can only imagine what a move like this would do to the resale price of the system on Ebay and other websites.

I emulate Shenmue I and II right now, but there's a lot of sound issues and bugs that I deal with that I wouldn't want on my first experience with Shenmue III. They don't bother me for the first two games since I've played them so many times.

I would buy Shenmue III for Dreamcast if it happened, but for my own selfish reasons, I would prefer a modern release so that I could enjoy it in all its glory.

Totally agree.

[Centrale]

I don't think I could have been really happy about it. I love the Dreamcast, have one that I use periodically, and I appreciate the developers who are still working with it. But I want Shenmue to have a bigger future than that, and I'm excited about seeing how its world can be depicted with contemporary tech. I'm hoping that the fanbase will grow. DC is cool, I truly love it, but its fanbase is going to be permanently limited by aging consoles and, eventually, rising prices, unfortunately.

[JaySw34]

I wouldn't be a fan of this idea but I'd still absolutely support it. I'm sure a good portion of the backers (including myself) no longer have Dreamcast. So what could they do to make sure everyone got to play 3? Prices of used Dreamcast consoles would be sure to sky rocket and getting one probably wouldn't be too easy. And I couldn't imagine Sega producing more Dreamcasts 14 years after its discontinuation. I could be wrong though, who knows?

[phinal]

I would definitely buy Shenmue 3 for Dreamcast, it was originally intended to be on there and I'd rather have the trilogy/full series on it. The game woulld also have the transfer save function so yeah!

Love that DC Box Art by the way.