Playstation Experience - December 2016

[Rikitatsu]

I'm trying to find the quote, but I think Yu did say III would finish Chapter 5 and go beyond Chapter 6, so let's assume it gets partway into Chapter 7 the same way II got partway into III. That seems reasonable.

Didn't Chapter 5 finish already with Shenmue 2?
IIRC Shenmue 2 was Chapter 3,4,5,6... Meaning Shenmue 3 will either start off at Ch.7 or the end of Ch.6.

[Hazuki00]

I don't think we have to worry very much about the story being rushed.

Yu Suzuki's Red Bull interview:

“I’m afraid that the story will not be concluded with Shenmue 3,” Suzuki says, frankly. “After thinking it through, we decided that forcing a conclusion in Shenmue 3 would only make the story feel rushed and compromise the game as a whole.

I'm trying to find the quote, but I think Yu did say III would finish Chapter 5 and go beyond Chapter 6, so let's assume it gets partway into Chapter 7 the same way II got partway into III. That seems reasonable.

Anyway, the developer/publisher list for PSX has been announced and there's no sign of YSnet. The list may be for exhibitors, i.e games the public can play at the event, so there's still every chance Shenmue III will be at the stage show.

Too many times in these events they don't list all the games to not spoil the surprise, I'm sure Shenmue 3 will be one of those surprises.

[Spaghetti]

Didn't Chapter 5 finish already with Shenmue 2?
IIRC Shenmue 2 was Chapter 3,4,5,6... Meaning Shenmue 3 will either start off at Ch.7 or the end of Ch.6.

No, I believe II only started Chapter 5.

Yu's wording regarding Chapters is always ambiguous, but even looking at the VF RPG Chapter art, it's clear we haven't gone beyond 5 (Ryo/Akira meets Shenhua, and later Niao Sun).

[Spaghetti]

Too many times in these events they don't list all the games to not spoil the surprise, I'm sure Shenmue 3 will be one of those surprises.

Yeah, I figure that's the case. Still, I'm thinking it might be worth asking Cedric if it's worth a Shenmue fan watching PSX to see if we get enough of a direct hint or not.

[Switch]

I'm trying to find the quote, but I think Yu did say III would finish Chapter 5 and go beyond Chapter 6, so let's assume it gets partway into Chapter 7 the same way II got partway into III. That seems reasonable.

Didn't Chapter 5 finish already with Shenmue 2?
IIRC Shenmue 2 was Chapter 3,4,5,6... Meaning Shenmue 3 will either start off at Ch.7 or the end of Ch.6.

I think the chapter numbering can be confusing depending on whether you are talking about the "11-chapter" structure of the story or the earlier "16-chapter" structure. In terms of 11 chapters, and he made this comment during his China conference (a whole year ago now!):

Q: How many more Shenmue games are there until the end of the story?
Yu: There is a total of 11 chapters. Shenmue 3 will be chapters 5 and 6.

Consensus in the forum discussion at the time was that "chapter 5" means finishing off what was started in Shenmue II, as mentioned by Spags.
viewtopic.php?t=49353#p1123824

[FlagshipFighter]

Hey buddies, so Sony just released all the publishers/developers attending PSX: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/11/ ... evelopers/

I'm a bit concerned that there isn't any mention of SEGA or YS.net. Do you think it's technically listed in 1st party publishing? It could also be a secret, but I thought this was worth sharing regardless.

Alternatively, it could be that the reveal may happen at Geoff's Game Awards instead. This is all food for thought though, hoping for the best regardless!

(p.s. I hope the absence of SEGA here doesn't indicate that we won't hear any Yakuza related announcements, that would be a huge bummer!)

Thoughts?

[Rikitatsu]

Oh OK, thanks for the clarification Spags and Switch.

So Shenmue is Ch.1... and Shenmue II is Ch.3,4, and a bit of 5.
Shenmue III would be the remainder of Ch.5 and Ch.6.

Is that right?
If so, that means Shenmue II was two and a half(?) chapters.
While Shenmue III would be one and a half (?) chapters.

If that's true, then I doubt it will be as long as Shenmue 2.
Then again, Shenmue 1 was one Chapter and it wasn't terribly short (Although it was padded a lot by waiting around, as opposed to Shenmue 2).

[FlagshipFighter]

I think that's the quote I may have been looking for, Switch. I'm not sure where I got "beyond Chapter 6"... Could have been another interview.

Rikitatsu - Shenmue II is Chapter 2, 4, and part of 5 I believe. 3 is the train Chapter and was omitted. I know a lot of people refer to the boat bit as Chapter 2, but going from the art I don't think that's the case really. I'm not even sure 4 made it in, as a lot of the character designs for Chapter 4's art look way different than what we got.

And it's not worth worrying about game length based on Chapters, that's figured out independently in the game design rather than how far the story spans.

Hey buddies, so Sony just released all the publishers/developers attending PSX: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/11/ ... evelopers/

I'm a bit concerned that there isn't any mention of SEGA or YS.net. Do you think it's technically listed in 1st party publishing? It could also be a secret, but I thought this was worth sharing regardless.

Alternatively, it could be that the reveal may happen at Geoff's Game Awards instead. This is all food for thought though, hoping for the best regardless!

(p.s. I hope the absence of SEGA here doesn't indicate that we won't hear any Yakuza related announcements, that would be a huge bummer!)

Thoughts?

We went over this a little bit earlier, but basically if it's at PSX, it's likely a surprise deeply under wraps and so won't be listed for obvious reasons.

I personally don't think Shenmue III is a good fit for the very mainstream Game Awards, so I really wouldn't expect to see it there. PSX is the more appropriate venue, and hopefully where we'll be getting the video.

Worst case scenario is that it appears at neither and the trailer/video launches on the Kickstarter page at the end of December.

Actually, the real worst case scenario is that we got nothing at PSX or in the December KS update, but I really don't believe that'll ever be what happens.

[Kiske]

Too many times in these events they don't list all the games to not spoil the surprise, I'm sure Shenmue 3 will be one of those surprises.

Yeah, I figure that's the case. Still, I'm thinking it might be worth asking Cedric if it's worth a Shenmue fan watching PSX to see if we get enough of a direct hint or not.

I would not ask Cédric (again) about "spoiling" any Shenmue 3 surprise.

This tweet https://twitter.com/CedricBiscay/status ... 0165613568 is indeed a pretty strong hint about the December period.
He could have said, "no plan before next Year" if nothing is scheduled by the end of the Year.
As you said in your latest post, if what Cédric said in the above tweet is true, worst case scenario we could get something within the December KS update.

Beside, this uncertainty is kind of exciting, isn't it?

We are 22 days away from PSX. I'm convinced this will be a show worth watching!

[Hazuki00]

We went over this a little bit earlier, but basically if it's at PSX, it's likely a surprise deeply under wraps and so won't be listed for obvious reasons.

I personally don't think Shenmue III is a good fit for the very mainstream Game Awards, so I really wouldn't expect to see it there. PSX is the more appropriate venue, and hopefully where we'll be getting the video.

Worst case scenario is that it appears at neither and the trailer/video launches on the Kickstarter page at the end of December.

Actually, the real worst case scenario is that we got nothing at PSX or in the December KS update, but I really don't believe that'll ever be what happens.

This is another possibility. What I think is maybe they don't have the updated models of Ryo and Shenhua and they are not sure to show a trailer at psx in such conditions so it fits better in a kickstarter trailer. I don't know If I explained well myself..Showing a trailer that is going to be seen by so much people like at psx it must be well done so that press don't start criticize it again. Instead of that, they release a big update showing much more material.

[FlagshipFighter]

I did have a different post mostly finished, but I just got a reply from Cedric when I asked if Shenmue fans should be eager for PSX.

I said:

Just so nobody gets excited needlessly, will it be worth Shenmue fans watching out for PSX next month?

And Cedric replied:

If we are ready on time , we will show something next december. I cannot confirm at this stage.

Has to be noted: the "next December" thing is likely a consequence of him not being a native English speaker. I remember there was similar confusion around MAGIC Monaco time when he talked about showing Shenmue III next February, when he merely meant the following month not year.

No commitment to showing at PSX, but it's not a straight "no" either. It seems like they may have a slot, if they can get a video finished on time.

[Spaghetti]

Here's what I gather of the situation (some hypothesising included):

- A December showing is something they really want to do.

- BUT, a lot of resources have to be balanced, and so there is the possibility of something more important for the overall game development taking priority, and the reveal being pushed back.

I imagine they do have a slot at PSX but Sony can pull it if YSnet aren't ready to show the game.

It's possible the "ready on time" stuff might relate to the new hires like cutscene artists so there is more cutscene material for a trailer, or they're looking to reduce the placeholder materials/bump up the graphics, or they just need the time to refine the trailer to a highly professional standard, or perhaps all three.

I wouldn't be worried about Cedric not confirming anything with less than a month until PSX remaining, because you'd be surprised how hot some of these trailers come in at press conferences. I remember stories of Ryan Payton and other Kojima Productions members flying to LA for E3 with the 2006 MGS4 trailer on a harddrive/Blu-Ray backup.

If Yu plans to be in LA at the very start of the month, and I assume he might just to avoid potential conflicts with holiday events, then I'll take that as confirmation that the plan is/was to bring the game to PSX.

[Hazuki00]

I did have a different post mostly finished, but I just got a reply from Cedric when I asked if Shenmue fans should be eager for PSX.

I said:

Just so nobody gets excited needlessly, will it be worth Shenmue fans watching out for PSX next month?

And Cedric replied:

If we are ready on time , we will show something next december. I cannot confirm at this stage.

Has to be noted: the "next December" thing is likely a consequence of him not being a native English speaker. I remember there was similar confusion around MAGIC Monaco time when he talked about showing Shenmue III next February, when he merely meant the following month not year.

No commitment to showing at PSX, but it's not a straight "no" either. It seems like they may have a slot, if they can get a video finished on time.

Ummm, just in case I'm not going to have any illusions ... But as we talked, not being on the PSX does not mean that they do not show some video in the next update.

[Spaghetti]

Ummm, just in case I'm not going to have any illusions ... But as we talked, not being on the PSX does not mean that they do not show some video in the next update.

Oh yeah, of course. If it misses PSX there's still every chance we just get the video when they're ready to show it later in the month.

It's hard to pin down what the plan is from Cedric's tweet, but I would have to assume PSX is their optimal strategy for the publicity and exposure opportunities, and hopefully coinciding with Yu's LA dinner for a single cost-effective business trip. If there was no plan to be at PSX at all I think he'd just come out and say it, hopefully.

If they miss PSX, then whatever they've got to show will almost certainly be in the December update.

I reaaaaally hope they manage to get whatever they need to do done, though. It's starting to get a little too long since we've actually seen the game in a proper fashion. I get these things take time, but patience seems to be fraying for some fans. The showing at MAGIC did a lot towards making those text-based updates in the following months more palatable. A trailer would go a long way to keeping people sated until the next opportunity to show it off before release.

[Kiske]

Thank you Spags

I really do hope they make it for PSX.

It makes a huge promotional difference (just look at how many people are unaware of the KS updates or sadly even the MAGIC) and would certainly be of a big help for both Slacker Backer & #SaveShenmueHD campaigns.

As a Shenmue fan, I don't care if we get a trailer at the PSX, during a KS update or at Magic 2017.
As far as I know they are working hard and with all the necessary serenity on Shenmue 3, I'm happy.

It's really from the promotional point of view that PSX would be perfect...