MAGIC 2017 - Schrödinger's Shenmue

[James Brown]

EDIT 13/02/2017:

http://www.magic-ip.com/activity/conferences-3/

The schedule for MAGIC has been published, with a general Shibuya Productions panel at 5PM CET (4PM GMT) with Cedric Biscay. If Shenmue III appears, it'll be during this time slot.

--------------

So now that we're only a week away from MAGIC in Monaco (18th of February), I thought I should put up a thread for information about the event, speculation, and realistic expectations.

WHAT WE KNOW

Shenmue III has not been officially announced to be present at the event. Shenmue III's only mention may be just as a bullet point when Shibuya Productions details their upcoming project slate.

WHAT WE CAN ASSUME

Yu Suzuki will not be present. Yu was the first guest confirmed for MAGIC 2016 and his appearance was planned well in advance. While Cedric has not been able to answer affirmatively about Yu being/not being at the event, it is safe to assume at this stage he will not be there.

THE RUMOURS

The general scuttlebutt is that Shenmue III appearing in picture or video format is still possible, but totally in the hands of YSnet. It's completely at their discretion that something is shown. There will be no dedicated Shenmue panel, but I would think Cedric is keeping a spot open during a general Shibuya Productions panel if he receives material to show.

The dream scenario would be that an update is pushed on Kickstarter at the same time, but we have no evidence to indicate that will be the case.

COVERAGE

MAGIC opens its doors on February 18th at 9AM Monaco time, which is CET.

Shenmue Master will be at the event, so you can keep an eye on their Twitter for any information that may break: https://twitter.com/shenmuemasterfr

Peter floated the idea of a stream over on the Shenmue Dojo Twitch channel where he'd continue playing the Shenmue Undub while we wait for any trickle of information. Details will be posted this week. The Shenmue Dojo Twitch channel can be found here: http://www.twitch.tv/shenmuedojo

[Hazuki00]

Good topic Spag!

I hope Cedric shows some pictures at least! I won't get my hopes up but for Shibuya would be a good way to promotion themselves.

[Telekill]

I'm honestly not expecting anything Shenmue related until E3. At E3 though, I'm hoping for the moon and expecting a short trailer for the 3rd game. The moon being a Shenmue HD Collection on PS4/PC and a Shenmue 3 trailer/update.

[FlagshipFighter]

I think that with Cédric's festival growing and becoming an international event he would miss something if he doesn't show at least few pictures or drawings. It will be a good promotion for his festival and for the game. It's a win-win situation. But if he doesn't... I 'll definitely believe that this guy sucks in communication

[Jibby]

Now, now, let's not gear ourselves up for another 'Cedric is evil' rampage. If nothing shows up, that's fine. It doesn't mean Cedric's bad at communication, it just means they've got no filler to show.

[Spaghetti]

Now, now, let's not gear ourselves up for another 'Cedric is evil' rampage. If nothing shows up, that's fine. It doesn't mean Cedric's bad at communication, it just means they've got no filler to show.

Mm.

If there's nothing shown at MAGIC, that's a Japan decision. End of. They're in control of what goes out, or not as the case may be.

[kkenny23]

I don't want to be mean to Cédric, I just say that showing new images or even concept art of shenmue at his festival is a smart move for promoting the Magic Monaco. And it costs absolutely nothing

[ShenmueTree]

Don't expect anything Shenmue related til November, at the very earliest.

[iyapol]

Nice post, matey.

Don't forget the 2017 MONACO teaser which features the Shenmue III papyrus logo and the cherry blossom tree from last year's direct feed.

I'm not getting my hopes up, but it would be great to see some new material, especially after not getting a Kickstarter update in January.

And don't try and kid me that the new year's picture was the update!

[Himuro]

Keeping expectations low but interested in what happens.

[Anonymous81]

What I think (in order to keep my expectations in check):

We might see something at MAGIC, but I'm going to assume not.

We will probably see SOMETHING before May 2017, since they said "early this year." What that will be, I don't know. Perhaps the footage that has already existed for a while according to Peter and others.

Until something happens to compellingly prove otherwise, to be on the safe side, I'm sticking with what I've said since well into 2016, and that is, I don't expect to see anything HUGE and dramatic (like actual gameplay, a new, awesome trailer, etc.) until E3 2017. And I also fully expect the game to be delayed.

And I'm still absolutely fine with all of that, and anything above and beyond that or better than that will just be icing on the cake for me.

[Spaghetti]

E3 speculation is going to kill me.

Funnily enough, we're just over five months away from it. I'm staying optimistically cautious about Shenmue being there, but it's not a given.

[John Doom]

Since they're going to release Shenmue 3 by the end of the year, they have to show something at E3 (unless the game gets delayed ).

[Spaghetti]

Since they're going to release Shenmue 3 by the end of the year, they have to show something at E3 (unless the game gets delayed ).

Well, yeah.

No-showing E3 would be the silver bullet for the game having a significant delay (year+); and without much of a benchmark to judge how much of the game is complete right now, it's best to set expectations to the floor... for the moment.

But all the same, making it out of prototype at the end of last year was a big step. It's clearly not outside the realms of possibility they get the game out on time with additional staff and resources, plus those ridiculous Japanese game development hours we know Yu + team are already pulling.

Only time will tell!

[Anonymous81]

If it's not at E3 in some way shape or form (I have very little doubt it will be, to be clear) that would be the first and only thing so far that actually worries me a bit. Not "Oh no I have to freak out and think the worst!" worry. Just mild concern. It wouldn't be a good sign. Even if there's a delay (as I fully expect to happen personally,) if they can't show *anything* at E3 - even an off stage interview on some gaming channel or what not, that reveals clearer information about the game's status and feature set, or a major KS update that does the same within the E3 window - a full two years after the KS concluded, that would be legitimately worrying to me.

I wouldn't think it means the game is in serious trouble or anything, but it would be enough to raise my eyebrows finally.