Shenmue 3 & E3 2017 - UPDATE - Confirmed will NOT be at E3

[Spaghetti]

^... or Cedric Biscay, the Shibuya owner and Managing Director?

It really all depends on how far Cedric's involvement with the project goes and how big his clout within S3 is. If I remember correctly, his job title on S3 is "Co-Producer". What exactly that means, I cannot tell. Maybe a forum member who has worked in game development before can.

I suspect Cedric's role is that of some kind of controller, who makes sure Yu doesn't spend too much money. It might be that Cedric has no direct operational involvement with S3 and only has a vague idea what's really going on operations-wise.

I'm not really talking about what Cedric's role is or not, but the context of the reply to that tweet.

I'll put what I was trying to say in clearer terms; is he acknowledging that the team is putting together a trailer, or is he just acknowledging the demand for one?

[Himuro]

So I guess the question is if the "we" refers to Cedric Biscay as part of the Shenmue III team, or Cedric Biscay the Shenmue fan.

Given the context of the original question, which was parsed towards Cedric the producer - rather than Cedric the fan - I think it's pretty clear that he's making that tweet as Cedric the producer. "We" definitely stands as the Shenmue III team and all partners in that tweet.

[Spaghetti]

I've asked him to elaborate either way, so hopefully we'll get some direct clarification soon.

[Hyo Razuki]

I'm not really talking about what Cedric's role is or not, but the context of the reply to that tweet.

I'll put what I was trying to say in clearer terms; is he acknowledging that the team is putting together a trailer, or is he just acknowledging the demand for one?

I was saying, Cedric probably wouldn't know if they are working on a trailer in Tokyo, so if you take it as Cedric speaking as Cedric the S3 team member, he is most likely just acknowledging the demand for a trailer.

[Spaghetti]

And on that note, I just got the reply:

Hi, sorry but I do not want to make any comment on this as long as I do not have concrete information from the dev team.

Cautious answer, which is fair enough.

[Spaghetti]

I was saying, Cedric probably wouldn't know if they are working on a trailer in Tokyo, so if you take it as Cedric speaking as Cedric the S3 team member, he is most likely just acknowledging the demand for a trailer.

It's... difficult to pin down what Cedric may or may not know in any case. He's more clued in than any of us, but obviously isn't as close to the project as someone who works on it day-in, day-out.

However, he's financier and publishing/marketing force behind the PC version. He's going to be involved to some degree if a big promotional burst is due to happen, although judging from his answer to me he isn't up on the moment to moment discussions happening at YSnet.

At a guess I'd say they've discussed it as a possibility, but a final decision hasn't been made and Cedric doesn't know anything beyond that.

[shredingskin]

It might be that Cedric has no direct operational involvement with S3 and only has a vague idea what's really going on operations-wise.

Maybe he doesn't want to spoil anything. Like really, Sony got kinda mad when YS tweeted the forklift.

It's less than a month away. We'll find out soon enough (not only that, thanks to the 10000 bucks people we got "insider" info that the game is flowing well).

Like really, saying yes or no it's not a good strategy (if he knew). It's good enough that he replies to fans directly.

[Spaghetti]

Not wanting to spoil anything doesn't really gel with his other comment about the team probably announcing if they're showing the game at E3, though.

We're just going to have to keep sitting on our hands. At least we're less than a month from E3, and just a few weeks from another update.

I do have the nagging thought in the back of my mind we're not going to get the re-reveal we want, though. I guess you can't really remove every bit of residual cynicism.

[shredingskin]

Why would they want to announce if they're going to show something at E3 ?
Best for hype is to be a surprise (like we expect E3 to have).
There's literally no good reason.

[Spaghetti]

Why would they want to announce if they're going to show something at E3 ?
Best for hype is to be a surprise (like we expect E3 to have).
There's literally no good reason.

Beats me, but the way Cedric put it is that's likely how they're handling turning up at press events.

Announcing being there is probably no better or worse for hype than appearing by surprise, so it doesn't matter in that respect.

[Let's Get Sweaty]

Keeping it a surprise allows/encourages the media to make a story out of it. "Shenmue 3 was there!" is more newsworthy if it hasn't already appeared in a list of confirmed appearances before the event.

[Spaghetti]

Keeping it a surprise allows/encourages the media to make a story out of it. "Shenmue 3 was there!" is more newsworthy if it hasn't already appeared in a list of confirmed appearances before the event.

The media will cover it regardless. The "oh shit, Shenmue III!" coverage was all over and done with by the time E3 2015 closed, though. There's no repeat of that.

There's an expectation for it to appear because we already know it exists, basically. Announcing it is just putting confirmation on the expectation. The hype is going to come from what they show, not how they show it.

And honestly? After PSX it seems a wise policy to keep for the interim. No Shenmue III appearances unless announced... in theory. Even Cedric doesn't seem totally convinced that's the agreed way to handle things, and likely that decision is being taken in Japan.

Like many things with Shenmue III, the only answer we have right now is: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

yu pls. give us something big to talk about. pls. pls yu.

[FlagshipFighter]

Not wanting to spoil anything doesn't really gel with his other comment about the team probably announcing if they're showing the game at E3, though.

We're just going to have to keep sitting on our hands. At least we're less than a month from E3, and just a few weeks from another update.

I do have the nagging thought in the back of my mind we're not going to get the re-reveal we want, though. I guess you can't really remove every bit of residual cynicism.

Surely if get what the 10K backers got at the very least that would be jaw-dropping. Anyway, as I (attempted) to write in a very lengthy post yesterday that Chrome deleted (for good or bad): there's so much this year in terms of Shenmue-esque games we're getting that Shenmue 3 pushed back so afar that we don't really feel much of anything (I know that's not applicable for anyone but it's certainly makes me feel more patient for our anticipated third entry).

And with that: OH MY WORDZ they need to drop the Shenmue HD info on us prompto! If they do, that'd be more than enough to anticipate (though I expect it only makes sense that they'd at least acknowledge Shenmue 3 in that situation). I wonder just how dense things will be, will they even bother to promote titles like Yakuza Kiwami/6? Kiwami is coming out so soon and surely they won't show 6 in order to not detract us from the attention of Kiwami. Heck Sony c'mon, just go ahead say that you'll make playstation a new home for Shenmue (and Yakuza too), I think that's all they need to do to rile us up.

I have not doubt what they'll show for Shenmue 3 will be awesome. It's the first real/tangible reveal that I'm sure everyone there has had an idea for how they want it to be, imo all it needs to do is to top the 10K backer trailer at the very very least, which I'm sure they'll achieve easily because that sounded great in itself. I'm sure it'll follow the style of the Shenmue 1 and 2 trailers, which as we know are all amazing. It's just a question of when and where that I think will pose opinions/concerns from those who wanted it to be at a particular convention or at a booth for exposure.

I swear if Shenmue HD isn't shown I'm going to take my mom to SEGA HQ so she can tell them just what they've done! Failing that...ooooh I'm gonna... I'll have some very telling words to say to them on Twitter! #toothlesstiger :p

But yeah, 28-days-ish and we'll get a clearer picture of what's ahead. And on the subject of pictures, I just found this gem:

(I love how in this picture, #SaveShenmue has a whole new meaning when you pose it with that picture! xD Damn Joel you beautiful sonova beach!)

[Let's Get Sweaty]

Keeping it a surprise allows/encourages the media to make a story out of it. "Shenmue 3 was there!" is more newsworthy if it hasn't already appeared in a list of confirmed appearances before the event.

The media will cover it regardless. The "oh shit, Shenmue III!" coverage was all over and done with by the time E3 2015 closed, though. There's no repeat of that.

I didn't mean "OMG, SHENMUE MUTHAFUCKIN THREEEEE!!! IT'S ALIIIIIIIVE!!!"

I meant "Hey look, here's a thing you didn't know - Game X was there, unannounced."

It's the difference between possibly being relegated to an article listing the trailers that were shown at E3, and actually being an item of news in and of itself.

[FlagshipFighter]

I wonder just how dense things will be, will they even bbother to maker things such as Yakuza Kiwami/6? Kiwami is coming out so soon and surely they won't show 6 in order to not detract us from the attention of Kiwami.

Typically Sony hasn't shown much of Yakuza at E3 at all, have they? Usually just part of a montage toward the end of their presentations. Maybe that will change since it seems 0 has broken through to a little bit higher degree of popularity in the West.

Regarding the whole issue of the surprise factor in E3 reveals, mabye it's just because I'm getting older and I've worked on being less susceptible to hype, but I'm not that convinced in surprise reveals being an important part of promoting a game. The major reveals these days are predictable sequels to established AAA franchises. We'll see the next Call of Duty, the next Forza and GT, probably the next Last of Us, things like that. With so much noise and hype surrounding those franchises, wouldn't it be better to feature an indie title like Shenmue III before or after them? Or if it is featured in the main presentation, does it detract from its potential market in any way if they let us know in advance that something will or won't be shown? I think the effort to make everything a surprise reveal also enables trolls to toy with fake rumors. I'm not really decided about it all, just sorting through various random thoughts on it.