Sega will release remasters of Shenmue I and II this year for the PC, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. The two games, which originally appeared at the beginning of this decade for Sega’s Dreamcast, are bundled together.
Sega shows the first images of the remasters in a trailer. It is an early alpha version, which does not seem to differ much from the original games in terms of graphic style. Sega therefore promises that the remasters remain ‘true to the original’. However, at least the resolution of the remasters will be considerably higher than that of the original games.
Shenmue came out of Europe in late 2000 for the Sega Dreamcast. With production and marketing costs between 47 and 70 million dollars it was the most expensive game ever. 1.2 million copies of the game were sold and that was not enough to cover the costs. This made the game a commercial flop.
The game got good reviews and is seen as innovative, because it was one of the first open world games and the use of quick time events was new at the time. The game has a day and night cycle, and variable weather conditions. The level of detail in the virtual city and the presence of various mini-games were considered very detailed at the time. A year later Shenmue II came out, but that game did not convince with sales numbers.
Martial artist Ryo Hazuki is the main character in both games. The first part takes place in the early eighties in Yokosuka, Japan. Hazuki is there for revenge for the murder of his father. The second part takes place in Hong Kong in 1987 and Hazuki continues his search for the murderer of his father.
Sega does not yet mention the appearance of the remasters, but reports that the games will be released this year. The remasters come out for the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One and Steam. Both games are in a bundle that will cost thirty dollars.
We are also working on Shenmue III but not by Sega. Yu Suzuki, the developer who came up with the series, acquired the rights and raised money for a third in the series through crowdfunding. Shenmue III will be released in the second half of this year for Windows and the PlayStation 4.
Shenmue came out of Europe in late 2000 for the Sega Dreamcast. With production and marketing costs between 47 and 70 million dollars it was the most expensive game ever. 1.2 million copies of the game were sold and that was not enough to cover the costs. This made the game a commercial flop.
The game got good reviews and is seen as innovative, because it was one of the first open world games and the use of quick time events was new at the time. The game has a day and night cycle, and variable weather conditions. The level of detail in the virtual city and the presence of various mini-games were considered very detailed at the time. A year later Shenmue II came out, but that game did not convince with sales numbers.
Martial artist Ryo Hazuki is the main character in both games. The first part takes place in the early eighties in Yokosuka, Japan. Hazuki is there for revenge for the murder of his father. The second part takes place in Hong Kong in 1987 and Hazuki continues his search for the murderer of his father.
Sega does not yet mention the appearance of the remasters, but reports that the games will be released this year. The remasters come out for the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One and Steam. Both games are in a bundle that will cost thirty dollars.
We are also working on Shenmue III but not by Sega. Yu Suzuki, the developer who came up with the series, acquired the rights and raised money for a third in the series through crowdfunding. Shenmue III will be released in the second half of this year for Windows and the PlayStation 4.