Joystiq

Yu Suzuki expresses interest in obtaining Shenmue license from Sega

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST

Get your grains of salt ready, we're about to report on the potential release of another Shenmue title. Speaking to French fan site Shenmue Master at the Toulouse Games Show (not to be confused with the other TGS), Shenmue maestro Yu Suzuki expressed possible interest in obtaining the Shenmue license from Sega.

When asked exactly who owns the license, Suzuki responded that the license currently belongs to Sega. That said, he added that "we can obtain the license from Sega," presumably speaking on behalf of his company, YS Net. Of course, that's not a direct confirmation that YS Net is actually pursuing such a transaction.

Even if it is, there's no guarantee the license would be used for a true Shenmue sequel anyway. After all, the last Shenmue project turned out be a (recently shuttered) social game. See the English translation of the interview after the break (skip to 9:40 for the question regarding Shenmue's license).

Continue reading Yu Suzuki expresses interest in obtaining Shenmue license from Sega

Yu Suzuki expresses interest in obtaining Shenmue license from Sega originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yu Suzuki leaving management role at Sega in September

JC Fletcher — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:20:00 EST

Yu Suzuki, the living embodiment of all your favorite Sega memories, revealed in a Gamasutra interview that he is leaving his management position within the company's AM2 studio in September, though he'll remain at Sega as an advisor. He's actually been working at his own company, YS Net, since 2008, in conjunction with his continued employment at Sega.

After dropping the news of his departure, he discussed some of his previous works -- including the unreleased MMO, Shenmue Online. Suzuki described his concept for the game as "a town that players create as they enter the game and play it -- something like a multi-CPU system, with each player serving as a CPU." One player, then, would handle important drunk-Santa computations, while another would act as the hot-dog vending core.

Yu Suzuki leaving management role at Sega in September originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shenmue Town is a 'side story,' made by Yu Suzuki's new company

JC Fletcher — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 22:05:00 EST

Here's a thought experiment. Would it be worse if:

Yu Suzuki's Shenmue story continued, but in the form of a mobile game that none of us will ever play, or
a new (mobile, Japanese) Shenmue game was made by Suzuki, and didn't continue the story?

Both of those are kind of hellish -- the first means that we'd only be able to catch up with our pal Ryo through online summaries by fans, while the second would mean that the Shenmue story was being drawn out even more without reaching any kind of resolution.

Shenmue Town, the Japan-only mobile game announced last month, will be a "side story" to the Shenmue games, developed by Yu Suzuki's Ys Net and managed by Sunsoft. So Suzuki finally figured out a way to make more Shenmue ... and it's a "side story." There are still few details about the game: Andriasang reports that you'll start in Yokusuka, setting for the first Dreamcast game, as Ryo Hazuki. Art on the official site is all Dreamcast-era character art, with a note that "Shenmue returns" and an invitation to "Come back this winter."

Shenmue Town is a 'side story,' made by Yu Suzuki's new company originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 22:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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