Summary
- Shenmue fans launched a bold campaign with a billboard in Times Square, pushing for Shenmue 4 to be released.
- Fan website Shenmue Dojo's billboard aims to spread awareness to help developer Ys Net find a partner for Shenmue 4.
- Series creator Yu Suzuki has said he is working on Shenmue 4, but the project will need a partner in order to become a reality.
Shenmue fans are showing their desire for a new game in the series in a bold way. Fans are desperate to see protagonist Ryo Hazuki’s story continue in a new Shenmue game.
Created, produced, and directed by Yu Suzuki, Shenmue is an action-adventure game, first released in 1999 for the Sega Dreamcast. Shenmue 2 followed in 2001 on the Dreamcast, with a port for the original Xbox. After entering development purgatory for several years, Shenmue 3 was released in 2019 for PlayStation 4 and PC thanks to a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, which became the fastest- and highest-funded video game project in Kickstarter history. Shenmue 3 reached its initial $2 million goal in about nine hours and the campaign garnered a total of $6.3 million.
Via IGN, the fan website Shenmue Dojo launched a campaign on June 4 to show support for Shenmue 4 with a billboard in New York City’s Times Square. Shenmue Dojo intends to spread awareness for a fourth installment with the hashtag #LetsGetShenmue4. In addition, Shenmue Dojo used the billboard "to support the continuation of the series and attempt to spread global awareness to find Ys Net a potential partner for Shenmue 4." Ys Net is Suzuki’s independent development studio.
Shenmue Fans Campaign for Fourth Installment in the Series
The billboard was broadcast live during Shenmue Dojo’s Shenmue Day stream, with a 15-second advertisement in Times Square. The fans behind Shenmue Dojo admit that “Shenmue fans do some insane things to try and get recognized,” and they hope Sega is watching. The campaign had Shenmue trending on Twitter, so their efforts were successful in that regard.
Shenmue Dojo thanked its fellow Shenmue fans with a message on its site: “Thank you to everyone that helped to show their support with the timed mass tweets/posts today. It was very much appreciated and proves that together, as a collective, we can spread the awareness that we are not going to sit back without a fight. We will continue to strive until Shenmue 4 is a reality."
In an interview with IGN last year, Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki said he is currently working on Shenmue 4 and that the only thing needed to make it is a partner. He also intends to make the game more accessible to new players who don’t know the history of the previous games. Suzuki said he has ideas for a prequel game called Shenmue Zero, focusing on a young Ryo.
Shenmue was the most expensive video game ever developed in 1999, with production and marketing costs ranging from $47 million to $70 million. Therefore, Shenmue 4 might have a difficult time finding a partner, with costs likely to be even higher now. Yet, given their willingness to buy a billboard for their favorite video game and donate millions of dollars to get a previous game made, Suzuki might want to look to Shenmue fans for Shenmue 4.
Shenmue
- Released
- December 29, 1999
- ESRB
- t
A tale of revenge.
In 1986, teenage jujitsu artist Ryo Hazuki returns to the dojo of his father, Iwao Hazuki, only to witness his murder by a Chinese man, Lan Di. Lan Di steals a mysterious artifact known as the Dragon Mirror. Ryo vows to avenge his father’s death and sets out tracing Lan Di’s path.
The first game in the series, Shenmue begins the tale as Ryo travels around Yokosuka, Japan, gathering clues about his father’s murder and dealing with nefarious gangsters along the way
