Will Sega ever make a Shenmue 3?

Answer 1

Most likely- no. The first Shenmue was the most expensive video game ever made up until that time. In order for Shenmue I to have been commercialy successful every Dreamcast owner would have had to purchase two copies of Shenmue I. Being that the engine of the Shenmue series was complete for the development of Shenmue II the design costs were dramatically reduced -thus it saw a much larger profit, but still not nearly enough for the business side of Sega to justify green lighting a such a monumentally involved project such as Shenmue. An X-box version of Shenmue II was later released to disastrous sales. The reason being that the X-box version of Shenmue II was hardly advertised at all. Also to fully enjoy the story of Shenmue II one probably should have completed Shenmue I. X-box people and Dreamcast people are very different people and the owners of Dreamcast's and X-box's were rare to be sure. It was like they released empire strikes back having released A new hope in like three theaters. In 2010 a game called "Shenmue town" was announced -many believing this would be Shenmue III. This however turned out to be false when it was announced that Shenmue Town was in fact a social networking game for cell phones. The only chance for a Shenmue III, that I can logically conclude is that if Shenmue I+II were ever to be released with STRONG sales on one of the console download networks: X-box live, PlayStation Network, Wii virtual console then maybe it would ignite enough hope in Sega that they could actually make a profit on a franchise that many consider antiquated and dead. This is not so much a ridicules concept when one considers the trend of reviving old franchises using old design and play mechanics: Mega Man 10, Sonic the Hedgehog Episode 1, the 2D Mario's that are call backs to the styles of yesteryear. But in the end one must realize Shenmue, while being loved by its fans, is not a game for everybody. And Shenmue, unlike a book or student film, is a tremendously expensive undertaking. If you want a Shenmue purchase the the first and second chapters if ever released for digital consoles. Letters and petitions from fan boy's are all really well and good but, they don't inspire hope in the share holders for a profit. Expensive art follows the chance for a return. Someone has to pay for it. Sega is a Company not your friend.