Shenmue Shock: Official Sega News!

It's pretty much the biggest official news possible in Sega land - but is it all just too little, too late? Find out all the details on Yu Suzuki's Shenmue Online.

Update: Trailer and screen grabs added!

In shock news this morning, Sega announced the next in the Shenmue series - it's an MMORPG for PC called Shenmue Online, currently only scheduled for release in China, and whether or not it's the true sequel to Shenmue 2 - the combination of all remaining 'chapters' that obsessive fans have been dreaming about - remains to be seen.

Sega announced that a partnership with JC Entertainment, a Korean online games company, and internet technology specialists T2 Technology, will be central to the release of Shenmue Online, which is viewed as a strategy to enter the Chinese market - unsurprisingly, one of the chief goals of Sammy boss Hajime Satomi.

However the game has been in development at Yu Suzuki's Digital Rex studio since February 2003, and reportedly boasts a budget of over $25 million - indicating that this isn't just some cheap IP rehash purely to enter a new market, but something with the edge you'd expect from Sega's most seasoned creator. Until screenshots and further information are released, it's really hard to tell what the game will end up like. Just remember, this is a Yu Suzuki game that has been in development well before Sega's recent business changes.

JC Entertainment is co-developing and co-publishing the title, which is being supervised by Yu-san, while T2 will license the game for the Chinese market. The game is scheduled for release in Korea as well, with private BETA testing to commence in November, followed by the official release of the game in Spring 2005.

The game is described in today's announcement as a MMO Action RPG in which "tens of thousands of players will participate in the virtual world of Shenmue staged in China including Hong Kong in 1980s. Players, acting as militants, will use mysterious powers, kung-fu, Chinese weapons and Qigong in real-time fight-action."

It could be that Shenmue Online IS Shenmue 3 - or perhaps Shenmue 3 will be a separate game to be announced at a later date. After all, some naysayers had stated that the series would never return - so given today's announcement, anything seems possible.

Kikizo has known for sure that Yu Suzuki has been working on his most beloved creation since September last year, though we were unable to determine how many titles this accounts for. We also have information that suggests fans should expect further shake-up news still to come this year - perhaps at TGS. Could such an announcement be the extension of this news? You'll be first to know.

Update: It has been discovered that the game will apparently have 1300 characters, 6000 cut scenes, multiple fighting styles, and that it will start off in Hong Kong and progress to TinJian and other parts of mainland China. You don't play as Ryo, but interact with him and other characters such as Joy. You can see a whole load more in the video below.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com