Shenmue Online: In-Game Screenshots

Check out these in-game shots of new Shenmue. Plus - latest speculation concerning Shenmue 3.

We'll let the screens do the talking as Shenmue Online comes a few stage closer to release.

Although absent from last month's Tokyo Game Show, Shenmue Online was distrubuted as a digital press kit which contained the first screenshots of the MMORPG for PC.

Said to be the brainchild of Yu Suzuki and his new Digital Rex studio at Sega, the game apparently lacks the smooth appearance of the Dreamcast and Xbox titles in the series, with a slightly, let's say, harsher appearance on some of these visuals.

Shenmue 3

But the game, which is aimed at the Chinese market and designed in collaboration with Korea-based leaders in the MMORPG field JC Entertainment, still has the potential to sell well, and if successful, could convince Sega Sammy Holdings that it's worth bringing back the francise in the form all Sega fans want - a true sequel for consoles - Shenmue 3.

Indeed, according to a recent report on Spong, which Kikizo is able to verify as accurate, Sega has been issuing invitations to tender to respected western developers to handle versions of some of its most famous franchises - franchises it was unable to monetise itself. For example, NiGHTS, Burning Rangers and The House of the Dead are all said to be in line to receive outsourced development work from big name developers behind some of the west's most successful games of late. But properties that have sold fairly well such as Sonic, Virtua Fighter and Monkey Ball, all stay firmly under Sega's development roof.

Could Shenmue 3 be on the list? Since most of the story, character work, game world and technical IP already exists, it is not that far fetched. But then, we're convinced this is something that Yu Suzuki would insist on overseeing in-house. The question is, would his resolve even matter any more with new names on the doors of Sega's management floor? Only time - and an awkward wait through Shenmue Online - will tell.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com