Cool early UK Shenmue Promo

[ShenmueAddict]

Check this very early promo vid of Shenmue shown in the UK, probably around 1999 when Shenmue was still a work in progress and S1 & 2 were most likely still joined



Complete with cool Drum n Bassy music typical of the era lol

[ShenmueAddict]

The bit where Wong throws the fire crackers and also where Ren punches Ryo and Ryo pins him up against the wall, they were totally omitted from the finished game. Really interesting to see

[JoePesciAddict]

That's crazy, were Shenmue 1 and 2 really combined at one time? I didn't even realize that that much of both games had been produced back in 1999. That would explain the enormous budget.

[Let's Get Sweaty!]

Exactly, the first two games were developed together, and what also contributed to the cost was starting out on the Saturn and then redoing everything for the Dreamcast once that decision to change platforms was made (and you'll have seen what a transformation that was).

[gboy]

well that backs my theory, over shenmue 1,2 us, 2x sega got back the money they spent on shenmue with possibly a small profit, the whole "shenmue made sega sink" is an urban legend and it's only fault was not living up to the popularity that was expected of it

[Let's Get Sweaty!]

It was one of the most popular games on the Dreamcast, but due to Sega's sullied reputation as a hardware brand, that was like being a runaway hit on the 3DO. Small pond syndrome.

Now if it had been a certain type of game, it might have expanded that pond by compelling people to buy a Dreamcast just to play it. But we had already entered the Pokemon era where the real driving force behind any game shifting hardware units was (and remains) the social stigma of being the only one of your friends not joining in the fun. Shenmue didn't have that kind of social inclusion, like Monster Hunter, Halo and Call of Duty have. Phantasy Star Online did, yet it still failed to force the average Joe into buying a console from a manufacturer they'd grown wary of (Saturn, 32X, CD).

[mue26]

Phantasy Star would never have been a big seller. The whole internet on console thing was too new at the time, and it's just not a game that would ever really appeal a big non-jap audience unfortunately.

Shenmue did indeed sell well for a DC game. But as you said, it wasn't a system seller. The idea was again quite new, and Sega described it in very vague terms in it's PR (it's an experience, not a game), nobody knew what the hell it was. But good marketing still probably wouldn't have got that many people to get a new DC for it. It's a relatively slow paced a non violent game, it doesn't appeal to 15 yr olds with ADD. As you say, Sega needed a bigger install base.