Anyone who was playing games around the year 200 definitely remembers the hub-bub that surrounded Yu Suzuki’s magnum opus, Shenmue, which released late that year for the fondly remembered Sega Dreamcast.
While Shenmue wasn’t without its flaws, the game, much like the system that housed it, was a unique experience that was in many ways well ahead of its time.
17 years have passed, and for many gamers who were there, the memory of Shenmue still burns brightly within their hearts.
It now appears that there is a chance for the love of Shenmue to be rekindled, and a whole new generation may get the opportunity to experience it for themselves.
Sega-centric site, TSSZ News has caught wind of brand new domain name filings that point to the possibility that Shenmue is about to get a remastered re-release.
You’ll get to spend as much time with sailors as you want – if Shenmue is really getting a remaster.
The first filling comes from Sega Europe, and is for ShenmueHD.com. The other two, as reported by another outlet, SegaBITS, are for Shenmueremastered.com and Shenuegame.com.
While these don’t necessarily mean that we are indeed about to get a pretty, HD version of Shenmue, it would be an odd and pointless move for Sega of Europe to go to all the trouble of registering ShenmueHD and Shenmueremastered domains if SOMETHING weren’t in the winds. And, as TSSZ notes:
“If there’s one thing past experiences have taught us here on TSSZ, it’s that a domain registration is not only very accurate with SEGA projects, but it usually means that that SEGA project is very close to being unveiled.”
The article goes on to confirm that all of the Shenmue domains in question were registered in September of 2016, and that they were the “only domains that Sega registered in 2016.”
With Yu Suzuki currently hard at work on the Kickstarter funded Shenmue III (which was shockingly announced at E3 2015) a remastered version of the original Shenmue would be a wonderfully astute way to capitalize on the attention that the impending third entry in the series will receive upon release.
As far as when a potential remaster of Shenmue may be announced?
Product placement was a thing even back in 2000.
Nintendo happens to have a big shindig coming up on Thursday, January 12th, where they will give the world the full rundown of everything related to their upcoming Switch console.
It would be a good idea to check out NerdBacon’s simulcast with commentary of the Nintendo Switch reveal event on our Twitch channel – twitch.tv/nerdbacon on Thursday January 12th, at 11pm EST.
Would a remastered, HD version of Shenmue appeal to you? Or is that something best left in your dream(cast)?
Let us know in the comments section below.
Written by The Watchman
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