Sega Dreamcast

[DXP]

my dreamcast stopped working i've had it for 2 years and i finally got to the 3rd disc of shenmue 1 and the damn thing refuses to run any disc *sighs* anyway its a awesome console its a shame it flopped when the ps2 came out.

[The Dude]

i heard the x box version sucked too, so i'm just hunting for another copy of it. i remember last year there was a lot of hype for shenmue 3.. i guess they went broke again

Shenmue 3 will never happen, the previous 2 games despite being critically acclaimed and of cult status, cost too much to develop and didn't sell very well and from what I gathered neither did the Xbox port of Shenmue 2 in the US.

Its a shame, Shenmue II was rather good.

[SinValentine]

yea shenmue 2 over here for x box is like 8 dollars. and it's DC version on ebay can go up to $ 36.

the cheapest i've ever seen it was 30 though.

[The Dude]

You think thats bad try bidding for it on Ebay.co.uk.
The price can double but the Japanese dub *despite the lax translation at places and the censorship of one character* was superior to the US dub from the Xbox version.

[SinValentine]

who'd they censor? Lan Di?

[The Dude]

Yuan, a character in Shenmue 2, they re-dubbed her voice in the PAL version with a womans when in actuality she was a transexual if memory serves.
Alot of Ryo's dialogue matches this in Shenmue 2 as it wasn't changed however the Subtitles are changed to smooth over any inconsistencies, so sometimes what Ryo says isn't what comes up in the subs in relation to Yuan on disc 3 of Shenmue.

[Umon Daisuke]

Shenmue III would've happened had the 2nd game been on the PS2. It's just one of those rare scenarios where the user base really mattered to keep the franchise alive, given overall development costs. US Xbox sales of the game literally put the final nail in the coffin, and Suzuki had a hard time trying to rally Sega to fund a third game.

Years later, Sega's Nagoshi uses elements of Shenmue to make a game and it becomes a hit that's getting a third release already. Oddly enough, Ryu ga gotoku aka Yakuza, didn't receive much attention in the west either.

It's just too reminiscent of Shenmue, right down to the combat system.

Anyway, if anyone can get over the English VA, the Xbox version is quite good technically. The controller is more responsive, and there is no slowdown.

[Borman]

Its hard to say. Microsoft tossed money at them, but I dont know how much that was, and what type of corners would have had to been cut in the then early PS2 development. I also wonder if it would have been better to have Shenmue 2 on the DC in the US, but really, I think any system wouldnt have been enough.

[FeurMensch]

I've had my Dreamcast for nearly 8 years and it still works great. Same with my Playstation, I had the PSX for 10+ years and it is still going great. My PSX was in the first run, so it was made in Japan.

The only system that died on me was my brothers Xbox (failed mod-chip install) and a Sega Genesis which just died out of nowhere.

I only play the Dreamcast for RE2/RE3 and Guilty Gear and Shenmue 1/2. What a great system. Too bad it didn't last. I'm sure it would have been a conteder for the PS2 if it wouldn't have died.

[SinValentine]

yea i was going to mention that, when i played yakuza it was like shenmue all over again minus the constant thug talk

[The Dude]

I thought it was badly Localised for the US.
The thug talk and constant Vulgarity really got to me, which was a shock to the system as I can be a really vulgar person.

[Umon Daisuke]

I also wonder if it would have been better to have Shenmue 2 on the DC in the US, but really, I think any system wouldnt have been enough.

It would've been much better on the DC. The first game sold nearly 500K on the DC in the US, while the Xbox SII sold less than 200K.

Early PS2 development issue notwithstanding, the user base factor would've helped achieve enough sales to warrant a sequel. There was a distinct discrepancy between the demographics of each system back then; that line is getting blurry albeit very slowly.

[Borman]

The funny thing is though, I picked up the European version for DC up in Software Etc (now Gamestop). Saw it on the shelf and had to have it hah