Shenmue was a game franchise that grew a cult following though after only two installments, the franchise was put on ice for several years. It was an expensive video game to make and the sales didn’t justify putting another installment out into the market. However, thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, Shenmue 3 hit the market. Years later Yu Suzuki, series creator, unveiled Shenmue 3during an E3 conference in 2015. Seeking help from the fans, the development team was able to fund the game production where players will follow Ryo Hazuki as he searches for his father’s killer.
This installment still didn’t get the series into the limelight and in a recent interview which was translated by VGC, the series creator revealed that when making Shenmue 3, the development team noted that this installment was being catered towards fans of the original installments. Instead of making a game that would appeal to everyone, Shenmue 3 was aimed more towards fans that wanted to continue the narrative storyline.
However, looking at the series, the creator, Yu Suzuki, has confirmed that he believes a fourth installment would be possible. Shenmue 4 would be focused around making a game that would be appealing to a larger audience and something that would turn a bigger profit. According to Yu, the ability to make the game a bit more popular and appealing could even be down to the features in the game. This could include adding quest markers on the map to showcase the main campaign and side quests.
“There are various things, such as adding quest markers, enhancing fast travel and time-skip functions, and making the user interface easier to understand.”
So far there’s no word on if a fourth installment is in the works and if fans would flock to the installment after not having played the previous installments. At any rate, if you have yet to play Shenmue 3, the game is available for both the PC and PlayStation 4 platforms.
