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SEGA is investigating ways to re-release Shenmue and Shenmue 2 on modern-day platforms, according to a new report.
The comments come from SEGA Europe’s head of marketing Jon Rooke during an interview with Marketing Week, who revealed that while the publisher wishes to “innovate and back smarthphones [sic] and virtual reality”, its “key purpose is to go back to what the brand used to stand for and I think the buzz around Shenmue 3 shows that people love our legacy”.
The report goes on to say that SEGA “is exploring ways to re-release the original two Shenmue titles”.
SEGA has yet to formally announce plans to bring back Shenmue and Shenmue 2, although according to the series’ creator Yu Suzuki, the publisher is “very happy to see Shenmue 3 being made”.
“YS Net received the licensing rights from SEGA [to develop Shenmue 3]. Suzuki said in an interview with Game Informer earlier this year. “Of course, the original properties are still licensed with SEGA. This time, they’re allowing us to use it and allowing us to use the licensing rights. They also gave us a lot of resources from [Shenmue] I and II to help us with this project. They’ve been very happy to see Shenmue III being made and we have a very good relationship.”
“SEGA was an innovator,” Rooke continues in the interview with Marketing Week, “the Dreamcast was offering online gaming as early as 1998. But perhaps back then we were pushing boundaries a little too soon. Nowadays we know what we’re good at and the strategy is to be more gradual. Over the next few years, we want to use engaging content and marketing to remind the public why they fell in love with SEGA in the first place.”
Shenmue launched on Dreamcast back in 2000 with a sequel following one year later. Shenmue 3, meanwhile, is due for release on PS4 and PC in late 2017.
Source: marketingweek.com (via allgamesbeta.com)
