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Last week saw widespread speculation that SEGA might be remaking Shenmue in HD; now a source has claimed that the remake was finished a year ago.
Gamerzines quotes an anonymous industry source who claims that Shenmue HD has been “finished for well over a year”. The source added that a remake of Shenmue II is also done and dusted.
But if this is the case, why haven’t we heard anything? Supposedly because SEGA is waiting on a decision as to the future of Shenmue III.
SEGA brand manager Ben Harbone hinted at HD versions of Shenmue and its sequel in an interview with GameReactor, published last Tuesday.
As someone who never got around to playing Shenmue, rumours of a potential HD remake are most pleasing. We’ve heard enough now that the projects seem very likely, but the second part of the source’s claim seems strange.
Why would SEGA hold off releasing finished projects until it had made a call on Shenmue III? Surely it would make more sense to release the remakes and then see how they were received? The only thing I can think of is that SEGA is considering a big marketing push for the series – perhaps even announcing a third game so as to maximise interest in the remakes.
But Shenmue III is such a legendary “never going to happen” project, I feel silly for even suggesting that. Could the impossible happen?
