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Yu Suzuki, the creator of Shenmue, has said that, if he were to make Shenmue 4, he would want it to appeal to newcomers.
Suzuki spoke to IGN Japan (thanks VGC), at a Shenmue celebration in Yokosuka. He talked about Shenmue 3, and about what his approach would be for a sequel—if one were to happen.
According to a report from Famitsu, Suzuki spoke about the way that Shenmue 3 was created as fan service. The game was funded, in part, by Kickstarter, and the game made little concession to people who weren’t fans. It started from the point at which Shenmue 2 left off, back in 2001.
Suzuki said that newcomers “felt like they had been left behind.” Suzuki said that he does’t have any concrete plans for Shenmue 4. But he wants to “make it possible for new players to play the next one.”
It’s an intriguing point, but the story was only one way that Shenmue 3 made little concession to the uninitiated.
So much of its design goes against the grain of modern games. Far more than its story, the game’s restrained action and its slow and deliberate pace mark it out as the product of a different time.
If Suzuki makes Shenmue 4, it will be interesting to see what kind of direction he goes with in.
