Shenmue 1 and 2 Might Get a Re-Release

The Shenmue series, a once nearly-forgotten legacy of the Sega Dreamcast, is finally coming back to the spotlight thanks to an overwhelmingly successful Kickstarter campaign and a little cooperate shenanigans from Sony, which at the very least was disclosed from the beginning so it’s not exactly the kind of misleading trust-abusing crap we oftentimes find ourselves dealing with in this industry. Well, now that Shenmue 3 is well on its way to being developed, we’ve got ourselves a weird situation--an exciting new game in a series is about to launch itself into the Triple-A world, but for a game so heavily entrenched in its own story and plot, I very much doubt the majority of modern gamers have ever gotten the chance to play the original two--especially if you had no plans to emulate it.

Well, with so many re-releases being made these days, it can hardly be surprising that Sega is considering doing the same with Shenmue 1 and 2. What is surprising is that they’re being so coy about it.

Sega's European marketing director Jon Rooke, talking with Marketing Weekly, brokered a question regarding Shenmue 1 and 2, saying Sega is:
 

"exploring ways to re-release the original two Shenmue titles."

While adding:
 

"we want to innovate and back smartphones and virtual reality, but our key purpose is to go back to what the brand use to stand for, and I think the buzz around Shenmue 3 shows that people love our legacy."

Which, at least for me, makes me very uncomfortable. Are they… going to make it a mobile game? VR would be fine, that’d be fun, but… I mean, I know smartphones are much more powerful than the Dreamcast but I’m still not sure you could fit all of Shenmue into a mobile game, or that it would be a good idea…?

Bah. Maybe I’m just reading too much into it. They aren’t committing to anything, this is just the musings of their marketing director. But hopefully it’s just a teaser for announcements yet to come.