Fans of the Shenmue franchise may have something to look forward to this weekend. Frequent Resident Evil franchise leaker AestheticGamer believes that some kind of Shenmue announcement is going to take place at some point this weekend, though stopped short of revealing exactly what the announcement will entail.
AestheticGamer previously teased a Shenmue series announcement last week, only clarifying that it’s not related to Shenmue 4. Unfortunately, AestheticGamer still doesn’t provide much in the way of concrete details about the announcement, beyond that it is for people who “care about the story” of Shenmue. What exactly this means is unclear, however. That being said, AestheticGamer has confirmed what not to expect from this weekend’s supposed Shenmue announcement.
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AestheticGamer has reiterated that the announcement has nothing to do with a potential Shenmue 4, and that it is not ports for the first three games in the series either. It’s not a book series or a documentary about the development of Shenmue, and it will not be seeking funding on Kickstarter like Shenmue 3 did, as it’s “already funded.” This doesn’t leave a lot of options about what the Shenmue announcement could be. Speculation points to a possible Shenmue TV series adaptation or something along those lines, but fans will just have to keep an eye out this weekend to find out.
While this weekend’s Shenmue reveal will supposedly not be Shenmue 4, that doesn’t mean such a project will never materialize. Shenmue series director Yu Suzuki has even talked about what he would do in a Shenmue 4 game, stating that it would bring some major changes to the franchise. Whereas Shenmue 3 was designed with longtime Shenmue fans in mind, a potential Shenmue 4 would try to court more casual gamers by featuring more modern gameplay features.
Unfortunately, Shenmue 3‘s sales weren’t exactly all that impressive, and the game also earned mixed reviews at the time of its release. Considering the mixed reception to Shenmue 3, it’s possible that Suzuki won’t get a chance at making Shenmue 4. Considering this, perhaps whatever this project is will give fans much-needed closure for Shenmue‘s story, but it’s scope has yet to be determined.
As far as AestheticGamer goes, they have been a reliable source of insider information in the past, leaking Resident Evil 8 details prior to the game being officially announced. Regardless, fans should still take this information with a grain of salt. Until an official announcement comes, it’s best for fans of the Shenmue franchise to keep their expectations in check.
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