Shenmue 4

Shenmue and Shenmue II were developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for Dreamcast. The original Shenmue was the most expensive video game ever developed at the time, with an estimated production and marketing cost of US$47 to $70 million, though some of the development also covered Shenmue II. Shenmue I and II received mostly positive reviews; critics praised its graphics, soundtrack, realism and ambition, but criticized their controls, slow pace and voice acting, and their realism and focus on mundane detail divided players. They attracted a cult following, appearing in several lists of the greatest video games of all time, and are credited for pioneering game systems including quick time events and open worlds. An anime adaptation of Shenmue, co-produced by Crunchyroll and Adult Swim, premiered in February 2022. Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki joined Sega in 1983 and went on to create several successful arcade games, including Hang-On , Out Run and Virtua Fighter . In 1996, he and Sega AM2 began developing a Saturn RPG based on the Virtua Fighter series. In 1997, development moved to Sega's upcoming console, the Dreamcast, and the Virtua Fighter connection was dropped. It became the most expensive game ever developed at the time, reported to have cost US$70 million; in 2011, Suzuki said the figure was closer to $47 million including marketing. Shenmue III became the fastest-funded and the highest-funded video game project in Kickstarter history, reaching its initial $2 million goal in just over nine hours, and earning $6.3 million in total. Sega said that "working with original animations and characters but meshing them with enhanced HD visuals gave us a game that we felt would not meet the standards that Shenmue fans expect and deserve". Some details, such as product placement, are omitted, and cutscenes are presented in their original aspect ratio due to technical limitations. In 2015, Suzuki said he hoped the series would cover four or five games.Shenmue III includes a letter to fans from Suzuki expressing his hope to develop Shenmue IV. In 2020, Suzuki told IGN he had created Shenmue III "for the fans", and that he planned to give Shenmue IV more mainstream appeal. In Shenmue I and II, the player controls teenage martial arts pupil Ryo Hazuki as he investigates his father's murder.