It's Really Happening! Shenmue I & II Coming to Modern Platforms in 2018

A day later and it is still taking time to sink in for many of us fans!

Following some teasing tweets from both SEGA Europe and Koch Media on the evening before the SEGA FES 2018 event in Tokyo, Shenmue fans have at last been rewarded for their years of hope and patience with an official announcement from SEGA that Shenmue I & II will be coming to modern platforms in 2018.

Here's a summary of information about the release (information gathered from GameInformer, Steam, Adam Koralik)

• Developer: D3T
• Available Platforms:
• Japan: PS4 only
• Outside Japan: PS4, XBox One, PC (on Steam)
• Format: physical (PS4, XBox One) & digital; both games in a single package
• Price: USD $29.99 for both physical & digital releases
• Release date: 2018 (exact date TBA)
• Features:
• Updated user interface
• Choice of modern or classic controls
• Japanese audio available for the first time for a global audience
• Fully scalable screen resolutions
• Will includes little "homages" to the original games
• Achievements will be included
• Supported languages (note: although not marked on the chart below from the Steam page, Adam Koralik has confirmed that subtitles will be supported for Japanese also).

A preview of the updated interface (buttons, watch face) can be seen in this work-in-progress image from Steam:

[Updates]

• The games will be based on the original Dreamcast source code! (source: D3T Facebook post).
• Physical editions in North America and Europe (and possible Australia) will include a poster of the original art (source: Adam Koralik)
• Japanese version will retail at 3990 yen + tax (source: PlayStation Japan)

Shenmue I & II Official Website Links

• Japan: http://shenmue1-2.sega.jp 
• Global: https://shenmue.sega.com

The Shenmue Community

Of the many community videos and reactions that have been created by fans to celebrate the announcement, here are two special videos I have hand-picked.

1) Below is Adam Koralik's #ShenmueSaved video, which covers the key details of the release and includes the official trailer at the end. Adam is a strong Shenmue advocate and fan who was flown in by SEGA specially (I was lucky enough to have a quick chat with him at the event). Adam has also posted a thank-you mesage to all Shenmue fans.

2) An awesome reaction video from James Reiner that really shows the enormity of the emotions felt by diehard fans. His video was even acknowledged and retweeted by SEGA Europe!

Thank You SEGA, Thank You Fans!

Congratulations to all Shenmue fans and the community who helped make this happen, and thank you to SEGA (and Yu Suzuki, who I am sure was applying his persuasion behind the scenes) for listening and making this happen!

Finally, a special shout-out must go to Team Yu for the #SaveShenmueHD Twitter campaign they have been tirelessly orchestrating with the participation of us Shenmue fans, and who have been instrumental in convincing SEGA of the need for the games to be re-released. Read their message at TeamYu.net.

Coming soon to the blog: I plan to write about my personal experience of attending the Shenmue I & II announcement at SEGA FES 2018.

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