Shenmue Online
Encyclopedia
Shenmue Online was an announced MMORPG
where players participate in scenarios from Shenmue II
, joining one of three clans, led by Shen Hua, Xiu Ying, and Wu Ying Ren, all significant characters from the story.
Japan and JC Entertainment of Korea. A private beta testing period was due to begin in Korea in November 2005, with a public beta in China in spring 2005, before a release later in 2005. When Shenmue Online was first announced, under the development of JC Entertainment, the screenshots released were considered by many Shenmue fans to be disappointing graphically, especially as being part of a game series that boasted ground-breaking graphics on the Dreamcast.
In 2005, JC Entertainment pulled out of the development of Shenmue Online, and as they owned 50% of the properties of Shenmue Online, there was legal debate over who had the rights to the game. However, in November 2005, it was confirmed in an interview with Yu Suzuki that even though the Korean company JCE had announced their withdrawal from development, since Shenmue Online is a Sega venture, they will fulfil their duty of completing it. Yu says despite the internet rumours, development is well on its way and following their original goals and target. He adds that Sega Sammy will make an official announcement about its progress in the future.
At the China Joy convention in July 2006 with the development under the guise of a Taiwan
based company, a trailer was shown, which showcased features including mini games and combat with marked graphical improvements.
In 2006, 6 new screens from the gameplay along with a 14 minute video were released to the public during the 4th China Expo. These shots showed further improvement on graphical issues, comparing the graphics to other MMOs and even home versions of Shenmue.
and Wired News
. Sega have yet to publicly confirm or deny the reports.
's 2005-11-05 interview:
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
where players participate in scenarios from Shenmue II
Shenmue II
is a adventure game for the Dreamcast and Xbox. It is the sequel to Shenmue, and was produced and directed by Yu Suzuki of Sega AM2.Due to exclusivity rights obtained by Microsoft, the North American Dreamcast version was cancelled. Because of this, no English dub was recorded for the Dreamcast...
, joining one of three clans, led by Shen Hua, Xiu Ying, and Wu Ying Ren, all significant characters from the story.
Development history
In 2004, Shenmue Online was announced to be development in joint venture between SegaSega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
Japan and JC Entertainment of Korea. A private beta testing period was due to begin in Korea in November 2005, with a public beta in China in spring 2005, before a release later in 2005. When Shenmue Online was first announced, under the development of JC Entertainment, the screenshots released were considered by many Shenmue fans to be disappointing graphically, especially as being part of a game series that boasted ground-breaking graphics on the Dreamcast.
In 2005, JC Entertainment pulled out of the development of Shenmue Online, and as they owned 50% of the properties of Shenmue Online, there was legal debate over who had the rights to the game. However, in November 2005, it was confirmed in an interview with Yu Suzuki that even though the Korean company JCE had announced their withdrawal from development, since Shenmue Online is a Sega venture, they will fulfil their duty of completing it. Yu says despite the internet rumours, development is well on its way and following their original goals and target. He adds that Sega Sammy will make an official announcement about its progress in the future.
At the China Joy convention in July 2006 with the development under the guise of a Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
based company, a trailer was shown, which showcased features including mini games and combat with marked graphical improvements.
In 2006, 6 new screens from the gameplay along with a 14 minute video were released to the public during the 4th China Expo. These shots showed further improvement on graphical issues, comparing the graphics to other MMOs and even home versions of Shenmue.
Cancellation
Since 2006, news about Shenmue Online has slowly declined and reports of its cancellation have appeared on DestructoidDestructoid
Destructoid is an independent video game-focused blog based in San Francisco, California that was founded in March 2006. It has since grown into one of the most widely read video game sites on the Internet, reaching more than 3 million unique visitors per month...
and Wired News
Wired News
Wired News is an online technology news website, formerly known as HotWired, that split off from Wired magazine when the magazine was purchased by Condé Nast Publishing in the 1990s. Wired News was owned by Lycos not long after the split, until Condé Nast purchased Wired News on July 11, 2006...
. Sega have yet to publicly confirm or deny the reports.
Gameplay
Quoted from an interpretation of Yu SuzukiYu Suzuki
is a Japanese game designer and producer who has spent his entire career with Sega Enterprises. Often referred to as Sega's answer to Shigeru Miyamoto, he has been responsible for the creation of many of Sega's most important arcade games such as Hang-On, Out Run, After Burner II, Virtua Fighter,...
's 2005-11-05 interview: