Former Sonic Team lead programmer Yuji Naka has revealed that former SEGA managing director Akira Nagai has passed away. He died on November 15th 2022 aged 79.
Nagai started his career at Nihon Goraku Bussan in 1963 where he worked in sales and distribution, directly selling to SEGA when they were producing electro-mechanical arcade games. Nihon Goraku Bussan was absolved into SEGA in the CSK buyout of Gulf+Western in 1984 and Nagai stayed with the company until 2004 when he retired after SEGA’s merger with Sammy.
Nagai is digitally immortalised in Shenmue as a yakuza boss. SEGADriven would like to send our deepest condolences to Akira Nagai’s friends, families and colleagues.
The wonderful people at SEGA Dreamcast Info have managed to acquire and archive an early build of Shenmue II from April 11th 2001 that features a multitude of differences when compared to the final game. The most interesting discovery is that art assets of the game’s director Yu Suzuki are included in this build, and SEGA Dreamcast Info have also released a version of the prototype that changes Ryo’s character model so that you can play as Yu Suzuki instead. You can see him in action via the embed below:
A full article about every difference in this prototype can be accessed by clicking here. A download link for this prototype and the Yu Suzuki version are also included at the end of the article. Once again we have to say a huge, “thank you” to the team at SEGA Dreamcast Info for preserving this amazing piece of SEGA development history.
A brand new trailer for Shenmue the Animation has debuted and with it we also get the news that the series will start airing on February 5th 2022 via Adult Swim. Check it out using the embed below:
Shenmue the Animation will be a 13 episode animated series that adapts the events of both Shenmue 1 & 2. The series is being distributed in the West by Adult Swim and Crunchy Roll and is being directed by Sakurai Chikara of Telecom Animation Film Studios and managed by Sola Entertainment.
Announced back in September 2020, Shenmue the Animation will be a 13 episode animated series that adapts the events of both Shenmue 1 & 2. The series is being distributed in the West by Adult Swim and Crunchy Roll and now we finally have our first look at the series in action. Check it out via the embed below:
Shenmue the Animation will debut on Adult Swim and Crunchy Roll at some point in 2022. The series will be directed by Sakurai Chikara of Telecom Animation Film Studios and managed by Sola Entertainment.
Shenmue is to get an anime adaptation from Crunchyroll and Adult Swim, it has been announced.
A joint venture between the two networks, Shenmue ~The Animation~ will be directed by Sakurai Chikara of Telecom Animation Film Studios (better known as SEGA’s own TMS), and managed by Sola Entertainment. Yu Suzuki is on board too, as executive producer.
From the sounds of things, it’ll be a 13-episode retelling of the original games; both Ryo’s search in Japan and Hong Kong are mentioned, suggesting we’ll be seeing Shenmue II adapted too.
No information on a projected release date is known yet, but we’ll let you know if anything is announced on that front.
When Tracker isn’t playing SEGA games, he’s talking about SEGA games. Or drawing about SEGA games. Or all of the above. You can also catch him over on Twitter.
It feels bizarre writing the words ‘Shenmue III launch trailer’ but it’s here and the game is nearly upon us. 18 years after the release of Shenmue II, we can finally experience the next chapter in Yu Suzuki’s open world opus. Click the embed below to watch the latest preview of Shenmue III in action:
Shenmue III launches on PS4 and PC via the Epic Games Store on the 19th of November 2019. The game has been developed by Ys Net and is being published by Deep Silver under license from SEGA.
The Tokyo Games Show is underway and with it comes a fresh Shenmue III trailer. In this video we get a detailed look at some of the environments in and around the Bailu Village in Guilin. Check it out below:
Shenmue III is in development at Yu Suzuki’s Ys Net studio and is due out for PC and PS4 on November 19th 2019.
A fascinating new discovery has been made in the original Shenmue – a certain set of conditions can trigger a fight scene where Nozomi joins Ryo in the action.
According to the fine folk at PhatomRiverStone.com, this scene can be triggered by visiting Sakuragaoka park before 7pm on a sunny or snowy day after Ryo’s brawl at the Heartbeats Bar. However, you must make your visit after the Heartbeats Bar brawl and before Ryo visits the tattoo parlor, which is the next location in Ryo’s quest.
Click the below embed to see what happens in the fight at Sakuragaoka park once the conditions have been successfully met:
For full details on how to trigger this fight scene in Shenmue, head on over to PhantomRiverStone.com’s post on the easter egg as they go into far more detail about the additional requirements that are needed to trigger this event.
UPDATE 11:29
Even more in-game Shenmue III footage! This time it’s Ryo chopping wood:
UPDATE 09:00
More footage is also available on IGN Japan’s YouTube that showcases Ryo training and sparring. Check it out:
ORIGINAL STORY
We’ve seen plenty of in-engine cinematics and cut-scenes from Shenmue III, but until now we’ve never seen what the actual game plays like. IGN have now made 13 and a half minutes of in-game action available to watch and you can do so by clicking the embed below:
Well that certainly looks like Shenmue! Shenmue III launches for PC and PS4 on November 19th. The game is being published by Deep Silver under license from SEGA and will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store on PC.
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