Yu Suzuki believes that the Epic Games Store timed exclusivity debacle did not contribute to Shenmue 3‘s low sales and poor performance. Instead, he believes that he needs to pander to a “broader audience” and “casuals” when making Shenmue 4.
Thanks to videogameschronicle.com, you can learn a bit about Shenmue 3 and its market performance as detailed in the following blockquote:
“[…] The game seemingly failed to find a significant audience beyond its 70,000 Kickstarter backers. Shenmue 3 debuted at No. 17 on the UK chart and sold just 18,000 copies during its launch week in Japan. In the UK, Shenmue 3 sold a little more than half of the previous year’s Shenmue 1 and 2 remaster at launch.
Even Shenmue 3’s publisher Deep Silver recently called it “a core niche” game and not a “a mass-market product.””
Seeing that Deep Silver and The Epic Games Store timed exclusivity deal regarding Shenmue 3 did not pan out well, Suzuki’s next plan is to pander to “a broader audience” and “casuals” to help bolster Shenmue 4‘s performance on the market.
The above sentiment is reiterated by videogameschronicle.com in a newly translated piece that depicts Suzuki saying:
“With Shenmue 3 I created a game for the fans, but if I have the opportunity to make Shenmue 4 – and I think I will – I know how to satisfy casual users, so I want to make a game that everyone can be satisfied with.
With Shenmue 3, I really responded to the fans’ voices, so I wasn’t necessarily thinking about making any money. But since I’m running a company, I have to think about what can sell if I continue. I’ve been seriously talking about it over and over again.”
The last time Suzuki brought up Shenmue 4 was on August 26th, 2020. On that day, Suzuki said that the Epic Games Store’s money wasn’t going to secure the fourth installment in the Shenmue series. And on the topic of sales, the publication site in question highlights Suzuki’s latest plan on attracting more people to pick up Shenmue 4:
“I would like to have quest markers to identify the main quests and side quests, where you can exchange money, or where you can battle. In order to be able to skip the time more freely, I’d also like to be able to sit on a bench to advance time more freely.
I would like to deliver a smoother experience overall to those who want to progress more quickly through the story. If the amount of content is the same as that of Shenmue 3, then players would be able to proceed at about 1.5 times the speed.”
Suzuki also feels like open-world games are becoming “difficult to differentiate” when it comes to said genre. Instead, he wants to explore linear areas with more people:
“I think that ‘open world’ is the magic word driving current game trends, with all gorgeous-looking games now heading towards it, but it feels like it is becoming difficult to differentiate within that genre. Next time, I wonder if it is interesting to have a closed space instead of sticking to the open world.
Also, if there aren’t many people, it doesn’t look like China, so I’d like to increase the number of characters walking in the city at the same time.”
Lastly, Suzuki concludes by saying that he hopes gamers and fans alike show the same demand for Shenmue 4:
I hope fans who waited 20 years for Shenmue 3 and were satisfied will show the same demand for Shenmue 4.”
With all of that said, are you going to skip out on Shenmue 4, or are you looking forward to the next installment?
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