The first official art for Sega’s new Virtua Fighter eSports game has been published on PlayStation Network. It was discovered by Twitter tracking account PSN Releases on the Asian version of PSN. While there’s not much to go on here – the art is just a banner and an icon- the alternate name, Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, which matches a listing published on South Korea’s game’s ratings board earlier this month, gives us a better idea of what the project might be: an updated version of Virtua Fighter 5.

Sega revealed a teaser trailer for a “Virtua Fighter X eSports” project during their Tokyo Games Show livestream in September, but didn’t actually announce what the project was. The only other information we got came from Sega CEO Haruki Satomi, who described described Virtua Fighter X Esports as “a project commemorating the 60^th year anniversary of [Sega]” that would begin in Japan and would be a “restart” focused on eSports and competitive play.

Whatever the title is, a new Virtua Fighter would be excellent news for fighting game fans. The brainchild of legendary OutRun and Shenmue designer Yu Suzuki, who recently suggested he might return to the series, Virtua Fighter was the first 3D fighting game. The series is renowned for its incredible technical depth and excellent design.  The last game in the series was Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown, which was released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2012. It is widely considered to be one of the best fighting games of all time.

The game Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown with id CUSA27067 has been added to the PS4 asian PSN! pic.twitter.com/jWZGM7PwJL

— PSN releases (@psnrelease2) April 21, 2021

Ys Net’s Shenmue 3 is still a ways off but the developer is making significant strides. The long-awaited sequel will be published globally by Deep Silver, which is known for publishing franchises like Saint’s Row, Agents of Mayhem, Metro: Last Light (along with the upcoming Metro: Exodus) and much more. It’s also responsible for publishing Japanese titles like Mighty No. 9 and Killer is Dead.

A meet and greet was also announced for Gamescom on August 23rd from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM and August 24th from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM with Shenmue 3 creator Yu Suzuki. This will be at Gamescom 2017’s Public Area Hall 9.1 at Booth B011/C010 and it was noted that event times may either begin slightly earlier or later due to transit time.

Shenmue 3 is currently slated to release in Q3/Q4 2018 for PC and PS4. Though it missed E3 2017 and was subsequently delayed to next year, Suzuki noted that new technologies had allowed the game to become “bigger and more beautiful” than he expected.

If it weren’t bad enough that Ys Net’s Shenmue 3 would be missing E3 2017, creator Yu Suzuki announced in a new video message that the game has been delayed to the second half of 2018. The long-awaited sequel was originally meant to release by December 2017. At least, that was the delivered date on its Kickstarter campaign.

Suzuki said in the video that, “We unfortunately must delay its release. By utilizing new technologies we have been able to discover new possibilities and expressions. In many ways the game has become bigger and more beautiful than I initially expected. We do, however, need more time to deliver the game to you.

“In order to achieve the game concept you supported and my sixteen year-long personal dream, we have revised the development schedule. We are moving ahead with a plan to release the game in the second half of 2018. Details will be revealed in the backer report later this month.”

Shenmue 3 was announced at E3 2015 during Sony’s press conference. It generated controversy for crowd-funding while also going through Sony’s third party publishing process. What are your thoughts on its delay? Let us know below.

The original Shenmue, and Shenmue 2, released a very long time ago now- and you would think that with the impending release of Shenmue 3 next year, Sega would be looking at re-releasing or remaking those games, to generate awareness of the brand again, and to catch new fans up on the story before they dive into the third one, which is slated to be the conclusion to the story anyway.

However, while the publisher told fans in May that it was looking at a re-release for Shenmue and Shenmue 2, as of right now, there doesn’t seem to be much movement on that front. Speaking to MCV UK, Sega’s European boss Jurgen Post discussed the state of Shenmue re-releases at the present moment.

“There is definitely a desire [to go back to our classic games],” Post said. “Even online, people are constantly talking about products they would like to see come back, and Shenmue 1 and 2  are probably in the top two places. We are looking into it. It is an old IP, it is a beloved IP – and not just by consumers, but also within Sega, we have people saying that if we could do Shenmue 1 and 2 all over again, we’d definitely go for it.

“The issue is that it is a big game. It is a project from many years ago. If we are to do it, we’d want to do a fantastic conversion to the current platforms, and there are a lot of licenses in the game, which were cleared many years ago, so we will need to renegotiate those contracts. We are looking into it. We haven’t given it a green light, but it has our full attention.”

So for now, it doesn’t start like the project has even entered active development- although it does sound like Sega are at least serious about it. That’s something, I guess.

Yu Suzuki’s Shenmue series is renowned – and lambasted – for its quick-time events, whose usage varies from cinematics to combat. Shenmue 3 will feature QTEs as well but the man himself is working hard to ensure they properly evolve.

Speaking to Red Bull, Suzuki said that, “While QTEs may feel a little wanting to some action gamers, I believe that it is a fundamental technique that allows a broad range of players to actively participate in the dramatic performances of a game.

“That said, I would like to take up the challenge of creating the next evolution of the QTE.”

How exactly will he do that? You’ve got us. Maybe the entire game is pressing buttons and the one scene you press nothing is a QTE. Anything is possible really, even if the QTE mechanic has been done and re-done to death over the past 17 years or so.

Shenmue 3 is currently in development for PC and PS4 and is planned for release by December 2017.

Shenmue was a financial hole for Sega- the games cost a whole lot and never sold enough to ever make money back. I understand that, so I don’t begrudge Sega eventually deciding to suspend the series. For a company that was as much in the financial hole as Sega was, the move made sense.

Still, the fact remains that they spent over a decade studiously avoiding Shenmue. Even when the series’ revival was announced at E3 earlier this year, Sega’s involvement was only to the extent that they were okay with the game being made (they own the IP, so their okay was necessary), but they weren’t actually doing anything themselves.

As it turns out, however, it seems that they are more actively involved in the game’s creation than that. “Shenmue is of course an important IP, not only to Sega, but also to the many games it has influenced,”Sega’s former president Hideki Okamura said in a recent interview with Gamebusiness.jp. “It was the first of its kind in the go anywhere, do anything open world style games. On top of that Mr. Suzuki had a very strong desire to make Shenmue 3.”

“… Sega is interacting with Mr. Suzuki even now. We will continue supporting him concerning Shenmue 3 as well”

So, while we don’t have any specifics, it appears as though Sega may be actively involved in the development of Shenmue 3 somehow.

Ys Net has released a teaser for Shenmue 3, the crowd-funded sequel to the cult favourite series developed by Yu Suzuki. However, given that the game is still very early in development, the teaser states that “all game scenes are under development”. For all intents and purposes, it’s meant to showcase the visit of Ryo and Shenhua to the Lake of the Lantern Bugs along with all the “magic” that the game represents. Check it out below.

Shenmue 3 is currently being funded on Kickstarter and is inching close to $5 million in funding thanks to backers. It’s also being supported by Sony through its initial third party process, something which has stuck out since the crowd-funding campaign was launched at E3 2015. Regardless, the sequel is happening and it will be hitting PS4 and PC in the future (though Ys Net has not ruled out other platforms).

What are your thoughts on the new teaser? Let us know in the comments below.

One of the sore spots of the entire Shenmue 3 Kickstarter so far was the fact that there was simply no way to get a physical copy of the PS4 version by backing the game- a physical copy of the title was being offered, but only for the PC version. If you preferred to play the game on PS4, you would have to put up with the digital version, which isn’t something that jives with a fair few number of people.

Well, that has finally changed, as the option for a physical copy of the PS4 version of the game has finally been added to the $60 reward tier. That’s not all, as the PS4 backers copy also seems to come in a backer exclusive case. So if you have been holding off on funding the game so far, because the lack of a physical PS4 copy left a bad taste in your mouth, go all in now!

Shenmue 3 is slated for a PC and PS4 launch some time in 2017. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage.

Sony may be helping Ys Net and Yu Suzuki in creating Shenmue 3 for the PS4 and PC but don’t expect to receive a retail release for the PS4 version. According to the updated FAQ on the project’s Kickstarter (which has already surpassed the original funding goal of $2 million), Shenmue 3 won’t be released at retail for Sony’s console at this point and time.

It’s worth noting that players who back the project at $60 will receive a physical PC copy for the game. However, those interested in buying the game for PS4 will have to do so through the PlayStation Network. It is fairly early in the project’s life-cycle for no retail release so you never know – plans could change down the line. Heck, the project’s Kickstarter even says that, “Other platforms have not been decided yet.”

What are your thoughts on no retail release for Shenmue 3 on PS4? Let us know in the comments.

Following the blockbuster announcement at Sony’s E3 2015 conference of Shenmue 3 being crowd-funded via Kickstarter, the project has already seen a massive wave of support in its first day. With 31 days still to go and an original funding goal of $2 million, more than 18,000 backers have already pledged $1,584,912 in funds since the initial announcement.

Shenmue 3 will be heading to the PS4 and PC and is under the direction of Yu Suzuki who originally created the game (along with the Virtua Fighter series). It will continue the tale of Ryo Hazuki as he continues through China, searching for his father’s killer Lan Di and ultimately uncover the many secrets connecting them. Along the way, he’ll meet a new companion in Shenhua and discovers how their paths intersect.

There are numerous stretch goals up to $ 4 million in case the Kickstarter project exceeds expectations including a Rapport system, Skill Tree system and much more. Will you be backing Shenmue 3? Let us know in the comments below.