Dreamcast’s Shenmue didn’t cost $70m but ”only $47 million,” revealed Suzuki-san. Development of a third instalment is ”simply a problem of budget.”
”Well, I want to make it,” said Yu Suzuki at GDC 2011. ”About 200 people will buy it, I think. But funding is an issue,” he added. It was to be Dreamcast’s iconic title.
”We talked about a Virtua Fighter RPG,” he continued, ”with Akira as the character we would use.” Suzuki-san went on to clear up some facts about the franchise.
“From the beginning, the new title without using Akira would be more acceptable,” he said, also adding that the $70 million SEGA claimed Shenmue cost was an exaggeration. It was ”only $47 million,” he stated.
”Well, maybe I shouldn’t say only,” joked Suzuki-san.
So what of a Shenmue 3? “Probably Sega will let me make it. I think. It’s simply a problem of budget.” Shenmue 2 performed badly on the original Xbox, losing support.
