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Yu Suzuki, producer and director of the well-loved Shenmue and Shenmue II, is apparently considering using Kickstarter to fund the development of Shenmue III.

Sebastien-Abdelhamid, a French TV reporter, met with Suzuki at the Monaco Anime Game Show. Following their conversation, he tweeted about Suzuki’s interest in a possible Kickstarter project to fund Shenmue III and in creating an anime or manga to conclude the Shenmue story. So, if Shenmue III were to become a reality, it might not be the long-awaited game many fans are desperate for.

Shenmue III was planned for release – its development was even announced a couple of times, but the projects were ultimately cancelled. In 2011, Suzuki indicated that Sega would likely permit him to make Shenmue III, however budget was a issue to overcome. The following year, Suzuki hinted that he can acquire the rights to Shenmue . The recent revelation of a potential crowd funded Shenmue III has no doubt set many fan’s hearts aflutter.

I suppose now is a time for cautious optimism … again.

Source: Twitter

Everybody’s favourite sailor hunting, father avenging, kitty petting Sega hero – Ryo Hazuki – will be joining the range of video game characters with statues designed by First 4 Figures in 2013.

There aren’t any solid details as yet, but you can look at past F4F releases to get an idea of what you’re in for.

While it’d be nice if this were the first of many Shenmue things to happen in 2003, I won’t hold my breath.

Online magazine Gamerzines has reported that a source close to Sega has suggested that the company has been working on HD ports of Shenmue and Shenmue II for quite some time.

Not only that, but both games are finished and Sega has been sitting on them until they have a clearer picture of the future of the Shenmue series – which probably means whether or not the company is willing to do Shenmue III.

I’ll believe it when I see it.

One of my most loved games of all time.

Shenmue II is the second and currently final chapter of Yu Suzuki’s Dreamcast epic. It’s a much better game than its predecessor, combining the interactivity and atmosphere of the oriignal with a whole lot more action and fighting sequences. The second half of the game is truly magnificent, building up to an amazing final battle, quietening down, and then hitting you with a startling cliffhanger. This ad is for the Xbox port.

While even the most hopeful of Shenmue fans begins to give up on the possibility of a third game (the shutting down of the social game Shenmue City doesn’t help), Yu Suzuki has revealed in an interview with Shenmuemaster.fr that his studio YsNet, could license the property from Sega if it so desired.

Suzuki also let slip a few nuggets of information about the possible story for a third entry in the series: firstly, that a man who trained with Iwao Hazuki in China would become a key character in the series and secondly, that the story has been developed up to its eleventh chapter, which is where Suzuki’s favourite moment in the series occurs.