by When shen mue Creator Yu Suzuki appeared at the start of 110 Industries’ Tokyo Game Show presentation late last year, most viewers probably didn’t bat an eyelid. For fans of shen mue series, however, Yu Suzuki’s prominent inclusion in the 40-minute showcase video raised some interesting questions, the most common of which was, “Why?”
Prior to the video’s release, neither Suzuki nor its development studio YS Net had any apparent affiliation with the 110 Industries brand. With that in mind, it seemed like a strange decision that 110 dedicated the first five minutes of its TGS presentation to the legendary Japanese developer. Six months later, the real reason behind Suzuki’s inclusion may finally have been revealed.
After seeing an Instagram post promoting the publisher’s upcoming third-person action game, Wanted deada beacon of hope shen mue Fan posted a comment suggesting 110 join forces with Suzuki to create Shenmue 4. In all likelihood, this was probably little more than fan wishful thinking, but someone in 110 actually responded. In response, they asked the fan, “Guess why [Suzuki] was at [their] TGS stream.”
While it’s perhaps unlikely that 110 would directly announce a project of this magnitude in this way, the publisher supports the idea Shenmue 4 doesn’t really seem that far fetched. It would certainly explain why Suzuki showed up in the TGS showcase video and would be very much in line with the company’s mantra of encouraging “creativity, bold design choices and innovation,” three things that, for better or worse, that shen mue Series is certainly known for.
For his part, Suzuki has repeatedly stated that he would like to do more shen mue Play when you get the chance. According to an interview between shen mue Shenmue Dojo fansite and Shenmue 3 Producer Cedric Biscay even went so far as to pitch Suzuki Shenmue 4 Late 2020 direct to potential publishers, though whether he managed to secure funding remains to be seen. However, given the company’s high ambitions, it seems quite likely that 110 Industries would have been at least one of the publishers Suzuki approached at the time.
News from a potential fourth shen mue The game will no doubt be a hit with fans of the series, many of whom have been waiting decades for Suzuki’s epic saga to come to a close. This, along with the success of Shenmue the animation (the more established anime series like attack on Titan while attracting an average weekly viewership of over 240,000 people on Toonami) suggests that the future is actually looking pretty bright for this once-dormant franchise.
Sources: Shenmue Dojo 1, 2
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