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Showing posts with label ININ Games. Show all posts

Monday, December 29, 2025

Yu Suzuki’s Keyword for 2026: “Maru” — Reflections on 2025 (Famitsu.com)

"171 Game Creators' New Year's Resolutions" from Famitsu (the Chinese Zodiac animal sign for 2026 is the Horse)

Famitsu.com has released its annual developer survey, offering insights from 171 creators across the Japanese game industry. Yu Suzuki is among those featured once again. As in previous years, participants were asked to select a “keyword” or phrase representing their outlook for the year ahead, reflect on the past year, and share brief updates on their current activities.

Yu Suzuki’s responses reflecting on 2025 and looking ahead to 2026 are below, translated from the original Japanese. This year’s comments are brief and upbeat, reaffirming his commitment to game development while touching on recent Shenmue-related news. His chosen keyword is simple but open to interpretation:

Q: Your Keyword for 2026?
YS: Maru (まる = “circle” / “wholeness”)
Q: Your Aspirations for the Year Ahead?
YS: Next year also, I hope to continue taking on the challenge of game development and delivering fresh experiences to everyone!
Q: Recent News
YS: In 2025, we announced release information for Shenmue III Enhanced. Please wait a little longer for this easier-to-play, higher-quality version of Shenmue III.
Q: What Are You Keeping an Eye On?
YS: The 2026 World Baseball Classic, and the film adaptation of OutRun.

Yu Suzuki: CEO of YS Net. Best known for creating genre-defining works such as Virtua Fighter and Shenmue during his time at Sega. In 2025, his company released Steel Paws.

Notes on the Keyword “Maru”

Yu Suzuki’s chosen keyword, maru, is a simple word that can carry a lot of meaning in Japanese. Literally, it means “circle,” but it’s often used to suggest ideas like wholeness, completeness, or rounding things out. In everyday contexts, maru can also be used to mark something as correct or satisfactory (like an exam answer), while more broadly it can hint at cycles or things coming back around, rather than reaching a definite end.

Seen in the context of Yu Suzuki’s career as a game developer, maru feels deliberately open-ended. For Shenmue fans, it’s hard not to briefly wonder whether a word associated with “wholeness” or “completion” might hint at the long-running and unfinished nature of the series, and the hope of one day bringing that story to a proper conclusion. Any such reading, however, remains purely speculative.

More broadly, and perhaps more practically, maru can be read as expressing a general sense of balance or continuity, which fits neatly with Suzuki’s comments about continuing with game development and delivering fresh experiences. In light of Shenmue III Enhanced, it may also reflect the idea of refining or rounding out an existing work through further polish and improvements. Whether it’s meant as “closing a circle,” keeping things moving, or simply aiming for things to feel right, maru works here as a loose, reflective keyword rather than a fixed statement.

Shenmue III Enhanced

Release information for Shenmue III was shared in August 2025, around the time of Gamescom. Published by ININ Games, the Enhanced version introduces visual, performance, and quality-of-life improvements, while allowing players to retain the original experience through optional settings.

2026 World Baseball Classic

He also highlights the World Baseball Classic as an event of interest. The tournament is set to return in 2026 and will once again bring together national teams from around the world, with games scheduled to be held in several locations, including Tokyo.

OutRun Film Adaptation

Suzuki also notes his interest in the upcoming film adaptation of OutRun - inspired by the arcade game of the same name he created at Sega in 1986 which remains one of the company’s most iconic arcade titles. In April 2025, Sega announced that a live-action feature film adaptation is in development at Universal Pictures, with acclaimed director Michael Bay attached to direct and produce. A release date has not yet been announced.

Saturday, December 7, 2024

Fill Out the "Shenmue III Prospective Survey" from ININ Games!

Hot on the heels of ININ Games's announcement of taking over the reins of Shenmue III publishing rights, they have set up a survey for feedback from the community. Their message on X reads:

"Hey folks!
We have prepared a quick survey with a couple questions on Shenmue III. Please consider filling it out if you're a fan of Ryo's antics or just familiar with the game. Your feedback will be invaluable to us, as always!"

The survey page itself starts with a brief note acknowledging fans' anticipation for news on their plans:

"Happy birthday, Shenmue!
The 25th anniversary of Shenmue's release in Japan is coming soon, while the 5th anniversary of Shenmue III's release was just celebrated last month. What fantastic milestones for this legendary saga!
We know you’re eagerly awaiting a statement from us, and we deeply appreciate your patience. Our collaboration with YS NET has been very fruitful, but we are carefully reviewing all details. This process takes time, and we thank you for your understanding."

The Survey Questions:

These are the questions for which feedback is being sought:

1. On which platform would you like to see Shenmue III?

Apple Mac
Xbox Series X|S
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 5

2. What graphics and performance improvements would you like to see for Shenmue III?

3. What's your favourite moment in the whole Shenmue series?

Comment:

It is very encouraging to see another indication of how much the new publisher cares about the franchise, to the extent of reaching out to gather feedback directly from fans. This bodes well for the future of the series.

Regarding the questions themselves, which are focused on Shenmue III as expected, they hint at what the new plans for the game may include.

Publishing ports to other platforms is something that fits in with their promise from their press announcement to ensure its "accessibility to even more fans around the world".

Graphics and performance improvements suggest that they may be planning to work together with YS Net to address issues and better the experience for players. This might include things like increasing draw distance, removal of the "no running" loading areas or even updates to title screens or menus - let them know!

It is also good to see the inclusion of the question about your favorite moment in the whole series, showing that they are gathering feedback about what makes the Shenmue franchise special. Hopefully this will feed into further plans in the future, and may even find their way back to Yu Suzuki himself.

I encourage all Shenmue fans to fill out the survey if you haven't already - it only takes a minute to complete!

Survey Link:

Head here to fill out the survey!!

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Wednesday, December 4, 2024

The Shenmue III Publishing Torch Has Passed to ININ Games | Community Video Selection

Although several days have passed since the announcement caused a flurry of excitement in the Shenmue community, we could not let it go unmentioned on the blog any longer: with the blessing of YS Net, ININ Games has assumed publishing rights for Shenmue III!

The YS Net Press Release

It all started with a rather inconspicuous news entry added on 19 November 2024 to the YS Net official site, simply titled "Notice Regarding Shenmue III Publishing Change". This linked to a press release document that announced the immediate transfer of publishing for Shenmue III to ININ Games, stating:

"Following the previous collaboration on Air Twister, this will deepen the relationship between ININ Games and YS NET. Known for their commitment to celebrating beloved titles, ININ Games is excited to shepherd Shenmue III into its next phase.
This collaboration marks the beginning of a new chapter for Shenmue III, with ININ Games working closely alongside YS NET to honor the series' legacy while ensuring its accessibility to even more fans around the world".

The ININ Games Press Release

A couple of days later, an online article by Gematsu quoted a press release from ININ Games. After noting the significance of the transfer date coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Shenmue series and the fifth anniversary of Shenmue III, the release continued:

"We at ININ Games are honored to carry the Shenmue torch forward during such a significant moment in the series’ history. As we reflect on two decades of innovation and passion, we remain dedicated to preserving and sharing the journey of Ryo Hazuki with both long-time fans and newcomers".

(Note, there had been some initial confusion about whether the rights were for the complete franchise, but it was later clarified to be just Shenmue III).

The timing, on the 5th anniversary of Shenmue III, suggests that the previous publisher, Deep Silver, had publishing rights for a period of five years from its release. In addition, the mention of ensuring "accessibility to even more fans" suggests that the exclusivity to Sony's PlayStation platform has now also ended.