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.

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Shenmue III Soundtracks Announced | Summary of Editions

Just as Shenmue fans are recovering from the excitement of the announcement of a Shenmue Anime comes news of an upcoming release of... the Shenmue III soundtrack!

Recent Shenmue soundtrack releases have been for the first two Shenmue games, such as the vinyl releases by Data Discs, and the Shenmue I & II Sound Collection that originally accompanied the Japanese Limited Edition release and has more recently been made available digitally.

While those releases comprised a limited selection of the soundtrack music, the Shenmue III soundtrack release will make available a huge 195 music compositions - some original to the game, and some that were also present in the two earlier games. This collaboration between YS Net, Brave Wave Productions and Limited Run Games will allow fans to fully enjoy the music that permeates the game, and each track has been remastered for maximum audio quality.

A number of options have been prepared to suit different budgets and formats, with the vinyl sets in particular offering a diverse selection:

• Formats: Digital, CD and Vinyl
• Vinyl editions include a Complete Collection, a curated 33-track "Music Selection" set, a "Bailu village" set and a "Niaowu" set.

The physical editions include a booklet of liner notes (in both English and Japanese) by Yu Suzuki and "other members of the Shenmue community", as well as archival artwork. In the case of the vinyl editions, these also come with a digital download key.

Of particular interest to collectors will be the special limited-edition Complete Collection vinyl set (500 units only) which includes an exclusive A4 poster signed by Yu Suzuki. These are likely to be snapped up when pre-orders commence for them on November 20.

Here's a handy summary table we put together to help compare the various options at a glance, based on the current details on the Brave Wave site.

Which to choose...?

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Official Shenmue Anime Announced | News

An anime adaptation of the Shenmue game series, called Shenmue -the Animation-, was announced on the Crunchyroll website during the Virtual Crunchyroll Expo. A single preview image below was released:

While various rumors are swirling around the net, this is what has been officially revealed so far:

• The series will consist of 13 episodes, with a plot that is based on the existing game trilogy (more specifically: "the story of the first game and most of the second").
• Animation production is by Telecom Animation Film (a subsidiary of TMS Entertainment which is owned be Sega Sammy Holdings), and directed by Chikara Sakurai (animation director on Naruto the Movie and director of season 2 of the animation TV series One Punch Man).
• The game's creator, Yu Suzuki, is named as Executive Producer for the project.
• In the US, the series will be shown on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim Saturday nights in the Toonami block. It will be available elsewhere (excluding Japan & China) on video streaming service Crunchyroll. 
• Work on it has been going on for a while as the project was greenlit "right after the release of Shenmue 3".
• Jason DeMarco, senior vice president and creative director on-air for Adult Swim, was the one who brought the anime project about, acknowledging in a tweet that "It was me that decided to make the show and took it to our partners."

DeMarco in a statement also said, "The world of Shenmue is fascinating and unique and we are so excited to partner with Yu Suzuki to bring his epic creation to anime - and make a kick-ass martial art epic!"

Further details are expected to be announced during the Expo's stage presentation (Sat, Sep 5, 2020 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM PT) .

The Toonami Facebook page has also announced an upcoming interview with Yu Suzuki:

"Check out an interview with Suzuki on crunchyrollexpo.com tomorrow, and get ready for the series coming to Toonami and Crunchyroll!"

Update: the interview is now available: 

• Video Q&A with Yu Suzuki and Chikara Sakurai 

Other Information

There has also been an interesting tweet from AestheticGamer, who teased the anime announcement in the days before the event. He shared the following information (note that this is not part of an official announcement, but included here for reference):

"The Animation will air on Adult Swim (as they're backing it) & Crunchyroll, the 13-episode season tackles the first game and part of the second game. Includes a lot of story ideas they never got to put into the game either due to budget, time, or mature rating reasons. It'll be an adult animated retelling of Shenmue 1 & 2 with lost story beats, series creator Yu Suzuki has been involved to help the adaption & to realize the previously scrapped story elements to realization."

Cedric Biscay, the CEO of Shibuya Productions and co-producer of Shenmue III, also revealed that his company has no direct involvement in the project. He also gave an assurance that the anime series will have "no impact" on a potential Shenmue IV:

"1) My company and myself are not involved , it can be considered as a « derivated product » like anime usually does with manga. 

2) There is no impact on a potential Shenmue IV game."

Sources:

• Announcement on Crunchyroll (archived)
• Tweets from Jason DeMarco's account (Tweet1, Tweet2, Tweet3, Tweet4, Tweet5, Tweet6)
• IGN Japan article (Japanese)
• Tweet from AestheticGamer
• Tweet from Cedric Biscay
• Facebook post from Toonami

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