Why are there no modern games like Shenmue?

[Ice That Jaw]

Just for fun, I started to replay Shenmue using the nulldc emulator. This is the first time Ive played the original since I got the Dreamcast for xmas 16 or 17 years ago. And wow, im still amazed.

+ You can converse with every character (except those in vehicles)
+ Nearly all characters have 3 unique responses in case you continually press them
+ Nearly every building can be explored
+ Every building has its own music and interactive inhabitants

How many adventure games implemented these features? I cant think of any except elder scrolls but its still alot more quantity over quality. It seems that the pattern has been to create much larger worlds with much less interactivity. In contrast, the world of Shenmue is very small, but it is very intimate. So much detail is packed into such a smal sq footage.

I wish more game designers opted for this style. Smaller maps but almost realistic detail. If you can walk into every building in a town it could the size of Mayberry and still feel huge.

 

[RJ43]

Shen Mue was so far ahead of its time. I think, adjusted for inflation, it's one of the most expensive games ever made.

Honestly I miss games from that ere in general.

 

[fightingrabbit]

Just for fun, I started to replay Shenmue using the nulldc emulator. This is the first time Ive played the original since I got the Dreamcast for xmas 16 or 17 years ago. And wow, im still amazed.

+ You can converse with every character (except those in vehicles)
+ Nearly all characters have 3 unique responses in case you continually press them
+ Nearly every building can be explored
+ Every building has its own music and interactive inhabitants

How many adventure games implemented these features? I cant think of any except elder scrolls but its still alot more quantity over quality. It seems that the pattern has been to create much larger worlds with much less interactivity. In contrast, the world of Shenmue is very small, but it is very intimate. So much detail is packed into such a smal sq footage.

I wish more game designers opted for this style. Smaller maps but almost realistic detail. If you can walk into every building in a town it could the size of Mayberry and still feel huge.

This. I always felt that if GTA added these sort of adventure/RPG aspects, something as small as including collectibles (The toy vending machines in Shenmue) It would have increased the replayabiltiy and immersiveness of the game 10 fold. Instead the many complaints we got about GTA IV was that while technically very beautiful, the gameworld was bland (Empty dead buildings, not much to do)

I also hate that once you had so much money there was nothing really to spend it on but guns, cars.

 

[ThulsaDooom]

Play the Yakuza series. I never played Shenmue but a lot of people say it scratches that same itch.

 

[Eazy123]

Well they're working on Shenmue 3 so fingers crossed it doesn't go the Mighty No. 9 route.

 

[DurableDude]

Because Shenmue was incredibly expensive and modern day AAA publishers don't see it as a worthwhile investment to spend that much money on a single player only, story driven game. There is no guarantee to Publishers that Shenmue would even shift enough units to cover the development (Like GTA V).

Hence why Shenmue 3 is being crowdfunded.

It's a little funny that today we have the technology and hardware to have fully realised immersive worlds, yet the most immersive of them all was Shenmue 1&2 (IMO) which were incredibly built for Dreamcast nearly 20 years ago.

Now going to plug my Dreamcast back in and replay these great games.

 

[blaseblah]

This. I always felt that if GTA added these sort of adventure/RPG aspects, something as small as including collectibles (The toy vending machines in Shenmue) It would have increased the replayabiltiy and immersiveness of the game 10 fold. Instead the many complaints we got about GTA IV was that while technically very beautiful, the gameworld was bland (Empty dead buildings, not much to do)

I also hate that once you had so much money there was nothing really to spend it on but guns, cars.

There ARE collectibles.

 

[fightingrabbit]

There ARE collectibles.

In GTA IV? Or you're talking about the new one? If so, i've never played the new one. What collectibles are there?

 

[blaseblah]

In GTA IV? Or you're talking about the new one? If so, i've never played the new one. What collectibles are there?

IV is easily the weakest of the series imo. There's less to do, less customization. V brings back all the stuff from San Andreas. There's too much to mention, but there's a lot to do and collect.

 

[Squall Leonhart]

Because games nowadays are FPS or MMOs and focus on DLC, multiplayer, and flash.

Gone are the days of turn-based JRPGs, quirky niche games, or story-based games. Developers don't take chances. I feel like games nowadays are sterile and take no creative risk.

 

[Quinton Overeem]

What makes a game expensive? A large dev team? New technology?

Couldn't they make it with much less money now?

 

[Steve-French]

I haven't played Shenmue since my roommate at the time had a dreamcast in 2001, but aren't those TellTale games similar to Shenmue.

 

[My Spot]

What makes a game expensive? A large dev team? New technology?

Couldn't they make it with much less money now?

Shenmue came out in 2000 and cost $70 million to make.
For comparison, Final Fantasy 7 came out in 97 and cost $45 million. It had the Sony marketing machine though.

 

[fightingrabbit]

IV is easily the weakest of the series imo. There's less to do, less customization. V brings back all the stuff from San Andreas. There's too much to mention, but there's a lot to do and collect.

I just read about it, and I didn't mean things like secret packages and spaceship parts. I meant like totally useless easter eggs which have no in game function. Example again, the useless toys in Shenmue that you could pay money to buy out of a vending machine.

I haven't played Shenmue since my roommate at the time had a dreamcast in 2001, but aren't those TellTale games similar to Shenmue.

No Shenmue is more like hand to hand beat em up GTA but with RPG elements.

Shenmue came out in 2000 and cost $70 million to make.
For comparison, Final Fantasy 7 came out in 97 and cost $45 million. It had the Sony marketing machine though.

I think he was asking where most of the money goes in to, to make a game.

What makes a game expensive? A large dev team? New technology?

Couldn't they make it with much less money now?

This is what I've never understood either. I would also figure that as technology gets better it would be easier to make a game cheaper. But who the fuck knows.

 

[blaseblah]

I just read about it, and I didn't mean things like secret packages and spaceship parts. I meant like totally useless easter eggs which have no in game function. Example again, the useless toys in Shenmue that you could pay money to buy out of a vending machine.

The GTA series is littered with Easter eggs

 

[Byron Pechorin]

Games with microtransactions is where the money is at. Games like Shenmue cost a fuckton of money to make and investors would rather fund quick cash grabs like mobile games that cost much less to produce and can generate Nintendo Wii money.

 

[MMAmathwiz]

I agree, problem is that open world games are too formulaic which is partly due to consumer demand, the GTA craze started with GTA 3 and we've seen dozens of copycat games since then, now we are finally starting to see consumers reject some of these franchises with low sales (Watchdogs2, Just Cause 3, etc).

These games all have city sized open worlds, cars, planes, guns, same mission structures, progression system, etc. Its what consumers started to demand in open world games so devs catered to that demand. Even the over-the top cartoony violence and sattire was formulaic at this point.

Games like Shenmue were different since the open world was much smaller but so densely packed and detailed, no cars/planes, no guns, no crime story. It felt like a living, breathing world with NPCs with depth, all interiors were accessible and it mimicked real life because you had to sleep, wait for people to show up places, or you can hang out in an arcade an kill time, go train martial arts, etc. Playing Shenmue was to experience living in a town in 1980s Japan, I still remember that place like the back of my hand.

Hopefully Shenmue 3 is a huge success and we see devs take more risks and be more creative in creating worlds like this, theres so much insanse amount of untapped potential to create amazing stories in worlds like this. Games are good now because devs are experienced in genres and the tech is there, but in terms of creativity, game development is lacking at the moment. We need more Shenmues.

 

[Ice That Jaw]

What makes a game expensive? A large dev team? New technology?

Couldn't they make it with much less money now?

From what Ive read, its just the sheer amount of creative assets. Things someone has to design and cant be automated or already included in the game engines.

I honestly think plenty of games rival that, but what they rarely offer is the densly packed experience of Shenmue. Almost every character in the game will react contexually to your main storyline. Its really subtle but brilliant. Going back to previous NPCs and hearing the new lines is cool. That said, Ryo is a popular guy. Everyone knows him.

 

[JokersKnife]

Can't wait for Shenmue 3. I need closure.

 

[Eazy123]

New Shenmue 3 screens:

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-shenmue-3-screens-released-as-pc-preorders-go-/1100-6446285/