Shenmue series developer Ys Net has been releasing monthly reports on the creation of the latest game in the four-part series. This edition showcases a 3D model check over of a new character set to appear in the latest entry. Don’t expect anything amazing, as it’s just short of a minute long and consists mostly of the new guy (whom they took great pains to keep anonymous) flexing his arms. To be fair, that’s in order to make sure the polygons don’t stretch in a way they aren’t supposed to.
They did, however, say something about him having a scary face. Naturally, the only logical thing is to assume he’ll be a villain. I don’t know, though, that grin looked more pleasant than threatening. And that’s pretty much it for the third developer report on Shenmue III by Ys Net. The company did drop a statement about this year’s upcoming E3, however. Sadly, it seems Ys Net will not be in attendance this go around:
“We have also been receiving questions from our backers regarding our plans to participate in upcoming game shows. While our schedule has yet to be finalized, we will be devoting June to game development and as a result, will unfortunately not be participating in any game shows. On the other hand, we look forward to bringing you our monthly updates and hope you do too!”
Now that we’ve read the bad news, it’s time for some good news. Shenmue III is currently anticipated for release December of this year, most likely in time for Christmas, on PS4 and PC. It’s been a pretty massive time gap, as the first game hit shelves in 1999, with its sequel following only a couple years later. Here’s hoping it won’t be yet another 15 years before we get the fourth and supposed final installment in the Shenmue line.