Shenmue 2 NTSC + bonus

Some GD's, enjoy...

 

North American-region GD_Rs of Shenmue II !!!!!

(Goes to corner sobbing uncontrollably)


Argh! Why must you do this to me !!! Why!!!! WHY!!!??

 

Amazing. I wonder what it was that made them decide not to go through with a release?

 

Because Sega was being a cock knobblers in the last days of the Dreamcast....Eh, at least Shenmue II for Xbox had extras.

 

Wasn't it more along the lines of they thought it would cost more to print the game than they would make from selling it? (based on sales figures from Shenmue 1)

 

What would cost more: Releasing a Dreamcast version and be rid of it, or spending money to port it to the Xbox, as well as spending money on voice actors (If I remember correctly, the American version of Shenmue II for DC was going to have the Japanese voice actors with translated text). Then again, I bet Microsoft had a hand in it...

 

I believe when tehy cancelled it for s US DC release they weren't actually planning to port it to the X-box....as far as I was aware those too decisions were completly seperated.

 

Actualy, they were planning on porting it from the cancelation. I remember hearing it was canceled and going to the xbox (X-Play, gamepro, etc), going down to Babbages and asking if it was true and found out that it was. Now, if I can find that old Gamepro article....

 

Well if you are sure then no need to dig out the article I mean, I only really got into the Dreamcast at the end of its life (Its life In Europe, before anyone starts getting pedantic ) so I'm more than willing to admit I am most likely wrong on alot of things Dreamcast related.

 

Ah, I didn't realise you lived in Scotland. I know it was released in Europe, so that may be a difference.

 

So this is an English language NTSC GD-R?

 

Yes full English.

 

That's what I heard as well, but given how complete and thorough the xbox Americanized voices were, I'm willing to bet that the voice recording was at least started for the US NTSC Dreamcast release.

Microsoft did do the right thing when you think about it. DC was all but dead here in the US. Many gamers were waiting for the PS2, GC and XBOX anyway. What better an opportunity for a newcomer to the American gaming scene than to take a niche/hardcore game like Shenmue II and bring it out for release on the new system. That move alone probably got a few ex-DC gamers to at least consider the xbox back in the day.

At the time, I was unhappy with Sega's handling of the situation, but in the end I was pleased as I ultimately got to play a US version of Shenmue II in some way/shape/form.

 

Yes, Shenmue II for the DC was held back in the US specifically because of the Microsoft deal. Sega of America couldn't release the game, but it also didn't do *ANYTHING* to stem the tide of imports as it kept up buzz on the company. Hell, company execs openly commented on the importing of UK versions and how well it worked on the US systems.

-hl718

 

They split the original European Shenmue II shipment (1.000.000 units?) in two I believe, with one half sent to North-America. Wasn't Shenmue II the most imported game of all time from Europe to North-America?

Nice to see those GD-R's though. ^^

 

And rightfully so.
They needed a base of obscure titles for the xbox to prove to "hardcore" gamers that this was a viable platform. They succeeded in that respect, I'd say.

 

One thing I always admired about Sega was that they weren't dicks about retailers carrying imports near the end of one of their systems life. I just thought they turned a blind eye to it though. I never knew they encouraged or participated in the importing of the games. Can anyone here elaborate more on to what degree Sega was involved with the imports.

 

There is the occasional gem that comes out on the Xbox. Panzer Dragoon Orta comes to mind (one of my favorite games on any of my systems). Of course, that's all left to opinion .

As for the importing of Shenmue II, I've actually seen a copy or two at EBGames here. However, I don't remember if it was the Japanese or European copy (I *think* it was the latter). $55 for a used and abused game was a bit much for me, though. I really wish they wouldn't have bothered with American voice actors and would've just left the Japanese voiceovers.

 

No, they were directly related.

Dc one not released because SOA sold exclusivity to MS.

Just read up on the news around it.