Several retailers from Europe have possibly leaked a Shenmue HD Collection for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, adding fire to the rumors that SEGA will launch these remasters before Shenmue 3. European retailers Alza, Heureka, GetGame, and MadGamer all list “Shenmue 1 & 2 Pack” on their website. Similarly, Alza and other European retailers also have a listing for a Bayonetta and Vanquish Pack for PS4 and Xbox One scheduled for November 2017.
This isn’t the first time rumors surfaced regarding a Shenmue HD Collection. In January 2017, domain names for Shenmue HD surfaced online. In the following month, RiceDigital claimed an anonymous source from Atlus USA told them a Shenmue HD Remaster will launch in 2017. In May 2017, Just Add Water’s CEO said on NeoGAF that the team is working on porting Shenmue to consoles, similarly to how it handled porting Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath to PS3. In the same month, Gio Corsi, PlayStation’s senior director of third party productions & developer relations, tweeted a picture of himself holding a Shenmue game case with series creator Yu Suzuki.
These pieces of information line up with SEGA’s statement this August that the company is actively trying to make a Shenmue HD Collection happen. In mid-May, Sega Europe community manager Dan Sheridan said the company is investigating an HD Collection. In August, SEGA Europe’s executive vice president of publishing John Clark told MCV it is "actively pursuing" an HD collection of Shenmue. “It’s something we would love to make happen, something we are trying to make happen," said Clark. "I think we want it to happen as much as anybody out there. Yes, it’s a serious task and it’s not a task that we’re not working on, if that makes sense. It’s something we’re actively pursuing.”
At present, Suzuki and his team are independently working on Shenmue 3, with Deep Silver publishing the game. The latest entry was originally scheduled to hit PS4 and PC in late 2017 but was delayed to 2018. Despite the delay and being a Kickstarter game, Suzuki said Shenmue 3 will live up to fans’ expectations.
What do you think about the Shenmue HD Collection rumor? Do you think the retailer leaks are accurate? Are you interested in the HD Collection? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.