Looks like there won't be Shenmue III...Sega may have pulled its plug...

http://kotaku.com/gaming/rumor/sega-pulling-the-shenmue-plug-286603.php Sega Pulling The Shenmue Plug? The bastards. They killed the Dreamcast and now Shenmue apparently. Shortly after Shenmue II hit the DC, there were rumblings that a sequel was in the works. We're still waiting. Then, back in early 2006, the game's producer and directo Yu Suzuki stated at event China Joy 2006 that Shenmue Online was *still* in development. (The game was originally announced back in 2004!) This year's China Joy turned up no Shenmue Online, and according to Adam Doree from game site Kikizo site, fat chance on seeing Shenmue III:

''As for Shenmue, I would have to say at this stage, it is worth forgetting about... Suzuki's status is, once again, up in the air, which counts Shenmue III totally out of the picture right now. This is confirmed, it seems.''
SEGA has yet to provide an official statement on the game. Shame to see the rot set in. Really. Well, it makes sense to discontinue Shenmue. The game was extremely expensive and didn't make money. So no surprises here. Looks like there won't be Shenmue III...Sega may have pulled its plug...
I was never that crazy about Shenmue to begin with, but the games were decent enough I suppose. I will play the third in the series if and when Sega does decide to release it...but I'm not counting on that happening.Looks like there won't be Shenmue III...Sega may have pulled its plug...
This isn't a surprise at all. Once Sammy bought Sega, the writing should have been on the wall. They got rid of their sports division, which was a big source of revenue hemhorraging... and the Shenmue project was another project that literally bled money with little return. It's too bad that we won't get to realize the end of the series, though. It doesn't matter anymore where sailors hang out, what happened to that black car on that day, or if anyone decides to play Lucky Hit.
Would've been nice to know the outcome of the story
Hehehe.The guy to the left looks exactly like Ryu! (Is that his name? I can't remember it was so long ago since I played it)
ASK, you had to twist the knife on me huh? Would Shenmue III on the Wii cost a lot to make? They have the engine, why not just make it and see if it turns a profit on the Wii. I guess Sega's financial issues don't allow it the creative freedom that it once had.
I think that there are multiple reasons-- aside from financials-- why we won't see Shenmue's swan song. Rumblings from Japan have indicated a growing rift between Sega Sammy and Yu Suzuki. That's strike one; if the creator of the series-- and main storyteller-- isn't able to or allowed to finish the story, then there's no point. I suppose that someone else could script an ending, but would that be satisfying?Also, the engine may be available, but would the look be acceptable to gamers today? As it was, Shenmue II was panned for not showing off what the Xbox could do... as it was a Dreamcast title to begin with. Strike two. Finally, if a Wii version was to come out, the new casual-influenced audience would probably pass it by... just as they have for the past two iterations. Called third strike over the inside corner. The batter is out.
Let Suzuki do another CG movie to tell the story's ending. That way, we see what happens.