After a leak that suggested the classic Dreamcast games, Shenmue 1 and 2, would be releasing this August, Sega has decided to make formal announcement. On their twitter page, Sega has officially announced that Shenmue 1 and 2 will officially release on August 21, 2018.
Both games will be receiving the High Definition treatment, including an updated user interface and screen resolutions that you can fully scale. In addition, the Japanese audio will be available internationally for the first time in the series, as well as choosing between a modern control setup or the classic Dreamcast one. The re-release of Shenmue 2 in particular will be based off of the Xbox port and not the Dreamcast version, citing “technical reasons” as well as additional features that were included at the time.
For those who haven’t heard of the series, Shenmue made its debut on the Sega Dreamcast in 1999, 2000 in the United States, and was ahead of its time in terms of 3D open-world gameplay mechanics. The sequel, Shenmue 2, was released in 2001, but only in Japan for the Dreamcast. It was ported to the Xbox for the US in 2002, and while their were plans for another game, nothing ever materialized. However, at E3 2015, series creator Yu Suzuki announced a Kickstarter campaign to fund and develop Shenmue 3. The campaign was a huge success, amassing approximately $6.3 million dollars, and the game now has tentative release for 2019.
Shenmue 1 and 2 will be released together in a physical and digital format. The former will include a double-sided poster showcasing all of the characters from the series, and a reverse side with the original artwork. You can pre-order it here. Shenmue 1 and 2 will release on August 21, 2018 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
You can check out the pre-order trailer here: