What Ryo Hazuki's DLC contest win SHOULD mean for Shenmue...

[Shenmue Lives]

From TeamYu on Facebook:

The polls have closed in the contest to nominate characters for inclusion as DLC for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and thanks to the tireless dedication of the Shenmue fanbase, our boy Ryo Hazuki has topped the list! Congratulations to all who signed his petition.

Here is the full set of totals submitted to the head of Sumo Digital last night:

1) Ryo Hazuki: 3379
2) Hatsune Miku: 3180
3) Segata Sanshiro: 2613
4) Vectorman: 1221
5) Bayonetta: 1215
6) Ristar: 1081
7) ToeJam & Earl: 1015

8) Billy Hatcher: 692
9) Axel Stone: 584
10) Blaze Fielding: 528
11) Phantom R: 473
12) Selvaria Bles: 458
13) Alis Landale: 452
14) Sakura Shinguuji: 369
15) Welkin Gunther: 367
16) Opa-Opa: 333
17) Ash: 332
18) Kazuma Kiryu: 308
19) Sketch Turner: 306
20) Arle Nadja: 305
21) The Chu Chus: 274
22) Space Harrier: 253
23) Bonanza Bros: 230
24) Spiral Knight: 184
25) Amitie: 162
26) Rag Rappy: 160
27) Ecco: 125
28) Jacky Bryant: 119

The head of Sumo, Steve "S0L" Lycett, has agreed to present the top seven characters - those who all surpassed 1000 votes - to Sega for consideration as downloadable content. There are no guarantees who, if any, will be selected for development. But for us, the most important thing is the statement that has been made by the Shenmue fanbase.

On a list of 28 Sega characters, both classic and contemporary, Ryo Hazuki was proven the most popular. The Shenmue franchise is in higher demand than even Bayonetta, doubling her votes. As we said in our Bring Shenmue 3 To Life appeal to Nintendo, if Bayonetta 2 is a worthy investment to lure gamers onto the Wii U, imagine the effect of announcing the most desperately awaited sequel in gaming history. We now have the data to back this up.

Now take a look at how Ryo's success compares with Kazuma Kiryu, star of the Yakuza series. Yakuza is considered by many as the closest substitute for Shenmue that we may ever see, yet it would take almost ELEVEN Kazumas to match the demand for Ryo. Sega is preparing to launch Yakuza 5, while its main character has less than ten percent of the popularity of a star who's had only two games, over a decade ago. We love Yakuza, but clearly there wasn't the passion out there to rustle up votes for the Dragon of Dojima. These numbers implore Sega to reconsider their priorities before investing in their next open world Far Eastern adventure.

Most telling of all is that even the mighty Hatsune Miku, the teal-haired schoolgirl popstar with an insatiable following that transcends videogames, lost out to Ryo by a vote shy of 200. Her fanbase mobilized as quickly and tenaciously as Shenmue's, yet still couldn't muster the support to outlast Hazuki.

In conclusion, the star of Shenmue is not only worthy of inclusion as a downloadable character in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, but is the healthiest candidate on Sega's roster for a new game of his own. The campaign for Shenmue III has been validated by this contest, and we should all draw from it further confidence that our requests for this sequel are justified.

But we must all continue the momentum gathered by this victory. Now is the time to amplify the pressure on Sega to heed the demand for Shenmue III and satisfy the anxious fans who outnumber all on that list. This Monday, and on the 3rd of every month, the Shenmue Tweetathon takes place, inviting fans from around the world to descend on Twitter and post the hashtag #GiveYuTheShenmueLicense. Yu Suzuki has stated his desire to conclude his epic masterpiece, and we need to ensure he gets that opportunity from Sega. Please participate and encourage your friends, pets and neighbors to do the same, just as you have for Ryo's triumphant All-Stars petition. We can't allow the buzz to die down. This contest was a launching pad and we now have to reach for the stars if we're going to make the most of it.

TeamYu.net provides any further information that you or your friends may need about the Tweetathon. Spread it around and get everyone involved. We didn't win this race just to sit back and get lazy - the real work starts now!

[Stooball]

He had an Avatar item on the first game for cryin out loud. Why is Ryo not in the sequel already??

[Shenmue Lives]

I'm guessing they had a hard time coming up with a transforming vehicle for him that would fit in the Shenmue universe.

[SpunkyLoveChild]

I'm guessing they had a hard time coming up with a transforming vehicle for him that would fit in the Shenmue universe.

You think? I think that forklift is a perfect fit, and it would be hilarious to see it transform into a plane/boat. Maybe that would look too goofy, but if Thunderhead can ride a turtle and bird, Ryo can drive a forklift.

Also, I have been watching these tweetathons closely, ShenmueLives, and have been very heartened and impressed with the support you've all managed to build. It's that element of Sega's fan community that really sets us apart--we are passionate, and will do the work to show our love for some of the best franchises of all time.

My concern is that Sega won't take a risk on anything that's isn't almost certainly profitable ahead of time, so pressuring them is useless at this point. I highly doubt we'll see any physical releases from the company next year, other than Anarchy Reigns, Colonial Marines, Rome II, a new Sonic, and maybe Bayonetta 2 (though I have a feeling that won't be coming until 2014). I don't mean to suggest that a Shenmue III would come out that quickly; I just mean to say that Sega looks like they're really sticking to their support of the big four (Aliens, Sonic, Football Manager, Total War), and really aren't interested in putting down any unnecessary cash on epic games at the moment. Even Yakuza, a franchise that absolutely does not fill the void but at least touches on Shenmue's flavor, will likely no longer be coming stateside, as it just doesn't prove profitable for the company.

I like the idea of getting behind Nintendo to financially support the game though, as they stand to gain a really huge exclusive for hardcore gamers if they do. The hard part of this is convincing them that all this momentum is being gathered not by a fairly large fringe group of very vocal hardcore fans, but by a genuinely sizable audience across the gaming community. Shenmue has never been profitable for Sega, and has in fact lost them record amounts of cash in the past. Therefore I imagine convincing Nintendo to inject their own money in a sequel is especially challenging, when the numbers just don't look good on paper. Fan support is absolutely essential, but I just don't know if it's enough to convince a company that such a sweeping, epic undertaking will finally make some money.

Having Shenmue at the top of the DLC request list is certainly helpful, but I have a feeling that it's only proving to Sega what they already know--hardcore fans of Sega (fans that actually visit the Sega forums and vocalize their most wanted sequels all over twitter) want Shenmue. But the general public? That might take a little more finagling.

Now, that said, I am OBSESSED with the Shenmue storyline, and the concept of finally having it completed would heal a decade-old case of videogame blue balls that's been driving me insane. I want it just as much as the next guy, but I think we need to be a little more clear-headed about how big of a task it is to really convince Sega and/or Nintendo that this game is wanted by more than folks who spend an hour writing an extended forum post about the game (i.e., us). Once we find a way to spread it to the larger gaming community, then we might have something on our hands.

[Shenmue Lives]

You're right about us having to spread the word to the gaming community at large. That's definitely the biggest hurdle and not one that I have an answer for on how it can be done easily.

Do you think with the right kind of marketing, Shenmue could become more appealing to more gamers? Or are there lots of instances where Sega went all out on marketing and still have a project fail financially?

[Saiyavenger]

I think, of the top three, Ryo and Sanshiro have the greatest chance of making it in. With Miku, I honestly don't believe Sumo would have the money/resources/etc. to go through putting her in, much less the time. The time it would take to clear it with Yamaha and Crypton, create a design concept, create three different models for her, test and balance her for fairness, etc. would take way too long, I'd say, way longer than the game could stay relevant for.

For Ryo and Segata Sanshiro though, they already have models

Spoiler

for both of them

and Sega can easily grant them the rights and resources they need without a ton of red tape. All they would really need to do is create air/water vehicles for Ryo (and ground/water for Sanshiro), balance them, and maybe record new voice clips. That's it.

I look forward to racing as our kitten feeding 1980s overlord once again.

[Stooball]

I would stick Segata Sanshiro on a rocket for the flying stages, and I guess he could just ride a white Saturn for water. Shoot, he could just run with the Saturn on his back for the rest

Ryo could do the forklift, then helicopter Lan Di style, then Wong's boat for water. These are just off the top of my head

[alexriggen]

I think, of the top three, Ryo and Sanshiro have the greatest chance of making it in. With Miku, I honestly don't believe Sumo would have the money/resources/etc. to go through putting her in, much less the time. The time it would take to clear it with Yamaha and Crypton, create a design concept, create three different models for her, test and balance her for fairness, etc. would take way too long, I'd say, way longer than the game could stay relevant for.

I agree with you that Ryo and Sanshiro have a good chance of making it in the game but Miku will be a struggle. I would rather have some of the other characters that made it to the top 7 anyway as Miku has always felt more like a licensed character than an actual Sega property. With ToeJam & Earl's recent release on XBLA and PSN it would be great to see them some more as characters in SASR:T. They've already go their rocket ship for the flight levels and was it a inner tube you could use so you wouldn't drown in water in the original game? That would be a pretty great water vehicle if it had motors attached or something to propel it.

[alexriggen]

You're right about us having to spread the word to the gaming community at large. That's definitely the biggest hurdle and not one that I have an answer for on how it can be done easily.

Do you think with the right kind of marketing, Shenmue could become more appealing to more gamers? Or are there lots of instances where Sega went all out on marketing and still have a project fail financially?

I believe both HoTD: Overkill and MadWorld on the Wii didn't do to hot even though Sega marketed them quite a bit. MadWorld had a huge presence at my local GameStops with big character cutouts and displays and yet I've always heard that Sega was very disappointed with that game's sales. Still, I think Sega would have to really change-up the gameplay in a Shenmue 3 to get a larger crowd of people interested. Shenmue 1 & 2 are just to methodical and slow paced compared to what most people are expecting. Even when you compare it to similar adventure games like Heavy Rain and Yakuza, Shenmue is extremely slowly and less action and excitement heavy.

[MegaWestgarth]

I'm just wondering if this may be Sega's opportunity to introduce Hatsune Miku to the Western world. Considering her popularity in Japan, it's not too far-fetched. Aside from the fact that Sega don't own the rights to the character... I don't think. I'm actually not quite sure.