Shenmue 3 in Development?

If there are two games that all people agree were out of this world on the Sega Dreamcast, it would be Shenmue and Shenmue 2. Both created by legendary developer Yu Suzuki, the game had amazing depth, freedom, and interactivity, capped off with a gripping storyline and incredible characters, so it comes as no wonder that so many Shenmue fans want the story finished. This past week, hope rose from the ashes just to go up in flames again all in the matter of a couple of days. Below we explain what happened in one of the cruelest weeks for Sega and Shenmue fans.

The whole thing started of with the latest issue of British gaming magazine Edge. If you haven’t seen this yet, take a look here. Do you see anything? No? Look closer.

”It’s a blank page in Edge,” you say? Well center your eyes in the middle of the page. Got it? Now, angle your monitor and hey, would you look at that. Three words seem to appear out of nowhere: “Shenmue 3 Believe,” and at the bottom of the page, “Next issue.” When I saw this for myself my first reaction was “Holy s***!" The internet forums exploded with joy in hope that one of the most loved games would finally go to get the third installment that they fans always wanted.

That is, until this happened.

Over at that infamous gaming forum NeoGAF, a member came clean and told everyone that it was indeed a hoax and that he placed this image in the picture. How could one toy with the feelings of millions of gamer’s hearts with such a cruel act? But should we have gotten fooled so easily? How many times does Sega need to say, “There is no Shenmue 3 in development?” Speaking to Kotaku, Sega of America President Simon Jeffery said explicitly, “There are no plans for [Shenmue 3] right now.”

Looks like our hopes are dangling by a thread.

TGR Verdict: Rumor Killed