How a Fake Shenmue 4 Trailer Helped Revitalize a Restless Fanbase

On the morning of December 4th, a user named Nomura_79 uploaded a zip file to the Shenmue Dojo forums. Its contents would go on to shock the community and send ripples throughout the wider gaming landscape.

The file contained a trailer that was supposedly for Shenmue 4, which Nomura claimed would be revealed at this year’s Game Awards ceremony. Despite several red flags hinting at AI involvement, many fans believed that this trailer could be the real deal. Not only did it do an exceptional job of mimicking the style of previous Shenmue games, but it also showcased story beats and locations that are expected to appear in future instalments. Some fans were understandably sceptical, but few were willing to fully dismiss the trailer as a fake.

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Within a few hours, news of the trailer had been picked up by a number of large gaming publications, including PC Gamer, Push Square, and Eurogamer. Threads began popping up on subreddits and gaming forums, and thousands of curious gamers began flocking to the Shenmue Dojo forums in search of answers. According to one of the site’s co-owners, 330,000 people visited the Dojo in the 12-hour period after Nomura’s post, with more than a million unique visits and page after page of discussion following over the course of the next few days.

For a series that former Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors once described as “a core niche product,” this kind of response may seem a little overblown, especially given the uncertain origins of the trailer. But there’s a reason why so many fans were willing to look past some of those aforementioned red flags. After years of silence and uncertainty, this trailer promised something that Shenmue fans have been desperately craving for more than two decades now: closure.

A Brief History of Shenmue

To truly understand why this trailer was such a big deal to the Shenmue community, you first need to know a little about the history of the franchise. Released in 1999 for the Sega Dreamcast, the first Shenmue game helped to pioneer a number of systems and mechanics that would go on to become standard in many modern video games, while also laying a lot of the groundwork for what would eventually become known as the open-world genre. It inspired both players and developers alike; a legacy reaffirmed by a recent BAFTA poll naming it the most influential video game of all time.

Unfortunately, Shenmue proved to be as divisive as it was ground-breaking, with many players struggling to get to grips with the story’s slow pacing. All that innovation also came at a huge cost. According to series creator Yu Suzuki, around $47 million was spent developing and marketing Shenmue and its 2001 sequel, which, when coupled with the Dreamcast’s modest install base and widespread problems with piracy, left the series with no realistic path to profitability.

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In the end, one in eight Dreamcast owners bought a copy of Shenmue: a higher attach rate than any of the 3D GTA games achieved on the PS2. Even then, though, this wasn’t enough for SEGA. Work on the third Shenmue game was halted, and fans were left to endure more than a decade of uncertainty. There were occasional whispers, but it wasn’t until 2015 and a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign that they finally got something concrete. Against all the odds, Shenmue was making a comeback.

Sadly, the franchise’s return was nowhere near as triumphant as fans had been hoping for. Review scores for Shenmue 3 were mixed, and although official sales figures were never released, the game’s failure to chart in several key territories would seem to suggest that it struggled to perform commercially. Perhaps the most disappointing thing of all, though, was that very little narrative progress was made, with many long-standing questions left unanswered. After eighteen years and what many saw as a minor miracle, fans were right back where they started.

In the six years following the release of Shenmue 3, Yu Suzuki has continued to echo his desire to finish the story in video game form and has reportedly been pitching a fourth game to potential publishers. Despite a few nibbles, though, none seem to have taken the bait just yet, or at least they hadn’t as of last May when Suzuki confirmed that Shenmue 4 was not yet in active development. Things could have changed since then, but there’s no real evidence to suggest that being the case.

A Fandom Reunited

This is why, when Nomura_79’s zip file appeared one random December morning, the reaction was so explosive. After decades of waiting, an unlikely Kickstarter revival, and a sequel that left more questions than answers, fans were desperate for any hint of progress. This mysterious trailer served as a spark. A chance to dive back into the world of Shenmue, to speculate about Ryo’s next moves, and to believe in the possibility of closure once more. It offered hope at a time when all was beginning to feel lost.

Reading through some of the many comments and forum posts, you can find numerous examples of fans who had previously given up on the franchise, but are now once again excited for what its future may someday hold. Some were excited by the prospect of visiting new locations like Luoyang and Inner Mongolia, while others were just happy to see Ryo’s companion Ren up to some of his old tricks. Although far from perfect, the trailer reminded fans of everything they love about Shenmue and why they’re so desperate to finally experience the end of Ryo’s story.

After days of speculation, Ys Net eventually released a statement denying any involvement with the trailer, but the response it provoked is impossible to ignore. Coverage across major gaming outlets and over a million unique forum visits underscores the enduring appetite for more Shenmue and highlights some of the aspects that still resonate strongly with series fans. If a fake trailer can generate that level of attention and engagement, you can’t help but wonder what a real one could do. The question now is whether Yu Suzuki can find a publishing partner willing to capitalise on all of that untapped potential. For whatever it’s worth, I really hope that he can.

Shenmue

Released

December 29, 1999

ESRB

t