"I want to make Shenmue 3" – Suzuki

Shenmue series creator Yu Suzuki wants to make Shenmue 3.

That doesn't mean it's happening, of course, but it's a start.

"Shenmue has the image of grand scale," Suzuki told Famitsu.com (translated by Andriasang).

"But making something of grand scale requires appropriate preparation. I want to make 3 with the same volume as in the past. There have actually been a lot of requests from fans for 3 as well. There were even petitions signed by tens of thousands of people. I wanted to carry out my obligations for the series."

Suzuki was speaking at a press conference for Shenmue City, the mobile phone game inspired by insanely popular Facebook game Mafia Wars.

If Shenmue City's a success, then perhaps SEGA will do "additional things" with the fabled series in the future.

There are 11 chapters to the Shenmue story, apparently, and putting them all in a game is something Suzuki will "have to consider" if given the chance to make a new Shenmue.

"It would be possible to finish the entire story in a single game if we were to show just the highlights and skip over parts," said Suzuki.

He joked that Shenmue would never reach its conclusion if they made one title every five years. "If given the chance, I'd have to think about the scale and the time frame. The Shenmue essence is, of course, in the scenarios I've made. I'd have to think how to make something from them."

1999 Dreamcast game Shenmue wowed critics but failed to set tills alight. Shenmue II, released on the Dreamcast in 2001 and the original Xbox in 2003, also struggled to sell. Eurogamer was around then, and awarded the Dreamcast original 8/10 and the Xbox port 6/10.