Shenmue City taken offline
Social game spin-off dead after 12 months.
Bad news for all those clinging to hope that Shenmue 3 might one day see a green light. A social mobile game spun off from the beloved Sega franchise Shenmue has shut up shop after only 12 months online.
As detailed by Andriasang, Shenmue City developer YsNet announced the game's closure on 26th December, thanking players for their support.
The game, directed by franchise creator Yu Suzuki, was originally launched on the Japan-only Mobage mobile service in December 2010. A PC-friendly version was promised but never materialised.
The last proper entry in the acclaimed-but-underperforming series was Shenmue 2 on the Dreamcast back in 2001. There has been talk of a third game ever since but nothing has materialised.
Most recently, Suzuki told an audience at GDC in March 2011 that, "Probably Sega will let me make it. I think. It's simply a problem of budget."