Back then? To me they never stopped doing that lol.

Please, let it be a new game and not just an HD remaster...

Let it finally be what we've been crying for, for all these years...

Yeah they hate making money cause it worked out so good with the Dreamcast and didn't kill them back then :D
Shenmue is only big on the internet

Unfortunately (imo) the case of Shenmue is another in which the gamer looks back at the past with not enough objectivity.

- Shenmue on Dreamcast had a 89 Metacritic. This is very good (!), but considering that exclusive Dreamcast games usually get higher reviews than they would if they were multiplat... Like for instance Sonic Adventure 2 which had a 89 Metacritic on Dreamcast and a 73 on Gamecube even though the GC version came out less a year later and had more content... Considering this, it would be very difficult to make a case that Shenmue is the unequivocally "great" game that it is made out to be. No doubt its a very good game, but perhaps overrated due to the incredible love the DC gets on gaming forums.

(incidentally, the DC gets such love and praise but these vocal people didn't seem to buy one)

- Speaking of buying... Shenmue hardly sold through the roof. It did pretty well - selling roughly ~1.2 million (super guestimate). How big is the fanbase really?

- Shenmue 2 got a 80 Metacritic on Xbox and hardly set the world alight.

TLDR:

In conclusion, the perception of Shenmue as a megeton is not based on reality. It didn't garner the huge fanbase that people think it did, and didn't wow reviewers as much as people seem to think. For Sega to develop Shenmue 3 would cost a lot (!) of money and it is most certainly not guaranteed that they would recoup that.

Be realistic people.

Addendum:

- Shenmue exclusivity would give a console unprecedented bragging rights.

- I'm not dismissing the possibility that it might be a very good game. I doubt very much that it would be a great game.

Screw the critic scores.......... Shenmue 1 & 2 sit on a big fat 97 & 94 userscore respectively over on meta.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/dreamcast/shenmue

http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox/shenmue-ii

There are 117 user reviews for Shenmue........... to have a 97 score is nothing short of astonishing.

Those of you who were not there at the time will never understand the amazing impact that Shenmue had on the vast majority of people who played it.

A true MASTERPIECE in every sense of the word.

To be fair, the gripe against Sega wasn't just because of Shenmue.

I for one only played the Xbox version, since that was how I was introduced to the series (0, hype, the quality of the game is what made me a fan), but it was definetly one of my favorite games on the system. Irregardless of ratings, Shenmue was a wonderfully crafted game and was practically the one of the most iconic open world rpgs. Especially now, when every Open World game is trying to be either GTA or Skyrim, with Infamous deviating with super powers, I think Shenmue 3 would be a welcome change and could easily be the most succesful game in the series.

It already has the gameplay, the story, the hero, and the world; all sega would need to do is deliver well.

The closest IP to Shenmue was Sleeping Dogs, the melee and the setting was close enough, but then they had to have cars and guns, and he had to be play the part of a gangbanger. Shenmue 3 wouldn't need a massive AAA budget and could break even if it wasn't a million seller on Launch, but I'm willing to bet it would trash most of the IPs we've gotten this or last gen.

Shenmue 3 will release right alongside Agent.

It's probably just a Shenmue racing game!