In 1999, a revolutionary video game hit the brand new Sega Dreamcast.
Shenmue, auteur-creator Yu Suzuki’s impressive, interactive R.P.G. was developed to be the definitive hit that would drive sales of the fledging console and set a high bar for what gamers could expect from the state of the art gaming tech presented by this, the first sixth generation console to be released.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as planned.

Although Shenmue was years ahead of its time, and no matter how revolutionary and immersive, the development and production of such a cutting edge game burned up what was rumoured to be seventy million dollars, which made it an enormous risk.

And the risk wasn’t just for the game. It was for the console itself.

Every console needs its primary driver, and for the Dreamcast, Shenmue would be it.

Or not.

Although it has been fifteen years since its release, Shenmue remains one of the most popular and beloved games of all time, and a third game to finally finish the story has been a fixture on gamers’ Most Wanted lists for years.

Until June of 2015 when their dreams came true and blew Kickstarter off the net until they could reboot their servers for a deluge of adoring fans.

Begun well before the news that Shemue III was announced at E3, A Gamer’s Journey: The Definitive History of Shenmue was designed to tell the story of this unparalleled game – a financial flop that generated a dedicated following of hardcore fans worldwide who showed their unending support on YouTube, message boards, websites and beyond. Originally, this feature documentary was filmmaker and longtime Shenmue fan Adam Sipione’s Hail Mary pass to help galvanize the community and tell the world that there was indeed a fan base hungry for more of the game they loved so much.

And then it happened anyway!

So now, our mandate has grown.

Through interviews with fans, voice actors, critics and creators, A Gamer’s Journey will take you deeper into the world of Shenmue as Adam and the Definitive Film team at FauxPop Media discover what happened to this inspiring game that had such an impact on so many.

We’ll find out how Shenmue came back with a vengeance, and, hopefully, we’ll show fans what lies ahead for this game that is perhaps now finally ready for its time.

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