http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/08/03/news_6103975.html
Sega announces Shenmue Online
Massively multiplayer version of Shenmue set for a 2005 release for
the PC in Korea and China.
TOKYO--Sega announced today that it is developing the long-rumored
online version of Shenmue for the PC, titled Shenmue Online. The game
is being codeveloped with JC Entertainment, an online game developer
and operator in Korea, and its creation will be supervised by the
father of the series, Yu Suzuki.
Shenmue Online will be a massively multiplayer role-playing game that
takes place in various locations in China (including Hong Kong) in the
1980s. Players will step into the role of fighters and battle in
real-time action, using kung fu, Chinese weapons, qi (ki) energy, and
other mystic powers.
JC Entertainment will operate Shenmue Online?s game services and
marketing in Korea, while Sega will hold licensing rights for all
other countries. A license has already been granted to T2 Technology,
which will operate Shenmue Online in China.
Closed beta testing of Shenmue Online will take place in Korea
starting this November, followed by a period of open beta testing. The
game is scheduled to launch its commercial services in Korea in spring
2005 and in China sometime later that year. No specific plans for the
online game have been made for Japan, North America, or Europe.
According to Korean news site Digital Chosun, development of Shenmue
Online began in February 2003, and a total of 30 billion won ($25.7
million) is planned for investment into the project, including
development fees and international marketing costs.
Sega has also launced the game's official Web site, which at the
moment consists of press releases and a link to a more detailed Korean
site.
In related news, Sega established an office in China (SOA-Sega of
China) in June in preparation to expand into the country?s gaming
market. Along with today?s announcement of Shenmue Online, Sega
revealed that it has also licensed two online PC games to third-party
operators in China: Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst and CTRacer.
CTRacer is a massively multiplayer online racing game codeveloped by
Sega and Korean developer Hyundai Digital Entertainment.
By Hirohiko Niizumi -- GameSpot
POSTED: 08/03/04 10:22 AM PST
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http://www.totalvideogames.com/pages/articles/index.php?article_id=6152
Shenmue Online
03/08/2004
By: Chris Leyton
SEGA Announce Shenmue Twist
SEGA confirm plans to take the Shenmue franchise online and to the PC?
The long-running Shenmue saga took an unsuspected twist today, with
confirmation that SEGA have entered an agreement with JC Entertainment
Corporation, to co-develop and publish Shenmue Online.
Shenmue Online is set to be a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG)
for the PC, with JC Entertainment managing content development, whilst
SEGA will be responsible for content development and supervising the
development and licensing related to the online-game operations in
territories outside of Korea.
Shenmue fans can rest easy in the knowledge that Yu Suzuki will be
closely monitoring the ongoing activities for the game.
The actual game casts tens of thousands of players in the virtual
world of Shenmue, staged in China and throughout Hong Kong during the
1980s. Players act as militants, using mysterious powers, kung-fu,
Chinese weapons and Qigong in real-time fighting action.
Shenmue Online will roll-out in Korea, beginning with a private beta
in November 2004, followed by an open-beta and commercial launch in
2005.
We?ll have more information soon.
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http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=new&aid=3902
Sega developing Shenmue Online, expanding into China
Rob Fahey 10:37 03/08/2004
MMORPG based on Shenmue franchise set to launch in China in '05
Publisher Sega is set to continue the critically acclaimed Shenmue
series with a PC massively multiplayer title, Shenmue Online, as part
of its new plans to enter the Chinese online gaming market.
The company has just established a branch office in Shanghai to
facilitate this entry, and will be launching three PC online titles in
China in the near future - Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst, CTRacer
and Shenmue Online.
The new Shenmue title is being co-developed and co-published by Sega
and Korean firm JC Entertainment, while the Chinese launch of the
title, set for 2005, will be handled by T2 Technology. No
international launch has yet been confirmed, but it seems highly
likely given the popularity of Shenmue in other global territories.
Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst, a PC continuation of the Phantasy
Star Online franchise which began on the Dreamcast, will be operated
in China by Zarva Digital Entertainment; while CTRacer, a massively
multiplayer racing title co-developed by Sega and Hyundai Digital, has
already hit 3.75 million subscribers in its Beta form in Korea, and
will be brought to China in partnership with Joyzone Networks.
Sega, like many other publishers, views the Chinese market as key to
establishing a successful online gaming business. The territory, which
is one of the fastest-growing markets for videogames and other forms
of consumer electronics and digital entertainment, already has more
than ten million online gamers.
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