Isn't the main problem (?) with the series a funding one? Not enough people are buying the games and so the continuation of the series is questioned..

MMORPG's always attract a lot of players, be they from well known series or totally original concepts, I think Shenmue Online will get a lot more attention from people who haven't bothered with the Shenmue games so far and could bring a lot more people into the series.

Could be a bit messy mixing PC with console though .

I don't think there's anything to lose really, if it's a success then it could cement a Shenmue 3 release. If it's a failure it'll just leave the question mark we had beforehand.

I don't see this as a change in direction, more of a sidetrack.

I'm going along with the general feeling that this is more of an add-on to the series, rather than a continuation. But you're right, it may be new and interesting, but it doesn't really give us a chance to see what's happening next in the story. I for one would be very disappointed if it did infact finish the story and I wasn't the one who controled Ryo to actually do it.

No, i don't believe this is the right direction for the series. Being a die hard fan of Shenmue and replaying the first two games over and over again, i am very worried about this 'Shenmue Online' game. Yeah, no doubt i'll buy it, but that isn't really the point, i'll buy it because it has 'Shenmue' in it. However, i believe now that Shenmue Online has been announced i do not think there is much chance of us seeing a Shenmue 3 unless Suzuki is trying to do what someone else touched upon in an earlier post where he may be using the MMORPG type game to attract a bigger fan base, but i do not believe this is what he is trying to do.

Well Xal, if it is MMORPG then it won't be as detailed a story, however it still can have quests everyone can do and a general plot like Landi Sama is trying to take control of Japan/China or another country related to Shenmue and you are part of the story in the quest to stop him and his thugs.

The video which shows everyone fighting Landi I figure is just for show, you won't be able to bundle Landi I would imagine as then the game would ultimately kill the series.

Well every MMORPG that is good that I can remember is gameplay driven, that is what I am guessing this will be like as its a spin-off.

Yeah, a spin-off. And nothing more. I hate the fact that Sega aren't pushing onto a third game in the series - a true sequel - because another dose of Shenmue would be so refreshing right about now.

Hopefully it will pop up soon after the release of Next-Gen consoles. Nevertheless, it's still nice to see Sega are holding the series high on its feet instead of letting it flop to the ground.

I'm worried about this too big time,
I heard there was originally planned to be like 12 parts or something in the saga. I thought that its set in the 80s because youll develop the path your father took and eventually get to the present when you will be like 40 and strong enought to fight Lan Di. Whatever the story was, im really disapointed it didnt continue. Shenmue 1 actually made me want to go and find out about japan, its people and its culture. And i think thats an awesome thing. Shenmue 2 felt like i was really undertaking the journey and i was so looking forward to shenmue 3. i hope i hope i hope

Shenmue Online is a spin-off, it's not really a continuation of the Shenmue story, it's just set in that world

And I think Yu Suzuki was planning 16 chapters altogether, Shenmue covering chapter 1, and Shenmue II covering chapters 3, 4 and 5 to my recollection.