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Sega Announces Shenmue Online
Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for covering the news that Sega has announced Shenmue Online, a PC MMORPG, "being co-developed and co-published by Sega and Korean firm JC Entertainment", as part of "its new plans to enter the Chinese online gaming market." JC Entertainment are the Korean-based makers of Rush Online (formerly Priest) and the popular-in-Asia Redmoon, and the press release on Shenmue-Online.com states the game, part of the sometimes adored Dreamcast/Xbox franchise, will be a "MMO Action RPG in which tens of thousands of players will participate in the virtual world of Shenmue staged in China including Hong Kong in 1980's. Players, acting as militants, will use mysterious powers, kung-fu, Chinese weapons and Qigong in real-time fight-action."
I got the Euro import of Shenmue 2 for the Dreamcast. I copied my save game to my computer where there was a program that would alter the region bit in the file, then uploaded it back to my memory card. Then I was able to have part two make use of my old save.
Sure you get your bag stolen at the begining of the second part, but you get it back. All that is really missing is your cash. All your collectables are still there. Plus you get the moves scroll filled in a bit more.
I was really fearing that they would release the thrid part and use the same English voice actors. After hearing the original Japanese voices (the Euro version was only subtitled) the American ones make me want to puncture my ear drums. Especially the kids, like finger nails on a chalk board.
In fairness, their sports games have done well lately for online as has Sega GT Online. However, you may want to credit that to XBL.