Editing Shenmue (video game) (section)

==Reception==
===Critical response===
{{Video game reviews
| GR = 89%<ref name="GR">{{cite web |url=https://www.gamerankings.com/dreamcast/198621-shenmue/index.html |title=Shenmue for Dreamcast |website=[[GameRankings]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |access-date=July 13, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707172659/https://www.gamerankings.com/dreamcast/198621-shenmue/index.html |archive-date=July 7, 2018 }}</ref>
| 1UP = A+<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3130415&sec=REVIEW |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120724104431/http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3130415&sec=REVIEW |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 24, 2012 |title=IGN: Shenmue Dreamcast Review |publisher=1up.com |access-date=March 1, 2011 }}</ref>
| 4P = 95/100<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102165205/http://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht_fazit/Dreamcast/Test/Fazit_Wertung/Dreamcast/537/229/Shenmue.html|archive-date=November 2, 2007|url=http://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht_fazit/Dreamcast/Test/Fazit_Wertung/Dreamcast/537/229/Shenmue.html|title=Shenmue|language=de|work=[[4Players]]|date=December 30, 2000 |access-date=October 27, 2020}}</ref>
| Allgame = {{rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Sutyak|first=Jonathan|archive-date=November 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114105813/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=23620&tab=review|url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=23620&tab=review|title=Shenmue |work=[[AllGame]]|access-date=October 27, 2020}}</ref>
| CVG = {{rating|5|5}}<ref>''[[Computer and Video Games]]'', issue 230, pages 84–87</ref>
| Edge = 8/10<ref>''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'', issue 92, pages 86–87</ref>
| EGM = 26/30<ref name="egm">{{cite magazine |first1=Greg |last1=Sewart |first2=Jonathan |last2=Dudlak |first3=Mark |last3=MacDonald |date=January 2001 |title=Shenmue |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |issue=138 |page=196}}</ref>
| EuroG = 9/10<ref>{{cite web |author=Rob Fahey |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/content/r_shenmue_dc |title=Shenmue Review - Page 1 |publisher=Eurogamer.net |date=January 23, 2001 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030311164522/http://eurogamer.net/content/r_shenmue_dc |archive-date=March 11, 2003 }}</ref>
| Fam = 33/40<ref>''ドリームキャスト - シェンムー~莎木~一章横須賀''. Weekly Famitsu. No.915 Pt.2. Pg.39. June 30, 2006.</ref>
| GI = 6/10<ref name="informer">{{cite magazine|author=Jay|title=''Shenmue''|magazine=Game Informer|volume=10|issue=92|date=December 2000|page=120}}</ref>
| GamePro = {{rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamepro.com/games/dreamcast/104416/shenmue/ |title=Shenmue Reviews for Dreamcast |publisher=Gamepro.com |access-date=March 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091206101439/http://www.gamepro.com/games/dreamcast/104416/shenmue/|archive-date=December 6, 2009}}</ref>
| GSpot = 7.8/10 (US)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/shenmue-review/1900-2540599/ |title=Shenmue Review for Dreamcast |website=GameSpot |date=November 7, 2000 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208054145/http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/shenmue-review/1900-2540599/ |archive-date=December 8, 2014 }}</ref><br/>8.1/10 (UK)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000412115558/http://video.gamespot.co.uk/stories/dc/reviews/0%2C8326%2C2421741%2C00.html video.gamespot.co.uk: Shenmue<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
| GSpy = 8.5/10<ref name="gamerankings">{{cite web|url=http://www.gamerankings.com/dreamcast/198621-shenmue/index.html |title=Shenmue for Dreamcast |publisher=GameRankings |date=November 7, 2000 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118192213/http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/198621.asp?q=shenmue |archive-date=January 18, 2008 }}</ref>
| GT = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gametrailers.com/game/shenmue/2343 |title=Shenmue Reviews and trailers |publisher=Gametrailers.com |access-date=March 1, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402143524/http://www.gametrailers.com/game/shenmue/2343 |archive-date=April 2, 2010 }}</ref>
| Hyper = 94/100<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Toose|first=Dan|date=February 2001|title=Shenmue|magazine=[[Hyper (magazine)|Hyper]]|issue=88|pages=40–43}}</ref>
| IGN = 9.7/10<ref name="ign">{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/11/04/shenmue |title=IGN: Shenmue Dreamcast Review |publisher=Dreamcast.ign.com |date=November 3, 2000 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224040448/http://dreamcast.ign.com/articles/164/164499p1.html |archive-date=February 24, 2011 }}</ref>
| JXV = 18/20<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0000/00001016_test.htm|title=Test : Shenmue |language=fr|website=[[Jeuxvideo.com]]|date=November 23, 2000|access-date=October 27, 2020}}</ref>
| NGen = {{rating|5|5}}<ref name="NG"/>
| rev1 = ''[[DC-UK]]''
| rev1Score = 10/10<ref name="Hazuki Dojo">{{cite web | title=List of 'Shenmue' Ratings | url=http://www.hazukidojo.com/index.php?page=Shenmue%20-%20Press%20Ratings&m=shenmue | work=Hazuki Dojo | access-date=May 19, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630014756/http://www.hazukidojo.com/index.php?page=Shenmue%20-%20Press%20Ratings&m=shenmue | archive-date=June 30, 2006}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[NeoGAF|Gaming Age]]''
| rev2Score = A−<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gaming-age.com/cgi-bin/reviews/review.pl?sys=dreamcast&game=shenmue |archive-url=https://archive.today/20010716101610/http://www.gaming-age.com/cgi-bin/reviews/review.pl?sys=dreamcast&game=shenmue |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 16, 2001 |title=Shenmue Review (DC) |publisher=Gaming Age |date=December 4, 2000 |access-date=March 1, 2011 }}</ref>
| rev5 = [[Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK)|''Official Dreamcast Magazine'' (UK)]]
| rev5Score = 10/10<ref name="ODMUK">{{cite magazine |last=Lomas |first=Ed |date= December 2000|title=''Shenmue'' review |magazine=Official Dreamcast Magazine |location= UK|publisher= [[Dennis Publishing]]}}</ref>
| rev6 = [[Official Dreamcast Magazine (US)|''Official Dreamcast Magazine'' (US)]]
| rev6Score = 10/10<ref name="Hazuki Dojo"/>
| award1Pub = [[Japan Media Arts Festival]]
| award1 = [[List of Game of the Year awards|Excellence Prize for Interactive Art]]<ref name="festival_prize"/>
| award2Pub = 5th [[Animation Kobe]]
| award2 = Packaged Work Award
| award3Pub = ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]''
| award3 = Graphical Achievement<ref name="Edge82">{{cite magazine |title=Edge Awards 2000 |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |date=February 22, 2000 |issue=82 (March 2000) |pages=54–63 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/7/7a/Edge_UK_082.pdf#page=#page=54}}</ref>
| award4Pub = [[4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards]]
| award4 = Console Innovation<ref name="interactive.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idAward=2001&idGame=585 |title=D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Shenmue |publisher=[[Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences]] |access-date=24 July 2023}}</ref>
}}

''Shenmue'' held an average aggregate score of 89% on [[GameRankings]].<ref name="GR"/> Critics praised its graphics, realism, soundtrack and ambition. ''[[IGN]]'' called it "a gaming experience that no one, casual to hardcore gamer, can miss",<ref name="ign"/> and ''[[Eurogamer]]'' called it "one of the most compelling and unusual gaming experiences ever created".<ref>{{cite web|last=Fahey|first=Rob|date=January 23, 2001|title=Shenmue|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_shenmue_dc|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704221435/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_shenmue_dc|archive-date=July 4, 2015|access-date=July 3, 2015|website=[[Eurogamer]]}}</ref> ''[[GameSpot]]'' wrote that though ''Shenmue'' is "far from perfect" it was "revolutionary" and "worth experiencing—provided you have the time to invest".<ref name="GameSpot">{{cite web|author=Porvo|first=Frank|date=January 11, 2000|title=GameSpot Review of "Shenmue"|url=http://www.gamespot.com/dreamcast/adventure/shenmue/review.html?page=1&q=&q=|access-date=July 12, 2006|work=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' initially called the Japanese version a "landmark";<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Prescreen Focus: Shenmue |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |date=February 22, 2000 |issue=82 (March 2000) |pages=38–44 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/7/7a/Edge_UK_082.pdf#page=#page=38}}</ref> they later said the English version was not the "milestone" they had hoped for, but was "involving, and ultimately rewarding".<ref name="Edge-2000"/>

Ed Lomas of the UK ''[[Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK magazine)|Official Dreamcast Magazine]]'' said the production values were "astounding ... [''Shenmue''] is the most beautiful game ever made, no doubt about it." Though he acknowledged problems with controls, dated QTEs, script and voice acting, he felt the experience as a whole was "incredible", particularly its immersion and the freedom to pursue the story at the player's pace.<ref name="ODMUK"/> Jeff Lundrigan of ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' wrote: "Everyone on Earth owes it to themselves to play this. Some will enjoy it more than others, but no one will fail to recognize its magnificent production values and depth of design."<ref name="NG">{{cite magazine|last=Lundrigan|first=Jeff|date=December 2000|title=Finals|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|publisher=[[Future US|Imagine Media]]|volume=3|issue=12|pages=98–99}}</ref> According to the ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' critic Keith Stuart, while many players rejected the "systemic and narrative oddities", fans enjoyed the "wooden voice acting and clipped dialogue" and found humor in it.<ref name=":0" />

Several reviews criticized the [[invisible wall]]s, abundance of cutscenes, English voice acting, and inability to progress without waiting for scheduled events.<ref name="Ages"/><ref name="ign"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Provo |first=Frank |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/shenmue-review/1900-2540599/ |title=''Shenmue'' Review |website=GameSpot |date=November 11, 2000 |access-date=October 2, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208054145/http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/shenmue-review/1900-2540599/ |archive-date=December 8, 2014 }} cf. {{cite magazine|author=Jay|title=''Shenmue''|magazine=Game Informer|volume=10|issue=92|date=December 2000|page=120}} cf. {{cite web|url=http://www.edge-online.com/review/shenmue-review/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129031402/http://www.edge-online.com/review/shenmue-review/ |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |title=''Shenmue'' Review |publisher=Edge |date=November 29, 2000 |access-date=March 5, 2015 }}</ref> ''GameSpot'' wrote that by "the time you're driving forklifts and participating in the game's QTE-filled conclusion, hours upon hours of boredom will have taken their toll".<ref name="GameSpot"/> ''[[Game Informer]]'' criticized the lack of action, writing: "Determining your character's next move requires little more than talking to someone, who will then tell you who to see or where to go&nbsp;... All that's left is a guy walking around an amazingly detailed environment. If I wanted to experience that, I could see it in another game with proven endless entertainment value. It's called life."<ref name="informer"/>

=== Sales ===
''Shenmue'' sold 260,000 copies in its first week of release in Japan.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=DataStream |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |date=February 22, 2000 |issue=82 (March 2000) |page=122 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/7/7a/Edge_UK_082.pdf#page=#page=122}}</ref> It eventually sold 1.2 million copies<ref>{{cite web|title=Microsoft Announces Leading Sega Games for Xbox: SEGA-AM2 and Sonic Team Are Developing Popular New Titles for Xbox|date=October 11, 2001|url=http://news.microsoft.com/2001/10/11/microsoft-announces-leading-sega-games-for-xbox/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618080756/http://news.microsoft.com/2001/10/11/microsoft-announces-leading-sega-games-for-xbox/|archive-date=June 18, 2015|access-date=June 4, 2015|publisher=Microsoft.com}}</ref> and became one of the Dreamcast's highest-selling games.<ref>[http://www.listal.com/list/bestselling-dreamcast-games Best selling Dreamcast Games list<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703074130/http://www.listal.com/list/bestselling-dreamcast-games|date=July 3, 2015}}</ref> However, its sales did not cover its development cost and analysts consider it a major [[List of commercial failures in video games|commercial failure]].<ref name="USgamer-2014">{{Cite web|date=August 8, 2014|title=Gaming's greatest flops: ''Shenmue''|url=http://www.usgamer.net/articles/gamings-greatest-flops-shenmue-retrospective|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102161135/http://www.usgamer.net/articles/gamings-greatest-flops-shenmue-retrospective|archive-date=January 2, 2016|access-date=December 4, 2015|website=[[USgamer]]}}</ref><ref name="GamesRadar">{{cite web|title=The Top 7&nbsp;... Most ambitious flops in gaming|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/top-7-ambitious-failures/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008233908/http://www.gamesradar.com/top-7-ambitious-failures/|archive-date=October 8, 2015|access-date=June 30, 2015|website=[[GamesRadar]]}}</ref> ''[[USgamer]]'' wrote that though the sales would have been a success for most games, only an "impossible" number of sales would have seen ''Shenmue'' turn a profit.<ref name="USgamer-2014"/> According to ''GamesRadar'', every Dreamcast owner would have needed to buy ''Shenmue'' twice for it to turn a profit, and so "ironically it probably did as much to kill the Dreamcast as it did to cement its reputation".<ref name="GamesRadar"/> It contributed to Sega's exit from the game console market following years of declining profits.<ref name="USgamer-2014" /><ref name="GamesRadar" />

The ''Shenmue'' localizer, [[Jeremy Blaustein]], likened the failure to the epic 1980 film ''[[Heaven's Gate (film)|Heaven's Gate]]'', which went drastically over budget and was a commercial failure: "Suzuki was coming off of huge past successes, and he was the man. And so this was going be ''the'' thing ... And everyone wanted a piece of that $70 million, you know? And of course that's like the worst thing you could do, is to start out a project saying we've got all this money, and then just keep throwing more money at it."<ref name="Szczepaniak"/> [[Peter Moore (businessman)|Peter Moore]], the president of Sega of America at the time, said ''Shenmue'' sold "extremely well" but could not make a profit due to the Dreamcast's limited [[installed base]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World|url=https://archive.org/details/ultimatehistoryv00kent|url-access=limited |last=Kent|first=Steven L.|publisher=Prima Publishing|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7615-3643-7 |author-link=Steven L. Kent |pages=587, 578}}</ref> The Dreamcast engineer and future Sega president Hideki Sato defended ''Shenmue'' as an "investment [which] will someday be recouped" because the lessons learnt during development could be applied to other games.<ref name="IGN History of Dreamcast"/>{{sfn|Kent|2001|page=578}}

=== Awards ===
''Shenmue'' received the Excellence Prize for "Interactive Art" at the 2000 [[Japan Media Arts Festival]].<ref name="festival_prize">{{cite web|title=2000 Japan Media Arts Festival Digital Art (Interactive Art) Excellence Prize Shenmue|url=http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/english/festival/2000/degital/000348/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012082511/http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/english/festival/2000/degital/000348/|archive-date=October 12, 2007|access-date=August 28, 2007}}</ref> ''Edge'' awarded it for "Graphical Achievement", writing that Suzuki's "experiment in creating what is a complete, populated virtual world in which a game occurs proves to be a mighty success, particularly the "breathtaking" level of detail of the character models, and that never had there been "such a convincing representation of real life" in a video game.<ref name="Edge82"/> ''GameSpot'' named ''Shenmue'' the most disappointing console game of 2000, but awarded it the prize for "Best Graphics, Technical" for a console game, and nominated it for "Best Adventure Game", "Best Sound", and "Best Graphics, Artistic".<ref name=bestworst2000>{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020213041653/http://gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/bestof_2000/ | url=http://gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/bestof_2000/ | title=Best and Worst of 2000 | author=''GameSpot'' Staff | date=January 5, 2001 | work=[[GameSpot]] | archive-date=February 13, 2002 | url-status=dead }}</ref> During the [[4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards]] in March 2001, ''Shenmue'' received the "Console Innovation" award, along with nominations for "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Game of the Year|Game of the Year]]", "Console Game of the Year", "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Story|Character or Story Development]]", and "[[D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Game Design|Game Design]]".<ref name="interactive.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idAward=2001&idGame=585 |title=D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Shenmue |publisher=[[Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences]] |access-date=24 July 2023}}</ref>