KOTOR's Fate = To that of Shenmue's?

[Tyrell]

The KOTOR and Shenmue series has a lot in common. Back in what? 2000 I believe Shenmue hit the Dreamcast and I mean it hitted it hard. Dispite the release of the new Sony PlayStation 2, Shenmue the videogame held its own on the DC even against major PS2 titles like Tekken and Madden 2001. I really don't know the sells #s but worldwide it was pretty huge, epecially in Japan. The game even won MANY awards with the main ones being Best Story and Best Characters and Best Innovation with its F.R.E.E system.

 

Then then later on Shenmue 2 came out on the Dreamcast (Japan Only) and then on the Xbox (US Only). Shenmue 2 was a great title but in many ways didn't live up to what Shenmue was in terms of sales. Many said it was because of the switch from the DC to Xbox in the US. Who knows. Shenmue 2 left many gamers with a cliff-hanger as Ryu's story to avenge his father wasn't complete.

 

Today we don't know the fate of Shenmue and if there will ever be a Shenmue 3. It was said that Shenmue 3 won't be a game but a DVD movie of some sort to explain the remaining story. Even though it is a bit stupid atleast the fans could find out what happens next and how it concludes. Unfortunatly it seems as if THAT idea was dumped because I haven't heard anything of it as of late.

 

The Shenmue series (Probably won of the more personal game stories ever told) probably won't even see a conclusion and fans (Including myself) will just be left alone forever without....knowing.

____________________________

 

As I'm writing this I hope that I'm 100% wrong but there is that fear that there won't be a KOTOR 3. I mean KOTOR is similar to Shenmue. When the first one came out it was revolutionary just like Shenmue was on the DC. It won many awards JUST like Shenmue did. Main ones being Best Story and Best Characters....just like Shenmue. Difference is between KOTOR and Shenmue was that people knew that Shenmue 2 would be a direct sequel to the first. While we all knew there would be a K2, we didn't expect it to be a direct sequel to K1. But it was.

 

That leads us to TSL. TSL came out last December on the Xbox and like Shenmue 2, really didn't live up to the success of K1 in terms of sales. Unlike KOTOR, TSL got many negative reviews and many gamers complained about the games many flaws and glitches. Some say that it was just rushed. Who knows, but TSL wasn't par with KOTOR in the general public's eyes. Not saying it was a bad game, but for a sequel to a game of KOTOR's statue, TSL could have been better.

 

Like Shenmue 2, TSL left us gamers with a sour taste in the ending making us WANT more. There must be a KOTOR 3 (Just like Shenmue 3) to conclude the story. What happens with Revan/Exile and the True Sith Empire? There was a K3 in somewhat of a development and now that is canceled. For what reasons I do not know but there isn't a K3 in development right now and that brings up the question.....would there ever be a K3?

 

Are we KOTOR fans going to experience what the Shenmue fans are experiencing? And that is.....not knowing.

 

Its a scary thought but a thought that you can't dismiss. There IS that possiblity that TSL is where it unfortunately ends. I'm not trying to be negative but in terms of overall apeal, TSL isn't what KOTOR was. Halo 2 out-did Halo so we all KNOW there will be a Halo 3 on the Xbox 2. In terms of sales Halo 2 is outdoing Halo, we can't say that about TSL. Hell, LucasArts didn't even have any TV commercials. Oh well though, I guess thats how you treat a sequel to a game that was owning 2003 when it came to games.

 

What do you all think? Is TSL the end of the road or COULD there be a KOTOR 3?

[Tyrell]

I guess the subject of K3 doesn't interest anyone ha?

[Maverick4101]

The one thing that KOTOR has over Shenmue is there will always be a demand for star wars games. Plus, KOTOR is the only Star Wars RPG game. I am a big fan of Star Wars and I enjoy RPG's, especially North American style RPGs, so KOTOR is right up my alley and I know there are a lot of people who feel like me.

 

I think the way LA handled marketing was rather poor. I can't watch tv without seeing a "Mercenaries" commercial (good game by the way) and I never once saw a KOTOR2 commercial. It almost seemed like LA didn't care about TSL very much. I think KOTOR series will live on or a successor will come along and take its place. The Star Wars universe has too much potential to waste on Action games alone. Lucasarts just need to get their head on straight. They really have been making good games in comparison to what they were doing in the late 90

[ROFLTUNASANDWHICH]

kotor is a huge money maker i dont think this is going to be a problem. But that really would suck, im still hoping they announce something about shenmue 3 this year. Ryo's gotta lay the smack down on lan di.

[Tyrell]

LA just kind layed around expecting TSL to sell it self.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You are so right. LA just assumed that TSL was going to sell because of the named it carried. LA was like "Ah hell, we don't have to advertise K2 on TV. KOTOR 2 will sell regardless cause of its name. Much like GTA: SA and Halo 2"

 

What they failed to realized that no matter how big the GTA and Halo names were. Rockstar and Microsoft still advertised the hell out of those games on TV.

 

 

I believe Shenmue 2 was the exact same. I remember they had Shenmue commercials for the DC but I really can't recall any commercials for Shenmue 2 on the Xbox. Just like KOTOR 2. Like just because of the name Shenmue its going to sell regardless.

 

Hell when Shenmue 2 released, I didn't even know it til I walked into Block Buster and saw it on the shelf.

[NeverwinterKnight]

im actually still puzzled why lucasarts didnt even bother to advertise kotor2. considering how successful kotor1 was, youd think that theyd be advertising the hell out of kotor2, based on the whole "sequel to 2003 game of the year" marketing campaign. but nothing. i have never seen a single kotor2 commercial on tv.

[jaguars4ever]

Incidently, how well did K2 sell?

[Apetro]

KOTOR = Franchise, no way they're gonna give up this cash-cow. Besides the ending sets it up for KOTR III

[213374U]

No, I don't think it's comparable to Shenmue. That one was released on a failed console, while KotOR/TSL were released on Xbox and PC formats, both sound, successful platforms. Shenmue was a rather unknown brand, while everyone knows Star Wars. K2 is out worldwide, while Shenmue 2 was only available in Japan. Those are important enough differences.

[Kalfear]

That leads us to TSL. TSL came out last December on the Xbox and like Shenmue 2, really didn't live up to the success of K1 in terms of sales. Unlike KOTOR, TSL got many negative reviews and many gamers complained about the games many flaws and glitches. Some say that it was just rushed. Who knows, but TSL wasn't par with KOTOR in the general public's eyes. Not saying it was a bad game, but for a sequel to a game of KOTOR's statue, TSL could have been better.

 

What do you all think? Is TSL the end of the road or COULD there be a KOTOR 3?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Totally disagree with you.

 

First off none of us will know the sales until that info released but based on North American market alone I feel pretty secure in guessing there will be a K3.

 

Also tho, how do you figure TSL didnt go over.

 

Most reveiws I have read have it at a 8+ outta 10 stars, thats a good over all reveiw.

 

Sure there were complaint posts but there were not that many really. Far less then most other releases out there. And for a sequel to a AWSOME game, far less then one would expect based on the expectations out there.

 

Think you giving WAY to much credit to a small minority who were active dedicated posters posting the same thing over and over in multiple threads.

 

Ill go as far to say there WILL be a K3 and if sales continue at current pace there will be a K4,5,6,7,8 as well! Market is run strictly on sales. KotOR series so far is a huge seller.

 

Also its not fair to compare Xbox to Dreamcast. I use to run a fan site for gamers and had a agreement with Dreamcast regarding products and news. While I have nothing but respect for the Dreamcast sales reps I dealt with, the problems surrounding that product were far more involved then any one software product could cure.

 

KotOR 3 might get made for Xbox 2, beyond that change tho thats it. K3 will get made and based on TSL sales in North America, it will sell huge as well!

 

im actually still puzzled why lucasarts didnt even bother to advertise kotor2. considering how successful kotor1 was, youd think that theyd be advertising the hell out of kotor2, based on the whole "sequel to 2003 game of the year" marketing campaign. but nothing. i have never seen a single kotor2 commercial on tv.

 

Actually Night, I remember seeing one ad on TV prior to release on Xbox. Agree tho they didnt push it very hard with advertising tho.

 

Incidently, how well did K2 sell?

 

Jag, someone else a couple weeks back posted the North American Xbox sales stats here (forget who).

 

All I remember is the sales numbers were VERY VERY High! Even with out PC version and european version it was more then enough to validate a part 3.

 

heh, Im not going to go search for a 2+ week old post on these boards when I cant even remember which of the forums it was in, but they were posted anyways

[vesselle]

eh, i didn't even know the game was out till i saw a copy yesterday, in walmart, of all places. was at the gamestore a couple days ago and it wasn't even on the upcoming/new releases board.

 

V***V