While Shenmue isn't as big of a name as it was decades ago, it was the first open-world city game, which later inspired games like Grand Theft Auto. Unfortunately, it was released during the waning days of the Dreamcast, which Sony's PS2 was trampling over.

However, did you know that there was once a PS2 port of Shenmue? It wasn't a concept or anything, as it was even fully playable.

In an interview with Japanese gaming publication Famitsu (via Videogamer) where it covered a 25th anniversary Shenmue feature that talks about the game's conception, Lead Programmer Takeshi Hirai and programmer Makoto Wada, mentioned there was a playable build of the first Shenmue for the PS2. The development team behind the game created a "fully playable" version of the original Shenmue over 20 years ago, though it never saw release.

Hirai said, “I actually made a PlayStation 2 version of “Chapter 1." and adds, "It was never released, but internally there was a version that ran on the PlayStation 2. I also made an Xbox version, but only “Shenmue II” was released in North America."

Makoto Wada added that the development team even managed to fix all the graphical issues, making it a more polished game for PlayStation gamers. Wada explained, "The shaders for the Dreamcast were fixed, and the PlayStation 2 had to be programmed to support the shaders," and added, "The GPUs for the PlayStation 2 and the Dreamcast are completely different, so we redesigned them and installed them. From a game perspective, if you had wanted to release it, you could have done it."

If development was so far off, why didn't SEGA release it? Wada said that the game's heavy use of real-life brands got in the way. Wada notes, "The Xbox version of “Chapter 1” was [also] not released. I think it was due to rights issues, not technical issues. You see, it was tied up with real companies, like TIMEX watches and Coca-Cola drinks. That contract was only for the Dreamcast version of “Chapter 1”, so I think it was shelved for reasons such as not being able to be used on other consoles.”

There's been no leak of the Shenmue PS2 source code or anything, which is surprising today.

While no new Shenmue game has been announced, the license just got a new publisher in Inin Games, and the company seems intent on publishing Shenmue 3 on current-gen platforms.

Sure, open-world games are a dime a dozen these days, Shenmue 3 still might be worth checking out. Our review of it states, "Shenmue 3 is filled with antiquated design choices, a whole lot of charm, and is ultimately a promise fulfilled. Fans got a legitimate Shenmue title in every way possible, warts and all."

Posted: 1 day, 20 hours ago
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Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/fully-playable-shenmue-ps2-port-developed-sega/